On Engagement
The Benefits of Gratitude and Compassion
Thanksgiving is a time to reflect and express gratitude for our blessings and to share our love and kindness with others. However, it can also be a challenging time when we are aware of the wars and conflicts that are happening around the world — and the death and suffering that they cause. How can we perhaps shift our perspective and approach this season with a compassionate and hopeful heart? How can we use gratitude and compassion to lead a more purposeful life?
Rethink or Reboot? Five Things We Heard You Say About Workforce Wellbeing
We recently completed a deep dive interview project with HR and Benefits leaders representing a diverse array of industries – consumer goods, insurance, manufacturing, high tech, healthcare, consulting, financial services, engineering, energy, and food services. We wanted to know if they were indeed rethinking wellbeing. We asked about business drivers in play now, and challenged them to grade their current wellbeing programs and platforms. We asked what “better” would look like, and tested new ideas for resonance.
A Vitamin or an Aspirin?
What does taking care of one’s health really mean? Are Purposeful users looking for a “vitamin,” something that makes you even better than you currently are? Or, are they in need of an “aspirin,” that is, trying to fix something that’s gone wrong? We ask this question amongst ourselves at Kumanu: are we building an application that fixes people’s problems or one that helps people become even better? Can you do both?
Some Thoughts on Engagement
Engagement is a very complex issue. It’s an issue I’ve personally studied for decades and come around to the conclusion that a single percentage describing engagement is almost always an oversimplification of reality. The real proof in the pudding is not how frequently a person “touches” an application, which can easily be manipulated by financial incentives. It’s whether people change their lives for the better, and we know that even this measure has different meanings for different people.
Are We Getting Engagement and Behavior Change Right? Part 2
Let’s go from theory to practice. Which of the following statements are true?
1. Participation incentives produce health behavior change
2. Incentives tied to biometric outcomes lead to improved outcomes
3. When it comes to engagement with apps or web portals, the more the better.
Which sounds right to you. All three? None of the above? Read on for the answer.
Are We Getting Engagement and Behavior Change Right?
Let’s start with this question: what is engagement, anyway, and why do we care so much about it? Is engagement what happens on the wellness portal, or is it what happens in my daily life and work? Am I gaining confidence, skills, and inspiration, or am I clicking for points? If I engage with wellbeing apps or resources for just a while, or once in a while, BUT I build new mindsets and habits, and stronger purpose and connection lasting a lifetime, is that a success, or a failure?
