Australian workers’ compensation figures consistently reveal that physical and psychological injuries pose a costly burden to the Australian economy. Since the 1980s, many employers have increasingly been providing workplace massage programs to their staff as one initiative to redress this trend. Masseurs have promoted the effectiveness of this intervention for improving musculoskeletal disorders and reducing stress, and claim massage therapy contributes toward increased employee engagement with the workplace, thus resulting in increased productivity and reduced levels of absenteeism. Clearly, one of the underlying aims for employers in providing such facilities is to prevent and manage work-related injuries and stress.
However, notwithstanding these claims, there remains a paucity of scholarly literature investigating: (a) reasons why managers implement and subsidise workplace massage, (b) what employees feel are the work-related effects such programs, and, (c) the therapeutic intentions of masseurs who offer this therapy. Using three conceptually linked studies, this thesis explores the stories of managers, employees, and therapists in order to gain a greater understanding of their perceptions about the overall benefits of workplace massage.