If any niche has been exposed to overwhelming stress levels, it’s almost certainly law firms.

And while we could talk all day about why being a lawyer is stressful, the point to get across is that there are numerous ways to help practicing lawyers and administrative staff manage stress levels in a safe and healthy manner. Finding a tailored solution unique to your firm can not only empower your attorneys, but the staff that supports them as well. Employee wellness – more specifically corporate massage – is one stress management technique that leaves a positive impact on mental health around the office.

But as you know, law firms operate a little differently than a typical corporate setting. Read on to learn how corporate massage can benefit your lawyers, paralegals, and other admin staff no matter what legal area you practice within.

Why Law Firms Should Consider Corporate Massage

A highly demanding field such as law requires relentless work ethic. Those who work in the legal field are not only often perfectionists by nature, but thrive under pressure. Working in high stress conditions like this can take a toll on mental health in no time. Exploring corporate massage opens a door of convenient, effective opportunities for all employees within your firm. We’ve found that on-site massage programs are ideal for these types of environments and promote positive workplace culture across every department.

Who Benefits From On-Site Wellness Programs?

There’s so much more to operating a law firm than the lawyers who represent clients. While practicing attorneys may be the face of your firm, it’s important to show gratitude for the supporting staff that keeps everything in motion. Our trained massage therapists travel to your law firm and set up a space that’s isolated so other employees won’t be distracted.

Administrative & Supporting Staff

No matter if you have receptionists, records clerks, legal secretaries, paralegals, or accountants on payroll, these administrative roles play a big part in your firm’s long term success. They bring unique organizational and communication skills that maintain excellence in the smallest of details. However, this doesn’t come without increased stress loads. Investing in an on-site corporate massage package gives a much deserved break (and reward) employees can look forward to. The benefits can be felt almost immediately. Each massage helps release tension stored in the body that can build up over time and even boost the immune system!

When the people in these supportive roles are at ease, operations flow more smoothly because their stress levels are lighter – freeing up the mind to take on more and find their stride again.

Practicing Lawyers

Winning cases comes with a cost. Attorneys are all too familiar with the ongoing stress that comes with this profession. A routine corporate massage improves stress management, as well as posture and increases productivity levels. It helps keep a clear head when taking on a big case that requires undivided attention.

A Little Wellness Goes A Long Way In Taking Care Of Your Staff

Choosing to invest in employee wellness is a huge step towards implementing progressive benefits. While these benefits can appear obvious, corporate massage has lasting effects that help transform operations into well-oiled machines. Lower stress levels improve communication, productivity, and can even keep us in good health. Both supportive/administrative staff and practicing attorneys have much to gain from corporate massage – all you have to do is take the next step:

Build A Custom Corporate Massage Program For Your Law Firm

Law firms require a special tact when it comes to employee benefits. We’ve helped numerous legal professionals redefine their employee benefits in a way that prioritizes mental and physical health.

Could a custom massage program empower your unique office dynamic and culture? Let us know and get a custom quote!

There’s never been a more confusing time for business leaders regarding the “right” way to encourage office-based employees to return to work. Some are experimenting with hybrid work models while others are looking for 100% participation in returning to the office.

The catch? What’s best for one business may not apply to another. This is why companies must expand their horizons and introduce fun incentives and meaningful benefits to get employees back into the office.

But first, let’s dive into the pros and cons of hybrid versus traditional (5-days/week) work models.

Hybrid vs. Full Return Work Models

When COVID-19 had us locked in our homes, we had no choice but to find new norms in every aspect of life: family, friends, school, and work. But now we’ve established new normals, and many business leaders are considering resuming a traditional workweek – or something relatively close. The last few years have been particularly hard to create and maintain workplace culture. Zoom meetings can only go so far, especially when you’re onboarding new employees or introducing fresh policies. As a result, many employers want to entice teams back to the office and provide a space for connection and collaboration.

Most employees on the other hand have come to know and love working from home, so much in fact that they’re seeking hybrid schedules to continue this take on work-life balance. And who can blame them? This ongoing struggle of not wanting to return to the office, but needing to have a designated space for collaboration has employees and employers seeking common ground to find a win-win solution.

4 Ways To Get Your Team Excited About Returning To The Office

It’s ultimately up to business leaders if they want to implement either a hybrid or 100% in-office model. We encourage all leaders to listen to their team and consider the true cost of completely eliminating a hybrid model. If your business allows for it, work towards finding that sweet spot that supports work-life balance through days at home and in the office. With that said, encouraging employees to return to the office has more opportunities than one may think. Morale can be boosted across the board when there’s something to gain for coming to work. If you find yourself at a crossroads, consider these unique ways to get everyone excited about coming into the office.

Host A Welcome Back Party

Even workplaces adopting hybrid schedules can benefit from a welcome back party. Hosting this event in your office’s conference or break room is a great way to bring employees together. Send out a poll prior to the event and get a group vote on catering or any games you have planned to break the ice.

Provide Peace Of Mind With Safety & Cleaning Procedures

Sanitation and cleanliness is top of mind for most of us nowadays. Make sure employees know they’re in-office working environments are being cleaned with commercial-grade products to ensure their safety and wellbeing.

Revisit Company Goals & Objectives

WFH life showed us the majority of meetings can be summarized just fine via email. However, holding a meeting to revisit company goals and objectives should be done in-person. You can use the current climate to draw parallels on how you plan to move your company in the right direction. Most importantly – how your employees and their presence in the office contribute to the bigger picture.

Expand Your Employee Benefits To Include Wellness Packages

Many of our clients see major employee participation when they upgrade their benefits package in the form of a return to the office incentive. Incorporating wellness packages that aid stress management are one of the top benefits employees are looking for. Corporate massage is huge when it comes to keeping stress levels at an all time low. It not only gives your team a well deserved break, but communicates that you – their employer – see them as people who deserve benefits that prioritize their mental (and physical) health.

Implementing corporate massage is a breeze for any kind of office or corporate setting. Our process is designed to work with hybrid, virtual, and complete in-office environments. Never worry about safety, cleanliness, or professionalism. We use the best massage therapists in the country to ensure your experience is one-of-a-kind.

Help Your Employees Grow With Your Company, Not Against

Today’s business leaders are finding themselves in uncharted waters. When deciding how to return to the office, keep in mind that there are pros and cons to both hybrid and 100% in-office work models. Should you decide to transition employees back to work, consider welcoming them with a company-sponsored party and use that time to bring them up to speed on new goals/objectives, as well as incentivize new work models with benefit upgrades that promote overall wellness.

Body Techniques is well-versed in preparing businesses just like yours to come back to the office. Get a customized return to work plan when you schedule a call today.

Moms truly do it all. On top of being full-time caregivers and teachers, they also have to factor in how to support their children and make ends meet. The pressure COVID-19 added to working moms made it nearly impossible to be fully present at work, home, and in their childrens’ lives.

If the last few years have taught us anything, it’s that the time is now to introduce supportive practices that set working moms up for success. Some may argue that we should leave our personal life at the door when we start our work day… And to that we say: there is no clocking in and out as a parent. It’s a full-time, 24/7/365 role that has zero breaks. Because of this, employers must implement progressive benefits to set moms up for success.

Avoid Burnout With Supportive Employee Benefits

Factoring in the amount of pressure on working moms already, failure to introduce benefits that help working moms could result in burnout. This doesn’t require you to create a special program specifically for moms only. Think about new perks or incentives that benefit everyone – including working moms. You’ll find that when employees see you’re doing your part to create a healthy work-life balance, morale is higher and productivity levels rise across every department.

Give Employees Some Breathing Room With Progressive Working Norms

So, what programs can benefit all employees and give moms some time to catch their breath? How are employers supposed to keep operations humming in a way that keeps everyone sane? It all starts with taking a step back (and a deep breath) to look at the bigger picture:

Hybrid Work Schedules

Hybrid work models are quickly becoming an optimal solution to offer employees the work-life balance they need – especially for working moms. Some days are reserved for remote focus work and others are spent in the office to collaborate and move the company forward. This model replaces the corporate norms we once knew and gives us opportunities throughout the day to tune in with our personal lives, be it catching up on some laundry in between tasks or making lunch for the little ones at home.

Finding a win-win hybrid work schedule gives workers the space they need to put their heads down and knock out tasks, while creating a supportive workplace culture at the same time.

PTO: Paid Time Off aka Prepare The Others

Depending on who you ask, PTO can mean a few different things. While universally understood as “paid time off” younger generations like millennials and Gen Z joke that it stands for “prepare the others”.

And they have a point…

It’s not so much about what PTO stands for, rather the principle of employees giving proper notice that they will be out of the office and employers should do their part to equip their team for said employee’s absence. This falls into the work-life balance mentioned earlier. Working moms need PTO just as much as the rest of your staff and how they choose to use their PTO is entirely their prerogative. Instead of finding yourself amid the thousands of businesses suffering from the ongoing Great Resignation try implementing a reformed PTO policy and set expectations that make sense with today’s working norms.

Workplace Amenities For New Moms

If a hybrid work model isn’t feasible with your operations, consider providing resources at work for new moms. Designating a private lactation room new moms can reserve for 30-minute time slots would go a long way in creating a supportive work environment for new moms on your team.

Another way to bridge the gap between family and work life is access to childcare. Progressive businesses have found that employer-sponsored childcare has helped not only attract, but retain the best workers out there. Interestingly enough, ​​55% of parents said they would accept a lower salary if childcare were to be offered as an employee benefit.

Offering workplace amenities like these not only helps working mothers, but shows your entire staff you care about their wellbeing and lives outside of the office.

Equal Maternity & Paternity Leave

New dads only get a small fraction of the time off from work that new moms do. And while that’s for a variety of physical reasons that doesn’t mean that paternity leave should be any less than maternity leave. New parents need some time to find their footing in this new chapter of life as they get used to the ebbs and flows of parenting. The benefits of extended paternity leave are not only personal, but also helps working moms ease back into the office successfully. With dad at home too, moms have more support behind the scenes to focus on their careers instead of a newborn 24/7.

Workplace Wellness Programs To Empower Mental Health

Implementing workplace wellness programs not only builds chemistry between your employees and their departments, but promotes long-term mental health. Stress management programs like corporate massage, yoga and meditation, and virtual wellness keep the creative juices flowing and productivity levels at an all time high. We all know moving bodies are happy bodies, which ultimately improve our mood, cognitive function, and communication as a whole, so why not explore how workplace wellness can empower your employees?

Working Moms (And Dads) Benefit From Employer-Sponsored Support

Corporate America is evolving right in front of us. Employers must learn that in order to attract the best talent out there, they must have programs in place that support work-life balance. This is imperative for new moms (and dads). Hybrid work models and amenities like lactation stations/rooms, employer-sponsored childcare, and stress management programs all play a huge role in supporting working parents so they can give their children the attention they need without getting behind on daily tasks. When we create environments that empower our employees, we retain people who move our company forward.

Is your workplace shifting? Body Techniques has helped thousands of brands implement progressive policies to support new moms and sustain healthy work-life balances. Talk to us today about your goals for 2022 and get professional insight on the best next step.

We live in a day and age where there is a new “business as usual” unfolding. Some companies are shifting to 100% remote work, while others are adopting a hybrid model to give employees the flexibility to choose where they work on a day-to-day basis. This can create a problem for business leaders as they continue to find their footing in this changing environment. A simple, yet effective way to unite all employees – no matter where they are – is virtual team building exercises for.

Read on to learn more about what you can do as an employer to keep all departments synchronized using tools such as Zoom, Google Meets, and virtual wellness platforms.

Hybrid Working Models Are Here To Stay

Hybrid work models are becoming increasingly popular in every industry, but what makes a work model “hybrid”? In short, it gives employees the option to either work from home completely, or for a few days a week and come into the office for more team-focused collaboration. Commercial environments from healthcare to tech and even small businesses are benefiting from hybrid work models as the dust settles from two plus years of button up shirts with pajama pants and making sure we’re not on mute before contributing to an online meeting. This not only offers employees some well-deserved work-life balance, but it also helps businesses cut on utility costs and other expenses that can add up from a managerial standpoint.

So, what’s the catch?

This may seem like a win-win, but working from home has its own set of consequences that often leave employees feeling disconnected from fellow colleagues and employers as a whole. Virtual team building exercises lay the foundation to help people connect and engage with one another. You can hire the best talent out there, but without internal trust between departments and team leaders, the outlook can be grim for most businesses.

Build Team Chemistry No Matter Where Your Employees Are

Designating a time and space for your team to come together is the first step towards virtual team building. Depending on the inner workings of your business structure, there may be certain activities that are more suitable for your employees over others.

Virtual Yoga & Meditation

Our clients have found the most effective methods for team building can be found through company-sponsored programs like virtual wellness. Online yoga and meditation classes equip employees with mental tools to keep stress levels low while connecting with their coworkers through a shared practice.

Company-Sponsored Online Fitness Classes

It’s no secret that working out boosts endorphins. By introducing virtual fitness classes, your employees can work on mind-body connection and bond with one another at the same time. Our virtual wellness program is designed to keep your team tuned in and active as they build team chemistry and motivate one another to persevere.

Keep Daily Communications Human

If your office uses instant messaging tools like Slack, try introducing Slack bots to keep remote and in-office staff connected. Slack bots can be programmed to humanize employee interactions and group channels. Use GIFs to celebrate employee birthdays, create automated messages for weekly data recaps, set up reward systems, and break the ice as you introduce new hires to the team.

Improve Trust, Productivity, & Morale With Unique Exercises For Team Building

Just because we don’t work like we used to doesn’t mean we can’t come together to empower one another. Don’t let changing work dynamics and hybrid models handicap your operations. Virtual team building exercises make these important get-togethers accessible for everyone and establish trust between departments, leaders, and new hires.

Body Techniques specializes in virtual team building exercises and can guide you in the right direction when it comes to designing a program unique to your business. Learn more about our approach to employee wellness and how we can help unify your team.

6 Ways You Can Show Appreciation to Your Employees

Whether you own a business or manage a team, you know your employees are one of your most valuable resources. But many companies struggle to show adequate appreciation for the people working to keep the business thriving, with challenges such as daily projects with tight deadlines and continually shifting priorities. This can result in a cycle of constant turnover of skilled and talented employees. 

Showing your employees appreciation can boost morale, promote loyalty, increase productivity, and improve the overall wellbeing of your team. Creating space for gratitude and connection helps cultivate a culture that increases individual creativity, all while supporting overall company growth and expansion. We call that a win-win!

If you want to retain experienced workers with knowledge and skill of the work at hand, employee appreciation has to be a normal practice in your business. Pizza parties are a great start, but we’re pushing to help empower leaders to do more for their staff. 

Here are a few ways business owners, CEOs or company managers can show their gratitude and appreciation to employees who are making a positive contribution toward helping their company succeed.

Touch Base With Employees Regularly

Making time for daily interactions with your team is one way to connect and share appreciation. If you’re in the office, try to greet your team at the start of the day. It doesn’t have to be formal, a “hello” as you fill your coffee cup or a quick chat on the way to a meeting is all you need to check in and connect. For remote teams, make yourself available to pings and chats. Setting up a fun chat where the team can share lighthearted GIFs and stories can be a great way to connect while remote. Our BT team has a handful of chats we use, from sports to plants, crystals, and pets, and people can opt-out as they please. It’s a fun break during the day that helps to keep the team connected as humans as we log into and out of meetings.

Another way to touch base with your staff is by recognizing their accomplishments publicly during a staff meeting or by sending a personal thank you note to acknowledge your appreciation of the good work they’re doing. It’s often the little gestures of thanks that people value most. By showing your employees appreciation, you help create a positive, satisfying, productive work environment that people look forward to. You’ll also retain valuable personnel that your company needs in order to move forward in the years ahead.

 Listen & Take Appropriate Action

Listening to your employees and enacting change when necessary shows that you appreciate and value their input. Every company needs a way of collecting feedback from their workforce to get a clear picture of what’s happening at the ground level of their business. Creating space for open, honest communication is the first step, the second is taking action on the information you learn to make your workplace a better work environment for everyone.

One way to keep the lines of communication open is to set up an effective HR department that looks out for the interests of your employees. Whether your workers are airing grievances, sharing safety concerns, or seeking professional or emotional support, your company’s HR department should be able to meet their needs. As a leader, you can show appreciation for your workforce by hiring competent, caring HR people who have a heart for those who work hard to make your business succeed.

Offer a Fully Remote or Flex Schedule

Listening to your employees gives you a better idea of what works and what doesn’t work in your business when it comes to worker productivity. Ineffectual work schedules are often at the top of the list. One way to tackle this obstacle and show appreciation to those who deserve it is to ffoer flexible work hours or remote work opportunities to the hard-working members of your team. 

The last two years have taught us that many roles can be successfully shifted out of the office and into remote work. Remote work can help employees enjoy a better work-life balance, flexible hours, and the ability to work from anywhere. Meanwhile, employers can benefit from increased productivity and lower overhead costs. There are plenty of productivity-boosting benefits that come with working remotely, such as:

• No commute: This is probably the most popular remote work perk. When you work from home, you eliminate your commute entirely. This can save time and money on things such as gas, car maintenance, and so on..
• More relaxed dress code: With remote work, there’s no need to get all dressed up for an office setting. You can rock your favorite pair of sweats or yoga pants all day long.
• Increased focus and concentration: When you work from home, there are fewer distractions and interruptions. This can help you get into a flow state more easily and boost your productivity.
• Access to more flexible hours: With remote work, you often have more control over your schedule. This can be a huge benefit if you have kids, need to take care of an elderly parent, or simply prefer to work odd hours.
• Increased sense of work-life balance: When you’re not tied to a 9-to-5 schedule, it’s easier to maintain a healthy work-life balance. This can lead to improved mental and physical health, as well as increased productivity.

Overall, everyone can benefit from remote work in some way or another. It allows us to create a more productive and efficient workforce, all while a load of laundry gets washed.

Offer Time Off

Giving an employee time off is a great way to show your appreciation, especially after a particularly busy project or stressful season. After completing a major project or accomplishing a sought-after goal, schedule some paid leave for those who have earned it. You can schedule the PTO so that your team isn’t left short-handed or have employees choose a time that’s convenient or helpful for them.

Everyone needs a little R&R from time to time. It’s a good way of showing your workers you value them and their health and welfare. Time off is important to prevent burnout. A hectic work schedule that requires working late to stay on top of timely projects can put employees at risk of burnout. Burnout can lead to a range of problems, including alcohol or drug abuse. A few days off (with pay, of course) gives people time to recharge, mentally and physically. 

Offer Training and Opportunities for Advancement

Giving your employees career training, cross-training, and opportunities for advancement shows that you care about their future. Like you, your workers have goals and dreams. Most people want to advance in their careers and are on the lookout for opportunities to develop their talents and skills. If you offer training programs that help people learn and grow, it will only benefit your business in the long run. This is another one of those win-wins, as you invest in your team they increase their skill set. By giving your people opportunities to advance and take on more responsibility, you show your workers you value what they have to offer and want to invest in their future.

Invest in Wellness

Employees spend long hours at work. So it’s important to make the office as welcoming as possible. One way to do that is by providing programs and benefits that focus on their overall mental and physical health. Whether it’s on-site gym access, corporate massage, or time off to volunteer for causes they support, your employees will be happier, which will increase productivity and reduce healthcare costs.

A Little Gratitude Goes A Long Way

These are a few of the many ways you can show appreciation to your employees. In turn, you’ll retain your workforce and grow them into a tight-knit team. Employees who are valued and appreciated are happier, more productive, and more inclined to go above and beyond in their daily tasks. When you consistently show appreciation for your employees, you help establish a work culture where your people can thrive and look forward to building a future with your company.

Making mental health resources accessible for health care workers is no longer a desired benefit, but a necessity. As most doctors, hospital administrators, and patient care managers know – sound mental health requires a lot more work than the occasional day off of work. From maintaining healthy diets to company-sponsored massage, employee wellness is attainable with the right stress management program in place. 

Read on to learn how implementing just a few employee wellness best practices around your healthcare facility can keep staff in the right state of mind to continue helping those in need. 

How To Implement Stress Management Programs For Health Care Workers

When narrowing down employee wellness options consider asking your nurses, receptionists, hygienists, and administrators what they need in order to maintain a healthy work-life balance. Starting this conversation shows your employees that you see them as real people and not just a means to an end. This can be done in the form of an email survey or hosting a company meeting to get their feedback. Body Techniques has several options to help you implement wellness best practices specific to the healthcare industry. With our expertise, you can easily show gratitude to your employees.

Employee Wellness Ideas For Health Care Workers

We’re all too familiar with the saying, “Actions speak louder than words.” This also rings true for prioritizing employee wellness. Giving your faculty and staff guidelines for maintaining a healthy work-life balance equips them with different outlets to look and feel their best. As a result, they’re happier at work and more productive in their daily roles. Our clients tend to see the most success from their company-sponsored stress management program when it’s supported by additional mental health best practices:

Keep Healthy Snacks Around The Office Or Breakroom

While everyone loves a mental health donut every now and then, we all know that sugar is one of the worst things someone can consume when they’re having a bad day. Instead of surprising the office with sweets, try keeping fruits and/or vegetables around for your employees to snack on throughout the day. If this isn’t feasible for your medical practice, an engaging alternative could be hosting a monthly potluck where everyone brings in their favorite healthy dish. These events not only build morale amongst your staff, but equip their bodies with the right foods to power through each shift.

Create A Collaborative Work Playlist

Find the right tune and you’ll improve just about anyone’s mood. If your healthcare facility allows, create a playlist that employees can add their favorite work-appropriate songs to. If your practice doesn’t have speakers throughout the office, try adding a bluetooth speaker to your breakroom or employee lounge to help ground your staff when they need to take a break.

Host Lunch & Learn Sessions

A huge part of employee wellness is nurturing growth. Host a quarterly lunch and learn session to keep staff members at the forefront of any updates either within their field, or something totally off the wall and fun!

Stress Less With Corporate Massage

Corporate massage is quickly becoming a must in terms of maintaining mental health for doctors, EMTs, nurses, practitioners, and really everyone who works in healthcare. Body Techniques has helped hundreds of medical practices empower their employees through corporate massage. The most successful? Roaming massage.

If you’re wondering to yourself, “What is a roaming massage?” It’s an all-encompassing solution for busy healthcare facilities (like hospitals and urgent care) that brings a much needed massage right to your staff. One of our certified massage therapists meets your nurses on their floors or stations and provides a chair massage. This is ideal for nurses who are sitting in front of their computers or need a mental health break after charting.

Encourage Balance, Not Burnout

Keeping your staff in the best mental state possible is essential to operate a successful medical practice. Body Techniques is here to help you turn the page when it comes to prioritizing employee wellness. By taking the time to hear what your staff is looking for in terms of work-life balance, you can create a custom program that meets their needs so they can, in turn, provide the highest quality of care to your patients.

Getting started is easy – talk to us today to learn the value of maintaining mental health at work.