Massage at Work
This article first appeared in Holistic Therapist Magazine in 2017
Before I retrained as a Massage Therapist, I worked in sales and sales management for 12 years. I was used to managing sickness absence and return to work programmes, but I experienced the frustration and pressure to get back to work as soon as possible, after I developed a work-related back injury and going on long term sick. Massage formed part of my rehab and that’s when I decided to leave sales, re-train and start Body Mechanics Remedial, specifically to work in the corporate sector.
My clients are businesses where people have demanding jobs and personal commitments – they’re time poor and they crave convenience. Body Mechanics Remedial treats people with stress and muscular aches and pains in their workplace to eliminate these problems.
Each business is reliant on its employees. If you keep people healthy, feeling appreciated and engaged, they’ll be more productive. At the end of the day, businesses want productive employees who help make them profit. When you look at it like this, corporate health and wellbeing is paramount.
According to a report for the Health Work Wellbeing Executive, for every £1 invested in an employee health and wellbeing programme, at least £4.17 can be expected as a benefit to cost ratio (BCR). The BCR return on the specific treatment of MSDs are significantly greater when treated at the outset. Other benefits include increasing employee engagement and productivity, reducing sickness absence, boosting morale and positioning the business as desirable to work for. The Health and Safety Executive has stated that more than three quarters of MSDs and stress is workplace related, so it makes sense to reduce problems and improve well-being in a workplace setting.
Our clients range from global media companies and Pan-European e-marketing businesses, to UK based sports teams and charities. They all show a commendable duty of care towards their employees and players. Our treatments last 20-30 mins and can be seated (clothed) or couch (oil) massages. We bring all the necessary equipment, clients just need to provide the space. A consultation form is completed in advance and discussed at the start of the treatment. The client’s modesty and comfort are respected at all times and client information is strictly confidential.
The biggest challenge has been educating businesses that private healthcare isn’t enough. Maintaining employee health and wellbeing on-site keeps the individuals and the business focused on their business goals with minimal disruption. We aim to provide a seamless service where each session is all about the client and the massage, so appointments and treatment scheduling are managed internally by the client.
Our client feedback is hugely positive. 100% of customers say it helps maintain their general health and well-being. 93% of staff attend regularly, with 50% using the service to help manage stress and 22% use it for treatment of specific injury. 87% say it helps their working performance and the only complaint we seem to get is that the treatments aren’t long enough!
I’d love Body Mechanics Remedial to become the global go-to organisation for corporate health and wellbeing, starting in Australia and Canada. Taking on quality therapists will be at the heart of this.
Nikki Roy founded Body Mechanics Remedial to help people lead pain free lives. She is ITEC qualified and a member of the CThA.