What’s small, clips to your clothing or wraps around your wrist and keeps track of your exercise, sleep and location?
They’re wearables, like Fitbits or the latest digital watches from Apple, Samsung, and other Silicon Valley wearable start-ups. In fact, you may be one of the millions of Americans who have adopted a wearable as your new digital companion. These tiny, fashionable devices collect reams of data about you, including your heart rate and the number of steps you’ve walked, even your sleep patterns— everything you need to enhance and increase your exercise and positively impact your health.
There’s evidence that wearables are getting a strong foothold in the workplace. According to Computerworld.com, 50 percent of fitness band sales can be tied to employers buying the wearables for their employees, analyst J.P. Gownder of Forrester Research told the publication.
However, even for the workplaces where employers aren’t providing wearables, there is plenty of reason for workers to consider purchasing some sort of fitness-tracking device. That’s because wellness programs often involve some sort of tracking, whether it’s counting steps or measuring a heart rate.
Wellness programs appear poised to be part of the workplace culture from the foreseeable future. According to U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission data, between 50 percent and two-thirds of all employers with 15 employees or more had a wellness program, as Computerworld.com notes.
For employers, these wearables can enhance an existing wellness program or jump-start a new one. There are other major benefits for employers when employees wear wearables. For example, wearable technology issued by employers could help ensure that employees are active and sleeping well.
Ultimately, however, it’s on employees to use wearables. And like wrist watches, wearables can end up in a drawer, unused, after purchase. To wit: According to Endeavour Partners, more than half of wearables owners are no longer sporting the devices, Fortune magazine reports.
For questions on how wearables can affect your business and health care costs, contact your Plexus client representative or reach out to us at 847-307-6100 (Deer Park), 312-606-4800 (Chicago) or 972-770-5010 (Dallas / Oklahoma). You can also contact us via the Web at plexusgroupe.com.
