From small businesses to large companies, employers can always benefit from improving employee productivity. A great deal is often spent on training to achieve this – but if employee engagement is lacking, this may produce minimal results.
On-site massage is increasingly being recognized as a cost-effective means of both improving job satisfaction and performance, with much deeper benefits than simply relaxing the worker at their desk.
A series of Lottery-funded research projects were undertaken by Positive Pressure (in conjunction with Living Well West Midlands and Birmingham Health & Wellbeing Partnership), on the effectiveness of seated acupressure massage in the workplace.
These studies were carried out at 4 large companies in the West Midlands: RBS, Birmingham Council, Centro and NEC, and results were taken over a period of twelve weeks.
The findings from the projects revealed that:
• Mental and physical wellbeing improved significantly.
• Work satisfaction also improved, increasing engagement.
• Stress levels were lowered.
• Wider-reaching improvements were found such as changes to posture, workstation set-up, and more interest in living a healthy and active lifestyle.
• Employees’ ‘coping’ mechanisms when faced with negative or stressful situations improved in the workplace and at home; for example there was less of a reliance on using cigarettes and alcohol to ease pressure.
These results show a great benefit to the employee, but the additional positive impact upon staff productivity and performance indicate that massage therapy will also provide a good return on investment for employers. Most importantly, reduced levels of absenteeism and turnover will improve the company’s bottom line.
Participants have affirmed that they found the sessions to be ‘valuable breaks’ rather than interrupting their workflow – the simple addition of a short amount of ‘me’ time into the working day increases in importance when more and more employees find themselves having lunch at their desk.
In addition to massage therapy, wellness workshops also provide staff with tips and tools on how to manage their stress levels; healthy eating and fitness information is provided to help staff make informed choices, and workshops on posture aim to educate on avoiding potential physical aches and pains.
These simple and cost-effective strategies give employers the opportunity to improve the lifestyle of their employees at work and at home; whilst ensuring they remain capable of achieving their full potential and efficiently managing their workload.
Author Bio
Charlotte Hunter graduated from St Mary’s University in 1999 with an honours degree in Sports Injury Rehabilitation. Charlotte has been running On Site Massage Co for over 12 years. Since founding Onsite Massage Co, in 2001, Charlotte’s focus has been to help improve the health and well being of the nation’s workforce. A rather ambitious task but something Charlotte feels very passionate about. Charlotte is very proud that she and her team are able to make a difference, large or small, to so many people’s lives with on site therapies and educational workshops.
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