Why have we stopped doing company picnics?

Well, maybe we didn't completely stop. But there certainly seem to be much fewer around than there used to be, and even less that are taking advantage of the benefits of massage services. We only get a few months of really good, outdoors weather around Seattle, so companies should take full advantage of it. Company picnics are a great way to show your employees that their work is appreciated and build the morale of your work force.

Sure, company picnics can get that reputation of being kid-friendly events targeted at workers with families. If this is your concern, set it aside. Company picnics don't have to be that way. You can appeal to your staff going stag by offering professional massage at your event. I've managed massage for small companies like Natural Factors and Talking Rain as well as giants like T-Mobile, Nintendo of America, and The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. I know firsthand that offering rejuvenating massages to your staff will increase both the overall attendance to your event and the attendance of employees without kids.

And if you're worried about the cost of such an event, remember that if you structure your picnic as a morale event it is 100% tax deductible. You read that right. And that's not even counting the important dividends massage pays in the form of increased productivity from healthier employees and higher job satisfaction.

No company picnic is too big for The Massage Team. I managed a team of forty-five licensed massage practitioners over the course of three days for Microsoft's last company-wide picnic. When the line reached its peak, the wait for a thirty minute massage (?) was over an hour and a half. And people were happy to do it! Now that's voting with your feet.

I get it. The economy's been in the toilet for the last several years, and you needed to cut costs where you could. But it's on the upswing now, and we've kept our belts cinched for quite a while. Time to let out a couple notches, lean back, and enjoy a relaxing massage for our hard work. We've earned it.