Wearable technologies can help improve the working lives of employees in a number of ways. For example, biometric trackers – which come in the form of heart rate and sleep monitors, self–reported nutrition and energy diaries – can offer huge advantages for both employees and employers.
Employers that are able to develop a framework for understanding this data may be able to suggest changes to an employee’s working patterns, resulting in higher quality work and greater satisfaction all round. A third of European workers are already keen to use wearable technology to help them identify their most productive periods and organise their workload accordingly1. Similarly, a third would also value technology to help them manage stress1. Employers are also confident that technology will be used to measure and impact employee wellbeing, with approximately 60% of businesses across Europe feeling this way2.
Despite the benefits, adoption of these technologies would not be without concerns. The most commonly cited employee worry is related to privacy and the fact that employers may have access to what is commonly considered private employee data. This concern is very prominent among UK workers, with as many as one in five (20%) saying that they would not use wearables at all, compared to 10% in France, and 8% in Germany and the Netherlands2.