Employee Perks

Times are not as bad as most of us like to think. I recently attended a Human Resources Panel at the Salt Lake Chamber of Commerce and got the opportunity to hear from HR people from Overstock.com, Neutron Interactive, and Spillman Technologies. These companies continue to grow through the recession, and not only that, they offer employee perks that are unheard of. How can Neutron Interactive offer a full catered lunch onsite for their 40 employees each day, or how can Spillman Technologies give their 210 employees access to various vacation timeshares at no cost? What is the secret these companies know that the rest of the world just isn't figuring out?

It's that you get back what you put in to your people. Companies like these (there is a whole list of them in Utah Business Magazine issue a couple months ago) are going above and beyond what they offer their employees because they have seen what a difference it has made in their company's culture, growth, and bottom line. I find that very inspiring when other companies are downsizing and doing layoffs. Perks and worth the investment.

Employee Massage

Massage has grown to be more and more part of mainstream health and wellness over the last decade, but massage in the corporate world has just started to explode over the last few years. Corporate massage is becoming a mainstream perk, starting to pop up in a lot of today's offices.

Many successful, competitive companies offer their employees the benefit of on-site massage therapy. Eddie Bauer, Ebay, Boeing, Reebok, Tahitian Noni, and JetBlue all have massage offered in their offices. Even Google has its own “Massage Program Manager,” who boasts on a YouTube video that the company has “massage going in multiple massage rooms eight hours a day, five days a week.”

Why is the corporate trend moving in this direction? What could these companies possibly be gaining from allowing their employee the time to receive these services during their workday, many times completely paid for by their employer?

Companies big and small have discovered the benefits of wellness in the workplace, and they’re using massage as a way to attract employees, while also keeping them productive. Some offices offer massage in the office in order to give them a little break to increase their energy levels. Massage increases company morale and company loyalty, allowing them to keep the recruit employees in their fields and keep them happy.

A few local companies I have personally spoken with have noted that in the years they have paid for on-site massage for their employees, their Worker's Compensation claims have dropped and decreased their premiums so much that it completely pays for the cost of providing the massages, plus their employees are happier and work harder.

In today's world we are overworked and overstressed. We need a way to put back in what life takes out. Many companies have already figured out how to do that, and many more are heading that direction. To find out how you can get massage in your office today, visit us online at www.themassageadvantage.com.