- The benefits of social action can be divided into three different areas: for society itself, for individuals and also for companies.
- Fundación Telefónica channels the social action of the company’s employees through awareness-raising and mobilisation.
What is social action?
When asked what social action is, we could answer that it refers to activities, policies or programmes that aim to improve the living conditions of society as a whole, although it is mainly focused on the most vulnerable groups.
The main objectives of social action are to improve people’s quality of life by reducing inequalities and promoting social inclusion.
These objectives can be achieved in different ways, such as promoting citizen participation, ensuring access to basic services or caring for people in vulnerable situations with the aim of building a more just and equitable society.
Advantages of social action
If we analyse the advantages or benefits of social action, we can specify that they can be found in several areas: for society as a whole, on the one hand, but also for individuals and businesses.
Let’s look at the main characteristics of each of them.
Benefits for society
The advantages that social action brings to society as a whole are aimed at reducing inequality from different perspectives, either through the equitable distribution of resources or by guaranteeing access to goods or services considered to be basic.
On the one hand, social action promotes the inclusion in society of different vulnerable groups according to different criteria, such as age, geographical origin, income level or having a disability.
A specific example is education, where social action can involve helping with basic materials that may be needed in certain groups or communities or promoting digital education for those who may find it useful.
Another tangible example of social action is the fight against hunger, as numerous groups or individuals supply or help to provide food to those who cannot access it by their own means.
Social action can also be helpful in the workplace, through training or retraining programmes or, more directly, by offering access to job opportunities.
Advantages of social action for individuals
From the point of view of personal well-being and even mental health, social action is useful as it can help combat loneliness and reduce stress or anxiety.
If we consider personal development, the advantage of social action is that it serves to strengthen empathy and self-esteem.
Transcending the merely individual and moving on to the collective, social action can serve to strengthen ties with other people—as we mentioned earlier, also as a mechanism against unwanted loneliness—and generate a sense of belonging by creating social bonds through the consolidation of a sense of community.
It can also help certain individuals to find a purpose in life beyond their daily routines or tasks and even to discover new habits or passions.
Benefits of social action for the business sector
From a business perspective, the most obvious and tangible benefit is an improved reputation thanks to a stronger brand image, which can lead to increased customer loyalty.
This increase in loyalty can be seen not only in the retention of existing customers, but can also serve to attract new users who are drawn to companies that show a social commitment to the communities in which they operate.
On the other hand, from an employment perspective, people who work in companies that engage in social action feel more satisfied and committed thanks to their pride in belonging.
Similarly, it can be an incentive not only to retain talent, but also to attract it precisely because of the appeal of belonging to an organisation that helps the societies in which it operates.
Social action and Telefónica
The Fundación Telefónica explains in its mission statement that, through social innovation and volunteers, it channels the social actions of all its employees by raising awareness and mobilising society depending on basic needs or emergency situations.
The Fundación Telefónica also works to bring digitalisation to social entities that need it, as well as to the most vulnerable groups.
Reducing the educational gap, improving employability, fostering social and digital integration, and promoting art, culture and thought are the four pillars of the Foundation’s work.
With the aim of ‘making the world a more humane place by promoting inclusive digital development’, the Telefónica Foundation aspires to leave no one behind, focusing on digitising society as a whole using technology as a tool to achieve this.
