Massage Employers - what do they want?
While I was doing research today on jobs in massage therapy, I happened upon this interesting powerpoint presentation on abmp.com in the massage school alliance section. This is what they listed about what employers say about Gen Y employees (as corrected by Ann from ABMP in comments section):
- A sense of entitlement
- Bright, but deficient in initiative and energy
- Will not sacrifice outside activities for job advancement
- A sense of entitlement
- Quality of personal life more important than advancement
- Low tolerance for “meaningless work” even if well paid.
- Unlikely to volunteer, even for good cause.
- Strongly connected to peer group and pack mentality.
- Cynical about job security.
At first when I was reading it, I was thinking about all of the things that I can tell massage therapists to do to set themselves apart from others and create or find their ideal job in massage.
- Understand that the employer is taking a risk by hiring you and building a massage practice. They have overhead and bills and want to make a profit. You are being given a chance to participate and excel if you so choose.
- Show an interest in every part of the business so you know what is going on.
- Look for ways to always be improving your work and the presentation of the business
- Even though the employer is responsible for getting you clients, your massage is what makes the difference. Take care of yourself so that you can be present in each massage.
- Make each massage exceptional and made for each person’s needs. While having a routine is a good place to start from, each person is different and needs different things.
But then I started thinking that some of the things that are listed are just about the massage therapists finally standing up for themselves and doing things like asking for time in between sessions or asking for what they need. Who ever said that advancement has to mean that you sacrifice your personal life or professional life?
Is this just a reflection of massage therapists being taken advantage of for so long? Is this just a reflection of massage therapists finally beginning to value themselves and their work enough to ask for what they need?
So there are two sides to the whole employer/employee relationship. As I am studying and learning about the therapeutic relationship and how people heal in relationships, I can also see that work is just another area where we project all of our unmet needs. The employer has power over the employee. Whenever there is a power differential, there is a potential for projection. We think employers will meet our needs for feeling needed and valuable. We think that we are entitled to that. We project these things all over and into our issues around money as money really is about self care and getting needs met.
When I first started doing massage in 1987, there weren’t any jobs in massage - or hardly any. If anything, most people were independent contractors and many still are. Today there are more jobs and the employers are not massage therapists so they may lack an understanding of what massage really does. We have the opportunity to start teaching massage employers how to treat massage therapists and to teach them what massage is really all about. We can do that by doing more research and taking a more pro-active part in creating and finding ideal jobs in massage therapy.
I seem to only get horror stories about massage therapists working for chiropractors, spas and other places. Massage therapist being made to clean and work for minimum wage when they don’t have clients even though it has little to do with them. Massage therapists working for $12-$15 an hour when the employer is charging well over $60 an hour. Massage therapists who are disappointed in the profession as this person voices on Yahoo Answers
Are there any good stories about massage therapy jobs out there?
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October 28th, 2008 at 10:01 am
You raise some very good points, both from the employer’s and the massage therapist’s point of view. I’ve been mostly self-employed over the last seventeen years. I’ve also worked as an “independent subcontractor” a couple of times and as an employee of a hospital twice for the same hospital. Like many other massage therapists, I’ve got a bit of an independent streak. I’ve had some bad experiences working for others, some so-so experiences, and some decent experiences. When I worked for the hospital, there were some problems but the overall experience was pretty good. I really liked my fellow massage therapists and we had a nice camaraderie. We usually were able to successfully negotiate with our bosses when problems arose. Our bosses did not really understand much about what we did and how we did it and would often try to impose rules on us that didn’t work very well. When we talked with them about it, though, it usually got resolved well enough. We needed to educate them. I wasn’t especially patient about having to deal with a bureaucracy but fortunately for me the others were better at it.
Thanks for your website. I’m inspired by it.
October 28th, 2008 at 12:31 pm
I chose to go out on my own after massage school precisely because I wanted to avoid potentially being resentful towards employers and bring that to the table and my clients. I’ve heard similar stories like the ones you reference about the therapists being taken advantage of, and I didn’t want that to happen to me. That being said, starting off on your own is no picnic either, but I am taking the challenge head on! Thanks for all your great articles and good work in the field.
October 28th, 2008 at 5:42 pm
Hey Julie,
I was not surprised to read about how employers feel about therapists. I’m the lead massage trainer in a 5 star spa in Palm beach, FL and a lot of therapists can have this attitude.
Anyway, I happen to love where I work. My employers are completely understanding of a massage therapist’s needs. The pay is awesome…and I’m not talking $30 a massage/hour…double that at least! We have all of the finest equipment to work with; organic massage oils, high thread count sheets, electric tables, etc. And did I mention the view? Our spa overlooks the ocean and the grounds are immaculate.
Of course, there’s always a bit of office politics going on, but I think that’s at every job. And, we don’t get paid an hourly rate, so this can get tough when it’s slow. We just get commission and gratuity from each appointment.
I feel very lucky to have such a great massage job. I’ve heard lots of horror stories, as well.
Christa McCourt, LMT, HTAP
christa@aromatherapyforlife.com
Free aromatherapy tips for good health, healing and organic living at http://www.aromatherapyforlife.com!
October 28th, 2008 at 6:07 pm
I am combining my response to your article synopsis and to the individual who is disillusioned with her massage therapy career. It seems there has been a tremendous ’shift’ in the work ethic of young people … (I’m heading toward 60 … and a LMT for 16 years …).
There seems to be this tremendous sense of entitlement with little self-responsibility. The questions I would ask Barb include: when you went into the art field, did you really expect to be able to support yourself? (the reality is very few ever do …) … and when you decided to shift into massage therapy - how much research did you do about the nature of the profession and the kinds of employment available? Did you research the employment outlook or occupational forecast for massage professionals say, for the next 10 years — If you had, you would have known early own that 85% of us are self-employed and probably always will be. Most of us, when we started our businesses, put in 40-50-60 hours a week - building a practice. Educating the public - speaking to every community group, organization that wanted a speaker … joining Chambers of Commerce — connecting with potential referral resources.
And when you were sitting in these places you rented space in … how much were you doing to develop your own client base? A common (mis)perception is that if you start at a salon … spa — clients will magically appear. You need to be there - offer free chair massage — VOLUNTEER TO sit at the front desk, get your hands on your potential clients - talk with them. Give massages to every salon employee who could potentially refer folks to you - People won’t book with you if they don’t know you or never see you. I’ve had too many students who say they got hired to work in a spa and never invested any time at the spa … expecting their appt book to be filled — incredibly unrealistic!!!
There are many disillusioned nurses that thought they were going to provide hands-on care/healing … who are now re-training to be massage therapists - as a balance for the lack of hands-on work they get to do with their patients.
The biggest + that could come out of all of this - shifting your career twice already and disillusioned both times - is to sit down and figure out what you could have done differently … if you don’t learn from these invaluable mistakes - you’ll just keep repeating them until you learn the lesson.
SPowers
sphands@aol.com
October 28th, 2008 at 7:28 pm
This story really relates. I worked for a chiropractor for one year. They had me trying to do massages while running interferential equipment, cleaning (deep cleaning, because they were afraid I was not doing enough for the pay), filing, etc. The clients were unhappy because I would have to leave them in the middle of the massage and it took twice as long. I was not respected for my credentials.
That is why I went back out on my own. My clients are better taken care of as well as I am. There is nothing wrong with wanting to have balance in your life. You do not have to work til you drop. That is everything against what I teach.
Thank you,
Cathy
November 16th, 2008 at 11:33 am
Anyone notice that it’s not just massage these kids have an attitude about? I thank God my kids are a little older and that wasn’t the fashion when they were in school.
I agree with Alice that education is the answer. First we had to educate everyone that we weren’t prostitutes and now we have to educate employers. Many of them don’t know zip about massage, they bought a franchise to make money (and what are the franchises teaching them about the needs of therapists?). I do think this may vary a bit according to where in the country you are. I had my own business for a long time, then went to work for a spa where the owner treated us very fairly and the split was also fair. However, there are not as many spas in the East and the rates for massage are much higher. I moved to AZ a year ago and here we’re talking $49 average for a massage. That’s about half what I made in New England. There seems to be a massage chain on every corner in Phoenix. Less people seem to have their own businesses and it’s commmon here to hire therapists as employees vs independent contractors. That means the employer is now worried about insurance, retirement, etc. I am 60 and I have a wonderful resume, including teaching. I am also having a horrid time trying to find a massage job. I wanted to work for someone else because I don’t know a soul here. There’s also a glut of massage schools here, all of which offer a ‘degree’. That was unheard of in New England. We got certified and licensed. Well, that’s another topic.
I educate every one of my clients right off the bat. Massage is HEALTH CARE. A responsible school will emphasize that also. I don’t care if you’re giving the fluffiest of fluff massages–it affects the body. I’d like to see some better regulation of schools as to length of course and curriculum that emphasizes this is health care. If you take a 6 month course because the school wants to make money, and your classes are taught by the kid that graduated last year, what can you expect? These kids are also told they’ll make a mint at massage and they won’t have to work much to do it. (If you believe that, I’ve got a bridge in Brooklyn I’d like to sell you.)
I went to school for 2 years and got a VERY through education in anatomy and physiology as well as massage. They also screened the students up through the first course. If you weren’t a fit for massage, you were told so. Sorry but this isn’t the career for you. The courses were college and med school level including an autopsy viewing. I consider myself a professional in health care. My ‘attitude’ is quiet dignity. I’m proud of what I do. It’s not ‘just a living’. I affect a person’s health and I consider that a serious matter. Much like other professions can affect people, I am passionate about massage. I’d do whether I got paid or not because it’s not the money. It’s helping my fellow man stay well. It’s the giving of all that love. On the other hand, I do need to pay the bills.
So maybe we should write AMTA and ABMP and push for more education of the public. Let people know what we do. Get them familiar with the profession. Educate employers to hire on skill, not age and looks. That person on the table wants a first class massage. They don’t care if you’re 20 with a great figure or 50 and fat as long as you give them what they want. Employers need to realize they are not selling glamour here, they are selling health care. BIG difference.
It’s up to you to tell that chiropractor BEFORE you are hired, how you work and what you expect in return. It’s one thing to help clean the office and waiting room because they need it and clients come through there to get to you. It’s another thing to have it be busy work. If you are an independent contractor you don’t get an hourly wage so you and the chiropractor need to work together and you need to fill in with your own clients when you’re slow. If you’re going to be an employee, be sure you know and agree to what ever other duties or chores you’ll be expected to fulfill. And then don’t grumble about them. You are getting benefits you would not get as an independent. Clarity is key.
And thank you, Julie, for your blog here. Feels good to speak up.
November 30th, 2008 at 4:32 am
The ABMP PowerPoint presentation you quoted was not referring to what massage employers are reporting about massage therapists. It is referring to what employers everywhere are reporting about Gen Y workers (people born in Generation Y). So, this information is being taken out of context and is misleading in the way it is currently being presented. The presentation is about how massage schools can build skills necessary for success in Gen Y students. Would you please remove this posting or correct it? Thank you.
Anne Williams
Education Program Director for ABMP
December 2nd, 2008 at 10:56 am
This was very informative. Thanks for the great info!
December 13th, 2008 at 6:59 pm
I would love to write and say something positive as my career as a therapist has been nothing more than a glorified waitress. i have to turn tables and bus my own station just as i did as a wairtress. Yet the trays are getting heavy and the tips are getting weak. There is no pride left in my heart for the spa and the community have bled me to a point of no return. Its feels so horrible to think as i start my massage with the feeling of resentment and the person on the table did nothing but ask for help. So many spas open for the quick cash now that the ecconomy is getting rough so we are not getting paid and they still want the same commitiment from us. Its not happening.
December 13th, 2008 at 9:43 pm
You have let the spa ‘bleed you to a point of no return’. Being a massage therapist is about learning to take care of yourself. Working as an employee can be difficult. It requires that you stand up for yourself and tell employers how you will make them more money if they pay you more. Most massage therapists opt for starting their own business because most massage employers really don’t understand the massage part of the business and what is involved.
Go find a spa that supports you rather than drains you. Teach massage employers how to treat you. Take care of yourself and ask for what you need in terms of money, work, clients etc and don’t stop until you find a place that has all of that for you or you create your own place like that.
I would also recommend supervision to help you get back on track and heal from the burnout you are experiencing.
http://www.massage-career-guides.com/peer-supervision.html
Julie