Businesses are increasingly turning to massage therapy to help combat at-work stress among employees. Call center staff are among those employees to benefit from the
traditional anxiety-relieving therapy.
It is thought that the boom in at-work massage sessions is
evidence that employers are taking a more pro-active role in their
employees’ health and wellbeing.
Denise Bailey, a therapist and founder of Revive at Work, which
provides at-work massage, said, “Call centers are very keen on it
because their workers are on the telephones a lot, which can be
quite stressful, and they are unable to leave their desks and walk
around.
“The Indian head massage, the most popular treatment, can be done
over clothing, so in call centers I can give people a massage while
they are at their desks.
“They love it — it’s a way of giving workers a bit of a lift and
a bit of a treat. It’s also a way of letting the workforce know that
they are valued and a way of saying thanks for all the hard work.
“In the US companies are being sued for stress-related illnesses,
so it’s good for a company to have something like this. It covers
them if the question ever arises about what they are doing to
relieve stress.”
Massage is one of the oldest and simplest forms of medical care
and has traditionally been used to relieve both pain and anxiety.
Gentle massage affects the nervous system through nerve endings
in the skin, stimulating the release of endorphins — the body’s so-
called “feel good” chemicals — to help induce relaxation and a sense
of wellbeing, to relieve pain and reduce levels of stress chemicals
such as cortisol and noradrenalin.
Research by the department of management at the Bowling Green
State University in Ohio found that a 15-minute at-work massage
significantly reduced people’s blood pressure, although no control
group tests were performed.
And a study published last year…