Why is the U.S. behind the curve?

Everywhere I look online I see workplace massage thriving in the UK. In Australia it's been going on for decades. I have friends in Canada that say it's a normal part of the workday there. A lot of articles and research done on workplace massage have been conducted in other countries. Why are we as a country and a culture so slow to adopt new ideas, even when they've been proven effective by other nations?

Granted, we are starting to come around. If you look at my blog post a few back I have a list of a lot of companies in the US who provide massage for their employees and are enjoying the benefits of increased productivity, decreased turnover, and decreased health care costs. It's just interesting that we like to stick to what we think works in the traditional sense, and take very little notice of what other cultures are doing, even when it is proving to be effective.

The Massage Advantage Membership

We are excited to announce that we will soon be launching a new service option to our clients- A Membership! Clients participating in The Advantage Program will have the option to receive their massage services at work for a significant discount when signing a 6 month contract and getting set up on auto-pay. We are happy to be able to reward our clients even more for taking great care of their bodies! Look for it soon!

Perkville!

We are so excited to announce that we are launching our new client rewards program through Perkville! Now our clients can earn free massages just for facebook posts, tweeting about us, and getting their regular massages. We can't wait to reward our loyal customers!

Join the Workplace Massage Movement!

This week I spent some time researching companies across the country that currently offer on-site massage as a benefit. This is only from a small amount of research mind you, as the list goes on and on. But I was amazed to find that businesses of all sizes are starting to offer massage at work and they are really starting to see the benefits that choice. People are starting to see again the advantage they have when they invest in their employees. Here are just a few of the companies I stumbled upon this week:

Intuitive Research and Technology Corp, AL

Robins and Morton, AL

McMurry, AZ

Google, CA

Insomniac Games, CA

SAS, CA

Shutterfly, CA

Ehrhardt Keefe Steiner & Hottman, CO

Inifinity Systems Engineering, CO

Integer, CO

Pinnacol Assurance, CO

Wilmington University, DE

Novozymes North America, NC

Dixon Schwabi, NY

Eileen Fisher, NY

Bridge Worldwide, OH

Johnson and Johnson, SC

AMX, TX

CHG Healthcare Services, UT

Ebay, UT

JetBlue, UT

Mozy, UT

USANA Health Sciences, UT

Soreson Labs, UT

Stampin’ Up, UT

Tahitian Noni International, UT

Williams Northwest Pipeline, UT

Noblis, VA

SnagAJob.com, VA

4imprint, WI

Acuity, WI

Worldwide and National:

AT&T

BellSouth

Coca-Cola

Delta Airlines

IBM

IKEA

Interactive Media

Rio Tinto

The Weather Channel

I don't know about you, but I think that's pretty impressive, and quite a promising indicator for the state of our economy.

Professional Organizations

This week I attended a luncheon at the Corporate Alliance in Salt Lake. It was a lovely experience. I really enjoyed how the people there were not just their to make contacts with other companies and promote their own, they truly were dedicated to helping one another in their businesses and building quality relationships. I look forward to getting more involved in this organization.

I also enjoy being a member of the Salt Lake Chamber of Commerce, and the Women's Business Center at the Chamber. These organizations have provided excellent networking opportunities for our company, and have been a great educational resource for our young and growing company. For us, these organizations have proven to be invaluable.

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.