Corporate Massage Can Improve Your Bottom Line

by Evan Burns

It’s no secret that on-the-job stress is to blame for many personal illnesses: high blood pressure, headaches, heart attacks, asthma, insomnia, depression. But if you are an employer, what does this mean to your bottom line?

"Stress-related illnesses cost U.S. industry more than $150 billion annually," asserts Dr. Peter Hanson, author of The Joy of Stress. That figure includes, for example, more than one million days of absenteeism and more than $20 billion in worker compensation costs each year -- costs that can be traced directly back to stress. In fact, to bring it down to a more personal scale, "The average stress-related workers’ compensation claim costs employers at least $13,339." (National Council on Compensation Insurance)

Those numbers are nothing to sneeze at, whether you’re a Fortune 500 or a small business owner. Stress not only costs in terms of employees missing in action, but also in lowered productivity, job turnover, healthcare costs and employee burn-out. While on-the-job stress cannot be eliminated entirely, there are ways to help manage it.

Businesses have tried various stress-reduction programs as part of employee wellness initiatives -- physical fitness, self-relaxation, time management and counseling services, to name a few. All have been proven effective to some degree, but each requires a commitment of time, energy or money.

In the search for a better answer, a number of innovative companies have discovered a remarkable tool for coping with stress in today’s workplace: company-sponsored in-office chair massage therapy programs, better known as Seated or Corporate Massage.

Corporate massage is performed in the workplace in a specially designed chair. While the client remains fully clothed, the therapist targets the neck, back, shoulders, arms and hands. These are all areas commonly affected by stress, resulting in headaches, muscle pain and fatigue. The massage is effective in 15 minutes and is an affordable alternative or complement to other stress reduction programs.

We all know that massage feels good, but does it really work? Just ask OnSite Technologies, The Boeing Company, Reebok and Rockwell International -- just a few of the organizations currently committed to corporate massage. This is no surprise when you consider the results of these studies:

• University of Miami School of Medicine’s Touch Research Institute studied job stress and mental functioning (Health, October 1995, Katherine Griffin).One group was given 20 minute seated massages twice a week; the control group was instructed to do isometric exercises for relaxation. The massage group showed less anxiety and lower levels of the stress hormone cortisol. "What’s more, the massaged group, despite being physically relaxed, was more alert after the massage than before. Those who got massages were able to do math problems in half the time and with half as many errors as the control group."
• A similar study conducted at Bowling Green State University (Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, June 1996) concluded that one 15-minute application per week reduced employee anxiety levels, leading to "better morale, improved productivity, better decision-making and ultimately better performance. From a cost perspective, this study provided support of the positive effects of massage therapy intervention in a context that is...feasible for the work environment."
• Arizona State University (Gale, 1992) examined the effects of a daily neck and shoulder massage for 23 critical care nurses for a six-week period. The massage group was given a 10-minute massage plus a five-minute rest period. A control group took a 15-minute break from their work each day. "Both groups demonstrated a reduction in stress, however the massage group demonstrated a greater decrease."

In addition to effective stress reduction , the appealing aspects of corporate massage are that it is convenient and affordable (roughly $1 a minute). In some cases the employee may share in the cost of the massage. Discounts may also be available for frequent clients or large groups.

If your local massage therapist does not provide on-site seated massage, he or she can usually refer you to someone who does. Additional referrals can be found through the American Massage Therapy Association (AMTA), the yellow pages and, of course, within the Business Services Listings in this paper.

Evan Burns, an AMTA affiliated professional massage therapist, is owner of MassageWorks, which offers corporate massage as well as deep-tissue and Swedish massage. He can be reached at 410-381-4560.