Question

Provide three examples of how social media can be used by HR in employee wellness programs.

Answer 1

Social networking resources encourage coworkers to invite and ask each other personally to engage in a fitness initiative, such as the ask of weight loss, exercise club or health fairs. This peer-to - peer dynamic creates a grassroots, viral recruitment approach, and is proving to be a more effective mechanism for driving engagement. While the approval of senior management is crucial for the effectiveness of every company's wellness campaign, workers are much more likely to engage in a wellness program when a respected colleague directly invites them

Since workplace expectations and priorities are diverse and continually evolving, it is difficult for fitness administrators to learn of new ways and make a health plan healthy, appropriate and tailored to everybody. Employers can "crowd-source" their annual wellness calendar by providing employees with access to social media tools that allow them to create their own interest-based groups (healthy recycling club, softball team, lunch-time walking group, etc.). Employees may also use these resources to exchange knowledge with each other including menus, special activities, educational posts and encouraging notes. This customized, employee-driven content increases the relevancy and appeal of a corporate wellness program

If someone stops smoking, thirty-four per cent of his or her colleagues are also more likely to quit. This is how the individuals we frequently communicate with affect our understanding of social norms. By uniting employees and encouraging them to make healthy commitments together, employers can harness this network effect to spread healthy behaviors on the job and increase the likelihood of success for their employees