Health and Wellness Programs

Looking after your most important asset - your employees!

Bank of America realised a return of $6 for every $1 spent on its Health Promotion Programme."

American Journal of Health Promotion

Health and Wellness programs are an important element of looking after your employees, reducing staff abesenteeism, and increasing employee productivity, by relieving staff stress and muscle tension through work life balance techniques, of which, onsite corporate chair massages and Indian head massages are integral.

Health and Wellness programs (also known as Workplace Wellness, Corporate Wellness, Health & Wellness, Work-Life Balance or Employee Wellness programs) address the full spectrum of emotional and physical issues of employees.

Salus Corporate & Event Massage work with your HR department, nutritionalist and other health care specialists to provide massages in the workplace as a core element of your Health and Wellness program.

In 2000 a survey carried out on Irish adults by the Food Safety Promotion Board over 20% of men were obese. In 1990 this figure was only 8%. In women, the rate was 16%, up from 13%. It has been found that 41% of men carried out no physical exercise, and of men over 25, 18% watch between 16-20 hours of television per week.
Surprisingly most people think that they simply don't have the time exercise.

Food Safety Promotion Board (2000)

Benefits of a Corporate Health and Wellness Program

Benefits to Staff

Poor health impacts your organization's effectiveness and performance.  Diabetes, migraine headaches, stress, back tension and injuries, and asthma attacks, can damage productivity significantly.

As we spend so much of our lives at the workplace, it is a perfect location to address health issues and where healthier lifestyles should be promoted.  Healthier change can happen amongst staff by providing them with:

  • information
  • health screenings
  • preventative services
  • management support for the change

Healthier habits incorporated with corporate chair massage reduces stress, increase employee job satisfaction, increase employee morale, and aid in staff recruitment and retention.

An Australian study estimated that if Australian people became more active for just 30 minutes per day, it could save $1.5 billion (€815 million) a year in costs linked to CHD, stroke, type 2 diabetes, breast cancer, colon cancer, depression and falls. This equals 17% of the total health costs linked with the medical conditions included in the study.

Medibank, 2007

Benefits to Employer

Return on Investment (ROI)

The return on investment for corporate wellness programs have been well documented over the past two decades.  When a Health and Wellness program has been engaged regularly for a year, savings-to-cost has been identified as 3 dollars saved for each 1 dollar invested.

The savings are seen in areas such as:

  • medical costs
  • company loyalty
    e.g. providing extra assistance occasionally without request for reward, simply for benefit of company
  • attract better workers
  • absenteeism
  • worker’s compensation costs
  • short-term disability
  • increased productivity
  • retain better workers


Positive Work Environment

Health and Wellness programs target health but they also create a more dynamic working enviornment.  By presenting a group culture with talks and engaging in activities, an organizational culture is fostered which is full of vitality, motivation and synergy.

As a long term strategy for strong working relationships, Health and Wellness programs create a better team environment allowing for the reduction of office stress and poor working relationship, giving more productive team dynamics.


Long Term Tax Implications

As tax payers, we are only too aware of the amount of money going into the health system for preventable diseases and illnesses sparked by poor health and obesity, such as diabetes, sleep apnea and heart disease.

By reducing the negative effects which obesity can cause on a body, there will be less strain put on the health care system and taxes could potentially be reduced.

As noted above, in Australia just 30 minutes a day extra exercise could save them $1.5 billion a year in associated health care costs. By being one company engaging positively in pro-active endeavours to reduce potentially preventable diseases, others may follow your example, assisting in easing your current tax rates.


Reduced Absenteeism

As an employer, the cost of staff absenteeism is prohibitive.

Healthy staff will have less sick days.  They will have fewer days when they are sluggish or slow starting.  They will also be more productive when they are present in the office, factory or place of work.

In more phsyical jobs, by having more alert, fitter and healthier staff, you can potentially reduce factory or workshop accidents. Resulting in less compensation claims and sick days, which reduce your running costs.

But management must have a positive stance towards the Health and Wellness Program.  Management must allowing employees time during the week for the relevant activities or talks, and to be seen proactively encouraging staff to participate.

Staff will follow their leaders.  If management are not engaged, and encouraging of, the Health and Wellness program the employees could lose interest and the money invested will be wasted.

If you are anxious about the implementation or cost of it, start small!

Get a free demo from Salus Massage and talk to us about engaging in a three-six month Corporate Chair Massage program to see the benefits for yourself!


In The Future...

Although it is not something that is in place within Ireland yet, in the USA, companies engaging in a Health and Wellness program are given reductions in health insurance.

Currently (March 2011) Quinn Healthcare and VHI do not provide such reductions, but by engaging in a program, and alerting your healthcare provider of the steps you are taking to reduce claims, it may some day become the norm to implement benefits.



How can we implement a Health and Wellness Program?

Identify Your Business' Need

Gone are the days where Health and Wellness programs are just for large corporations - every business can reap the rewards of savings and every employee benefit from the better work environment and health.

We at Salus Massage would recommend starting small and engaging in a three to six month Office Chair Massage with Indian Head Massage program whch will be a kick start to getting your employees engaged and allow you to monitor costs and benefits for a reasonable price.  Contact us for a free demo!

After such time, you can start looking at free/low cost activities such as:

  • lunch time walks
  • flexi-time for staff who engage in walks or runs
  • providing fruit in offices each day
  • agree with staff to 'turn off' the vending machine one day a week
  • hosting half hour lunch time talks from guest speakers in health industry, such as heart or cancer associations

And then work your way up to offering your staff health checks, opportunities to get flu vaccination, reduced costs for local gym membership... the list is endless, but so are the rewards!

A study conducted at Bowling Green State University (Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, June 1996) concluded that one 15-minute application per week reduced employee anxiety levels, leading to "better morale, improved productivity, better decision-making and ultimately better performance. From a cost perspective, this study provided support of the positive effects of massage therapy intervention in a context that is...feasible for the work environment.

Touch Research Institute

Engaging in activities can be daunting for some staff, so everyone should take it easy and at their own pace, but by providing and promoting a healthy work environment for your staff, they will feel rewarded, healthier, happier and will work in a more productive, focused and less stressed fashion.

As an employer you will see improved work relations, decreasing absenteeism, increased productivity, and potentially increased profits, when engaged for an extended duration of time.

Book a FREE Demonstration

To see how easily Salus Corporate Massage can be incorporated into your work place, you can book a FREE demonstration by email info@salusmassage.ie or call Jenny on 087-9974830

 

  • All our massage therapists are fully qualified and insured.
  • We travel to your premises so you can benefit from our specialist chair massage treatments onsite, and at your convenience.
  • The corporate chair massage & Indian head massage uses muscle manipulation, pressure points and energy balancing, while the client is comfortably seated on our specially designed chairs.
  • Our corporate chair massages are un-intrusive; the client remains fully clothed and no oils or creams are used.
  • Salus chair massages can be easily incorporated into your working day. Each treatment takes 15 minutes, so that no employee is away from their desk for long.
  • We do all the necessary organisation and scheduling in close liaison with your HR department, allowing your staff to know their designated massage time.
  • All we need is for you to provide a suitable room or space to work in, and we provide the equipment required.
  • Each employee will arrive to the room where we will create a relaxing environment with calming music. It is optional to have an aromatherapy diffuser in the room.
  • Our service can be easily integrated into your workplace, bringing great benefits with no disruption to operations.