Here is another reason to include massage therapy as part of a workplace-wellness program: Employee perceptions of work conditions can have a big impact on an employer’s bottom line.

According to a new report in Perspectives on Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, researchers studied more than 2,000 businesses, including retail stores, factories and sales offices.

They surveyed employees on level of satisfaction, and also looked at employee retention rates, customer loyalty and financial performance of the organizations.

Analyses of the data were conducted to identify relationships between employee job satisfaction and outcome measures of the organizations.

“The results indicate that employee work perceptions predict important organizational outcomes—if employees have positive perceptions of their jobs, their organizations benefit via higher employee retention, increased customer loyalty and improved financial outcomes,” stated an association press release. “Interestingly, the analysis suggests that employee perceptions affect outcomes more than outcomes affect employee perceptions of their jobs.”

In 2009 MASSAGE Magazine reported on a pilot study that found that employer-funded massage therapy resulted in both increased job satisfaction and decreased severity of pain among employees; and on another study that showed employee wellness programs save employers money.

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• Workplace Depression Hurts-Can Massage Help?

• Working Overtime Increases Stress