Pros and Cons of a Workplace Chair Massage

Heavy workloads, complicated work problems, angry customers, conflicts with coworkers, bad posture, hunching over your computer desk, and a lot of other issues can make you feel terribly exhausted at work. Office tension and distress can both be physical and emotional. In such a distressing atmosphere, what can be more effective than a few minutes of receiving an enjoyable massage? Can it be possible in the workplace? With workplace chair massage, yes! First of all, let us see what a chair massage is.

Chair massage, also called seated massage, is a type of massage therapy performed on a special chair, instead of a massage table, while the client is fully clothed. The special massage chair is designed in a way that supports the client’s overworked body muscles, including a face cradle to support their head. In this massage type, there is no need for any massage oil, cream, or lotion. Therefore, this massage type is absolutely convenient and does not require the client to take their clothes off, which makes the massage session psychologically comfortable for the client.

Similar to other massage types, a 15-minute chair massage can reduce your muscle strains, help you breathe and sleep better, reduce your tension and stress, and help you stay focused with a higher level of energy. As the client can have their clothes on, this massage type can be applied at public places, especially those who are highly stressed or deals with overly exhausted people, such as airports, events, or conferences. One of these fatiguing places, in which a chair massage can be of tremendous help, is your workplace.

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A busy office can be the source of various complications with physical and emotional adverse effects, whether it is hunching over your computer for long hours or dealing with an angry supervisor or customer. A 15-minute massage session can definitely reduce your physical and emotional issues at work. Workplace chair massage can create a more positive and productive environment, reduce office tension and stress, and increase employees’ efficiency and creativity.

There are several benefits to relaxing chair massages at work. It can increase the employees’ concentration and mental abilities, attention span, mathematical computation and functioning, creative thinking, productivity, alertness and mental power, problem-solving abilities, physical ability and ease, relaxation, motivation, as well as workplace morale and overall happiness. On the other hand, an onsite corporate chair massage can also decrease the level of stress hormones, workplace nervousness and pressures, coworkers’ conflicts and tension, anxiety and troublesome worries, body muscles’ tightness, depression and job stress, and mental exhaustion and fatigue. Diminished physical discomfort, especially in the areas of upper and lower back, neck, and shoulders, is also a substantial benefit to worn-out employees.

Moreover, imagine the wonders a quiet and relaxing room, which smells great with aromatherapy essential oils, can do with providing a restful gap between all the workplace turmoil. Even if the office atmosphere is not very stressful, a brief session of chair massage can undeniably elevate the employees’ productivity and creativity. Reduction of everyday common and mild stress and giving all the ordinary work issues a break can clear the employees’ minds and give room to new and innovative ideas.

With having a workplace chair massage, employees are not the only people who can benefit from a brief session of chill-out. The employers, themselves, can have chair massages and greatly benefit from its physical and emotional effects. Other than receiving all the positive effects mentioned in the above section, employers can benefit from the long-time and positive side effects of giving their employees relaxing breaks. By increasing the employees’ productivity and performance, the employers will spend lower time and costs on reaching the business’ favored results.

Other than higher workplace productivity, lower health care costs can also benefit employers. Increased breathing and sleeping quality, lower headache and physical problems, balanced blood pressure, as well as enhanced functionality of the immune system can substantially decrease employees’ health issues. In addition, massage therapy can lessen the number of employees’ missed workdays caused by depression or physical problems such as neck pain and lower back pain.

By having the luxury of a massage therapy session, your employees will feel more appreciated and valued. As a result, they will be more likely to remain loyal to your company, even if they are not fully satisfied with their work conditions. Higher employees’ loyalty and satisfaction can enhance employees’ performance and cut their turnover rate. In order to make the massage’s positive effects perpetual, the office can think of a separate and permanent massage room and also one or two professional massage therapist(s). As this type of massage is performed while the client is sitting on a chair, a chair massage room/booth is not required to be established in a large space. A room of 3×3 m² or 10×10 ft² is enough.

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Now that we have understood the benefits of having a chair massage room at the office, we can take a look at the probable negative impacts of a workplace chair massage. On the face of it, having a relaxed and quiet room with all massage appliances and one or two massage experts at a busy office full of more serious and complicated problems may seem unnecessary and superfluous. One may think that leaving the desk and all job-related issues for several minutes may distract an employee, let alone all the extra time, space and costs a workplace massage session can take. However, in actual fact, no such problems or concerns come with workplace massage session.

• Better than other alternatives: Firstly, think of spending the break time on a massage chair. This is certainly much better than spending your break time over an argumentative discussion with one of your coworkers in the office or your spouse on the phone. It is also much healthier than smoking on the office’s terrace. Taking a book to read or playing music on your iPad can also be relaxing; however, they may in a way be tiring for your eyes and ears, body organs which can be utterly relaxed during a chair massage session.
• Greater focus: Interestingly, a workplace chair massage session can be more of a mind-clearing aid rather than distractions. Attention span and concentration are fairly low when one is in pain. Resolving neck and shoulder knots will unquestionably help you to focus better and diminish your stress level. Employees who have received a few minutes of mind and body relaxation will surely come back to work more attentive, focused, alert, and refreshed.
• Not a waste of time or money: The time and money spent on massage sessions can be shared between employers and employees. However, as discussed previously, the long-term positive effects of massage therapy at work can compensate for any type of cost. Having higher employee efficiency and productivity can actually be a time and money saver in the long run. Any probable issue, regarding scheduling or arranging the sessions in a way that all colleagues can benefit from the program, can be managed by setting an online sign-up sheet on the company’s website. Moreover, employees can receive reminder emails about their arrangements and appointments prior to their massage sessions.

The session numbers and durations depend on what employers and employees need. It also depends on the number of coworkers and the money intended to be invested in massages. Massage sessions can be held weekly, monthly, or bi-monthly for each individual. The duration can last from 10 to 30 minutes; however, a 15-minute massage suffices to relax the workers and increase their performance and concentration. Moreover, considering the number of massage staff present at the office, the number of possible massage sessions per day can be different. The massage therapist, themselves, should be energetic and focused enough in order to perform an efficient massage treatment.