Add a refreshing touch to benefit programs - massage breaks for employees

HR Magazine, Oct, 1998 by Nancy Hatch Woodward

You've been hearing a lot from employees lately that they're feeling stressed out and stretched thin. Managers in several departments note that morale is down, tension is up, and people are struggling to keep the smile in their voices when they talk to customers. And maybe the HR department is a bit stressed out, too. What can you do? Employee surveys or workload and staffing reevaluations may come to mind, and those are good long-term approaches. But for a quicker solution, have you considered massage breaks?

During the past decade, many businesses have made massage therapy a part of the wellness program. And they've found massage to be a cost-effective benefit that's either fully or partially employee paid. Rates range from $12 to $15 for a 10- to 15-minute chair massage and from $50 to $60 for a full hour of massage therapy. The actual costs may be lower than those given, because companies can often negotiate volume discounts.

Forget about the old connotations associated with massage; today's massage therapists are trained to help relieve stress and improve alertness. A study in the International Journal of Neuroscience reported that adults who received two 15-minute massages each week showed signs of marked relaxation and increased speed and accuracy in math computations over the control group members, who didn't have massages. In addition, those receiving massages reported less depression and reduced anxiety levels.

"Our employees seem rejuvenated after the massage. They are invigorated," says Patricia Bucaccio, assistant director of the Working Well program at Cigna Corp. in Philadelphia, which has 3,800 employees. "The feedback we get from people is, 'This is the best firing that has happened to me today, and I'm ready to go back and tackle the day.' That's why we have kept the program going."

A GROWING CORPORATE BENEFIT

"Massage was something we wanted to incorporate in our HR list of benefits that we could offer to employees," explains Leslie Orlando, HR specialist with Intuit in Mountain View, Calif. "My manager was familiar with other companies that had a message therapist and believed it would be good for us. So we tried it out, and it was quite popular. We have more than 3,800 employees and have had no problem filling every available appointment each week."

Intuit began using a therapist last November, but other companies have a longer history with massage. Cigna began its program five years ago, first by bringing in a masseuse for special events, then later on a weekly basis when it saw how well-received it was by employees.

For StorageTek, the decision came six years ago when the firm expanded its facilities in Louisville, Colo. "It was one piece of a series of wellness programs we wanted," says Jane Wilkinson, manager of the company's corporate Wellness Independent Care Program. "I had been researching massage therapy, and it just seemed to fit with our stress management curriculum."

Memorial Hospital in Chattanooga, Tenn., looked at massage therapy as a component of healing. "We wanted our work environment to be more conducive to relaxation in order to take the edge off of the hectic pace in a hospital environment," says Tracy Smith, Wellspring program coordinator for the hospital. "We wanted our hospital to be as sensitive to the needs of our 2,000 employees as we were to needs of patients."

While looking for a way to help reduce stress for their personnel. Memorial realized that one of the biggest problems was that many employees could not take off 30 to 40 minutes or longer to go someplace and relax. "Nurses, in particular, have a difficult time coming off the floors even for classes or lunch." Smith says. "That's why having a massage therapist come to them right where they work seemed like a wonderful way to give them a break and help them reduce stress."

The typical on-site masssage is performed in a portable "chair," which places the employee in a sitting position, leaning forward. No clothing is removed and no privacy is required for the massage. Therapists can set up just about any place that is convenient for the employees and the company. Memorial even has a massage chair in the emergency room.

The typical chair massage lasts from 10 to 20 minutes, "about the same amount of time an employee would take for a cigarette break," says Robin Egal, president of New York-based Back to Work Inc., a company that provides massage therapists for businesses. "The employee gets a neck and shoulder massage without having to leave the building. You don't have to do anything but come in, sit down and relax. So, there's not much wasted time."

Smith finds that hospital employees work together to arrange time for the massages. "They cover for each other so they can take advantage of this service. It's worth it to them to find the time to help each other." At Intuit, StorageTek and Cigna, exempt employees are allowed time off for a chair massage but are encouraged to use lunch time or other breaks for the service. At Cigna, which also offers full-body massages taking up to an hour, employees must use their own time.