TALENT TOPICS
BY JAMISON STOIKE
EMPLOYEE EXPECTATIONS
How will COVID-19 affect the spa workforce
in the months and years to come?
Spa industry leaders offer their insights.
THE U.S. SPA INDUSTRY ALONE EMPLOYED 377,900 PEOPLE IN MAY OF 2019, according to the 2019
ISPA U.S. Spa Industry Study, and there were more than 28,000 unstaffed service provider positions. Until this March, a
persistent labor shortage hampered the growth of the industry.
Now, it’s difficult to imagine there being a dearth of service providers and a surplus of positions. The COVID-19
pandemic will likely affect the makeup, expectations and availability of the global spa workforce for years to come. In the
coming months and years, both the passage of time and the work of researchers will reveal the full scale of the effect. Spa
leaders will need to be proactive, though, and anticipate this effect before it fully materializes in order to effectively
attract and retain talented employees with limited revenues and new demands.
To help uncover the potential long-term effects of COVID-19 on the workforce, Pulse spoke with spa industry leaders to
gather their insight into how the expectations of spa professionals will change going forward—and what a spa director
will need to do in response.
LES SWEENEY
President — Associated Bodywork
& Massage Professionals
employees. As states began to shut down
in March, we strongly urged our
members to consider pausing their
practices, honor their state and
county mandates, and keep themselves,
their clients, and their families
safe. For the first time, those
who are independent contractors
have been eligible for government assistance
through the CARES Act. Others
have tried to access SBA loans only to find
that their businesses don’t meet the necessary government
criteria, or were part of the stampede and didn’t get approved
before funding ran out.”
Did the impact of COVID-19 differ for independent
therapists and spa-employed therapists?
“The COVID crisis has put a tremendous strain on massage
therapists, whether they’re independent contractors or
Do you expect that COVID-19 will alter therapists’
preferred compensation structure?
“In this era of social distancing, a number of spas will not
be able to accommodate their maximum guest numbers.
Therapists’ compensation can’t take the hit for these
mandates. In order to retain quality therapists, spa directors
must recast compensation such that therapists aren’t
held accountable for volume, but rather are rewarded for
52 PULSE ■ AUGUST 2020