Happy workers make better workers, and better workers boost your business & its results.
Technology is everywhere and it is inextricably involved in most aspects of our everyday lives.
Thanks to technological innovations, we more seamlessly communicate with one another, travel safer, make smarter, more informed decisions, automate work processes, and produce digitally revolutionary products and solutions. On the flip side, technology is constantly being criticized for distracting us from tasks at hand, alienating us from one another, and causing us to experience undue stress, when the innovations we use and count on fail to perform as expected. 

Recently, a rise in the development and use of technology to foster workplace wellness has become a noteworthy trend. According to the CIPD’s Health and Wellbeing at Work survey. Technological innovations have either a slightly positive or very positive effect on employee wellbeing. And, as employers continue to understand that their employees’ health and wellbeing is critical to their productivity and success during working hours, adopting workplace wellness or wellbeing technology is consistently being viewed as more and more important to any business or organization’s overall success.

Work environments can cause mental and physical strain on employees

A survey formulated by the Global Wellness Institute found that 69% of workers feel that their jobs and the strains and stresses caused by working to meet company goals and deadlines adversely affects their mental and emotional health:

• 66% claimed that it affects their overall feeling of happiness’
• 50% claimed that it impacts their physical health;
• 36% claimed that it influenced their family lives outside of the office;
• And 35% claimed that it affects their interpersonal relationships.

In a fast-paced, ever-evolving working world, the ability to stay on task, motivated and productive, while still feeling physically and psychologically well has proven to be a challenge.

Make workplace wellness a priority for your business 

To help businesses and their employees mitigate these strains, more and more companies and organizations are adopting workplace wellness technology. The goal of workplace wellness technology is to foster an environment of good physical and mental health for your employees while motivating them to work productively and achieve company KPIs. When the right tech is selected and correctly implemented, and combined with proper nutrition and regular exercise, businesses experience a more motivated staff, higher levels of employee satisfaction, retention and productivity, fewer unplanned absences, and more. 

How?

Some companies have developed wellness IT solutions that capture and monitor data on employees’ health and progress on work tasks. These innovations provide employees and employers with a holistic view of their (the employee’s) wellbeing and inform about needs that, if met, could lead to the generation of more satisfactory data, and, consequently, more satisfied workers. Other wellness tech focuses on enabling flexible or remote working, in an effort to reduce dissatisfaction associated with long commutes, stuffy offices, in-office distractions, and other sources of frustration.

You too can jump on the workplace wellness tech bandwagon

To take your workplace wellness to new levels, seek out the innovative start-ups and companies developing technological solutions that focus on your employees’ wellbeing. Here are some great examples:

Health promotion technology – wearables and platforms

There are currently over 250,000 mHealth smartphone apps on the market, as well as wearables and platforms that either automatically tabulate employees’ activities, or provide insights and activity prompts based on data employees input on their own. These solutions harness Big Data and other innovative technologies to encourage employees to care for their physical and mental needs as they arise on the job and during off-hours. For example, Fitbit counts steps and Apple Watch offers gentle encouragement and prompts to move about every hour or so, reducing their risk for developing chronic conditions like heart disease and diabetes.

Workplace management technology  

The CIPS survey further indicates that 74 percent of employees cite flexible working practices as a positive effect of workplace wellness technology. Technology empowers businesses to allow their workers to work more freely and flexibly, in terms of time management, task management, physical location, and more. 

Artishok, a Highroad portfolio company, combines cutting-edge technology that deals with all core aspects of workspace management: accessibility, community, and energy, maximizing the effectiveness of these 3 factors through advanced automation and IoT, without requiring huge investments. Artishok and other workplace management solutions allow you to get a true sense of what’s going on in your space at any given moment. Their sensing tools & machine learning engine allow you to monitor your employees’ activities and improve your decision making. This, in turn, leads to increased employee satisfaction and productivity, and better results for your business.

Bottom line

The technology already plays a prominent role in our everyday lives, and technological solutions designed to promote workplace wellness are uniquely positioned to make your workers happier, and your place of work more successful in local and global markets, as a result. As happy, motivated, and healthy employees are the bread and butter of any business, it seems that the adoption of workplace wellness tech is a must for any future-forward business in 2020.

Want to take your business to the next level? Click here to view a full list of Highroad’s innovative portfolio companies and their latest tech developments.