Are massage therapists flaky as a demographic? Someone asked me that question recently: another therapist, actually. We were shaking our heads over tales of therapists not showing up for shifts; therapists throwing fits over one client too many, or one client too few, or one client too pregnant; therapists simply disappearing into the sunset, destination unknown.
Personally, though extremely sensitive and empathic, I’m almost as un-flaky as they come, and so probably unqualifed to answer this question. I’ve almost never been late, and it generally takes an act of God to even get me near being late. I’ve never not showed up for a shift, never disappeared on an employer. That would unprofessional, and in my up-bringing, simply unthinkable. I would be mortified to let my clients down, my employer down, my teammates down. Even thinking of being the cause of that kind of panic, disappointment, and havoc gives me guilty shivers. And I know many therapists just like me in this way.
On the other hand, there’s no denying there’s more than a handful of therapists out there who are flakier than homemade pie crust. And I can’t deny that whenever we hire a new person at my place of business, I send up a silent prayer: “Oh please God, let her be dependable and sane. Oh please, oh please.” I don’t want someone who hires on and then gives notice in two weeks to go to Bali. Or disappears and ends up in Bali. But you can only plan ahead so far and so well. Working both in the corporate world and in the academic world showed me that a person can give a wonderful interview and be a lousy employee or vice versa.
Still . . . lousy or not, corporate and academic employees rarely no-show or just disappear. Why? Probably because they’d get fired and lose their income and benefits. Which, yes, would happen in massage too, only flaky therapists don’t seem to be very moved by such punishments. Nor are they moved by the shame of letting clients down and teammates down. I find such behavior disgusting, but it exists and occurs often enough that it should not surprise me anymore . . . and yet it does.
Which, I guess, still doesn’t answer the question about the flake factor/percentage in our chosen field. I would like to think that among SERIOUS therapists–those of us who feel we have a gift, purpose, calling, etc.–the flake factor is low. We can be “odd,” or “unique,” or “foo-foo,” and still not be flaky. As to the rest . . . I wish they’d choose another profession. And not tarnish the image of ours.
Wow I didn’t know that therapists flaked on the job. I am a recent graduate and have been working for 3 weeks now. I would never think to not show up or just disappear. Why do some therapists have the,”I’m better than you”, attitude? It seems to me these are the therapists who get the complaints.