Pulse October 2020 | Page 65

2 . Now that spas have reopened , spacing out appointments for added sanitation has potentially reduced the earnings of service providers who are paid commission . Will employees be more likely to ask for salaried , non-commission compensation in the future ? Traditionally , massage therapists have preferred a salary , or hourly , commission-based pay structure for hands-on services . We do know of commission-based incentives working for massage therapists , especially when those commissions are focused on package sales , re-bookings and loyalty programs . We must remember that commissions based on product sales of items such as skin care products and cosmetics fall outside of the scope of practice for massage therapists and are best suited for cosmetologists and estheticians .
3 . How has COVID-19 affected how employees interact with their coworkers ? Will it be more difficult to build a cohesive team in the near future ? Will this generation of employees always be more skeptical of being in close quarters with other employees ?
COVID-19 has affected the work structure for a great number of Americans , causing millions of people to work in new formats and even locations . Because massage therapists tend to work in smaller offices and are comfortable working in close contact with their clients , these restrictions have had less of an impact . Remember that massage therapists are licensed professionals who have been trained how to safely work with clients and have hundreds of hours of education around pathologies of all forms , and universal best practices for sanitation . Massage therapists are also part of a small , close-knit community that I believe will remain close even while socially distant .
4 . Do you expect that enhanced sanitation will become a permanent part of a service provider ’ s job responsibilities ? How might this affect other aspects of their role ? Due to the nature of this particular coronavirus and sanitation mandates that have been issued across our nation , about 93 percent of massage therapists have
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