workplace happiness

About a month ago, my friend Fran Melmed approached me with a really interesting opportunity.  Fran runs context communication consulting, and writes a really nice blog – free-range communication.  She’s got a passion for wellness in the workplace,  which is a hot button for me, too.  Well-being is our mantra at CrumpleItUp, and my background in corporate human resources gives me a unique take on its place in the office.  So when Fran asked me if I’d be interested in pulling together a TweetChat on workplace wellness, the answer was an easy, “YES.”

Since then, Fran and I have been thinking about what that forum – really an ongoing conversation – might look like. We’re now ready to introduce cohealth, a wellness knowledge co-op made up of two social networks: a monthly Twitter chat and a Ning community group. The intent is to offer individuals interested in improving the effectiveness of company wellness efforts a space to share and learn.

Monthly CoHealth Twitter Chat

Fran and I will co-facilitate chats (partially inspired by the Health Care in Social Media tweetchat) every third Wednesday from noon to 1 p.m. (EST). We’ll cover one or two topics each chat, with the community bringing questions, ideas and perspectives based on their experience. Topics will be set by the community, yet I think it’s safe to say they’ll include at least the following:

• Effective workplace wellness design
• Influencing behavior change
• Communication strategy
• Use of social media
• Peer-to-peer influencing and support
• Health gadgets and other shiny objects
• Innovators in the field
• Measurement and ROI

Inaugural Chat – Wednesday, Jan. 20 at Noon

For our first chat, we want to talk about what bothers and inspires us about workplace wellness. We also want to define our purpose and review guidelines. At the moment, the working rules are:

• Tag all your tweets for the chat with #co_health (unfortunately for us, the simpler “cohealth” has been taken).
• We’ll use the @co_health Twitter account to moderate the chat, with Fran or me guiding the conversation.
• If you have questions you want discussed, direct message @co_health any time throughout the month. We’ll keep a log of requested topics.
• This is a co-op, which means we all share the load to make it successful … no selling, no attacks.  Respectful dialogue and debate are always welcome.

The Ning Community

We’ll be storing chat transcripts on our Ning site, which will launch “soon” [Translation: As soon as I get off my duff and get it ready ;-)].  Ning will give us the capability of sharing pictures, videos and files, and of conducting polls, forums and discussions.  I don’t know if we’re going to actually do any of those things yet; we’ll be counting on the community to tell us.  But if nothing else, it’ll provide a home base for the community.

Until Jan. 20

If you’ve never joined a Twitter chat, let me know (in the comments, by direct message or via e-mail) and I’ll show you the ropes.   The easiest way to join is to use a tool specially made for the purpose (like TweetChat or our very own Tweet Positioning System).  Both of those tools will allow you to log in with just your twitter ID.

If you’re interested in being kept up to date, follow @co_health or leave a note in the comments.  In order to make it really, really easy for all of us to connect, we’re compiling a Twitter list (using TweepML) of cohealth members, and we’ll add you to it.

Please spread the word and invite others to join. The community will be stronger with more voices and experience represented.

P.S.  I want to acknowledge the Dakota Group for their pro bono donation of their graphic services. Thanks, Peter, et al!

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