A bit of manipulation will boost your career

Working in such close proximity to Soho, the Diary is quite used to being offered a relaxing massage during the working day. Sometimes the kindly masseuses even stand on corners in Berwick Street offering their services during the lunch hour.

However, not everyone is lucky enough to work in such an enterprising area of England. Take Warrington or Leeds for instance, located in the wonderful North of the country, which is so much better than horrible, nasty London (hopefully this will stop the deluge of “stop taking the rise out of the North you southern jessies” letters that the Diary usually receives when it mentions our whippet-breeding, cloth cap-wearing cousins at the end of the M1).

People in cooler climes have slightly higher moral standards than the Diary, anyway, so Leeds- and Warrington-based JDA Group has enlisted a qualified therapist and masseuse to help it “reduce psychological hazards” in the workplace.

JDA, which, given the context of the story rather worryingly claims to be a “full- service agency”, points to research by the Health and Safety Executive claiming that about 500,000 people in the UK suffer from work-related stress.

It adds that the benefits of massage include relief from headaches, muscle tension and eye strain.

Staff at JDA report that they feel recharged and much better prepared to tackle the working day after the massage, which pleases the Diary as, much like the ladies of Soho, it loves a story with a happy finish.

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