Your employees are spending more and more time on their mobile devices and social media websites. So can you make use of these tools in your employee wellness program?
According to U.S.-based incentaHEALTH, you not only can you should.
The health technology company surveyed more than 2,000 participants in its own wellness programs and asked them about the role social media plays in managing their wellness.
It found that 80% of respondents are looking at text messages on a daily basis, and 91% of respondents are on Facebook—statistics the company is now using to shape its offerings. The company says it has implemented a “push” model that delivers wellness information to employees via social media and mobile access, such as daily text message coaching and a Brag to Facebook feature.
“We weren’t sure if people would really want to reveal things like their amount of weight loss and before and after photos, but they do,” said Todd McGuire, co-founder and chief technology officer of incentaHEALTH, referring to the program’s feature that enables participants to share the details of their wellness efforts on Facebook. “Anything that creates some social accountability is going to help people stay on track.
Other features employers may want to consider are online wellness journals, discussion groups and progress reports that they can choose to share with friends or other individuals with the same fitness goals.
“Wellness programs need to reflect the modern day communication styles of the participants,” said McGuire. “Since one of the key principles of wellness is behaviour change, it’s apparent that the social nature of products like Facebook can be harnessed to help people become more engaged in their wellness programs, and more successful as they try to improve their health.”