Monday, May 12, 2008
Blogging could cure your ills and boost your staff health
Writers who have physical trauma heal faster than people who do not write. Strange as it may seem, studies have shown that physical problems heal more quickly if you write down your feelings. No-one is quite sure why, but the evidence of a mind-body link is so great that even ultra-conservative medics have to agree there is "something in it".
Probably, the act of writing about our feelings helps release some hormones which are involved in the cellular healing processes of our body. It's well known amongst doctors that patients who think they are going to get better, generally do. Whereas those who think they are getting worse, usually decline afterwards. In other words it seems the mind can trigger our physical health outcomes in many instances.
So what has all this to do with the Internet? Well, there is now plenty of anecdotal evidence that blogging can be a powerful cathartic experience. Bloggers find release in their blogging activities, so much so, that dreadful situations, such as grief can be more easily dealt with. Blogging, it seems, can improve our emotional health.
People who write a daily journal often say that by writing down their thoughts and feelings they have been able to become less stressed and feel more in control. Bloggers add a further element to this because they can share their feelings with others and get feedback. Not only does the writing help, but so does the support in the form of comments from readers.
What does this mean for your business? Well, there's a potential double benefit. Allow your staff to blog away and they will provide you with additional publicity and an increase in online coverage of your organisation. Add to that, if you let them blog freely they will become less stressed and happier in their work. Blogging clearly provides more than just extra publicity for your business; it will provide you with a happier, more positive workforce.
Labels: blogging, internet psychology
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Great post Graham. But which organisations are doing anything about it?