Perspectives

The digitized employee

Wearable tech and a healthier workforce

2014 may be the year of wearable devices. With the ability to place microsensors virtually anywhere, technology is more wearable than ever, and individuals are embracing technology that moves with them through their daily lives. Taken together, the global market for smart glasses, activity monitors, and smart watches could reach $3 billion in 2014. Can wearable technology help create a healthier, more productive workforce?​

Enabling the individual for the benefit of the employee and the enterprise

As we consider the possibilities gained through the digitization of the physical world, we can't overlook the potential benefits from digitization of the employee. And while a more specialized application of the technology of fitness bands has some value for time-work studies and better understanding employee interaction patterns, the best near-term opportunity for companies to use these consumer devices might be to improve employee health and wellness by using wearables in concert with the social media and other technologies the workforce already uses. A convergence of factors—cheap, unobtrusive sensors, mass adoption of sophisticated mobile devices, ubiquitous wireless broadband access, an aging population, reforms aimed at rising healthcare costs, and more financial responsibility being shifted to individuals—are all coming together to create a unique opportunity to integrate wearable devices and other technologies to improve wellness and manage illness.

Explore how mobile technology and analytics provide the tools to engage and enable the individual for the benefit of the employee and the company.​

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