The majority of British workers would be open to monitoring and sharing health data with their employers, as long as they were provided with the device to do so, a YouGov survey has revealed.
The third annual AXA PPP Health Tech & You State of the Nation survey showed that of over 1,200 people questioned, 57% would be open to wearing a company paid-for fitness device during working hours to monitor their health and wellbeing.
Of those 57%, half of them would be happy to share any device data about their health and wellbeing with their employer, with the idea that employers could then use this data to find ways to improve the health and wellbeing of the workforce.
Monitoring health and wellbeing
The monitoring of one’s health is something that has seen a big increase in the last five years or so. Countless smartphone apps exist to help people monitor their diet, fitness, the number of steps their taking each day and more.
This all creates a huge amount of personal data, but academics in the data field are in doubt over whether this information is being used to the best effect by individuals alone.
Workplaces could be the best place for the mass adoption of health tech in the UK, helping to improve and maintain employees’ health through company wellness programmes.
Dr Chris Tomkins, Head of Proactive Health, AXA PPP healthcare, said: “The increased use of health tech within the workplace could so easily be a win-win for both employer and employee.
“For the first time it is possible to support an individual throughout their journey from better understanding of their health to actual improvements through smart digital platforms.
“Furthermore, there are often staff schemes with open platforms that enable individuals to use and share information from their own personal devices, ensuring their contribution is recognised.
“Of course, some individuals are naturally concerned about how their data is used and employers are keen to have a clear separation between themselves and such personal data.
“Therefore, both employer and employee could benefit from the expertise of using an independent third-party provider who can ensure privacy.” he said.
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I’m amazed that such a high proportion of workers over-estimate their employer’s manage this data responsibly and to have sufficiently robust IT systems to prevent it being hacked/inadvertently released.
I see only risks to this and almost no benefits.
Sort of, fly’s in the face of privacy of Medical Data regardless of Data Protection, Civil Liberties, Human Rights as the last people you would expect not to use it against you are dot gov, DWP and your employers !!!
Still a huge “mind the step gap” between PC Professional and Personal Ideologies especially, now in a world that is basically morally and ethically bankrupt where dot gov has used our money to bail-out the banks who were, let me think for a moment, deregulated and the given freedom to create a shed-load of junk-bonds by someone, Gordon when at No ’11’ that somehow also got through risk assessment and “paid for rating” buddies!!!
Anyone else notice, having found, EU DSE Regulation from 1990 (1992 UK DSE Regs) soon proven ineffectual confirmed by UK HSE Better Display Screen RR561 2007 with a few revisions along the way that they then went on to nobble the 2012 EU MSD Directive YET, 5 years on HSE is issuing an URGENT SAFETY ALERT to it’s directors and management?
Soooo, not at all sure the concept of “flogging a dead horse” when the “stick and carrot” has failed to re-animate it’s human resources reaching the event horizon of “adaptation exhaustion” with a mental and physical health breakdown just the other side as, far too many already, spiraling in the black-hole after 30 of competing with the “always-on” 24/7 technologies supposed to “serve them” not the other way around !!!
If the PPI was miss-sold what does that say about the useless advice surrounding the World-wide pandemic of Screen Fatigue or CVS that was “nothing to worry about” like “no foul no harm”, just “TEMPORARY” and, the debilitating symptoms for the majority of DSE user operators captive behind their work-screens for more than an ‘hour or so a day’, will subside after 3 hours or more from the time they come off-screen.
Of course, the employer has also been stuffed with a 20% deficit in performance and productivity over the years as well. Someone had the grand idea of punishing “sickies”, the odd unscheduled days off to either, escape the insidious work-stress and/or to do simple life and family things that had to be done that perhaps could have been done over their “lunch hour” if, they weren’t captive at there workstation.
Looking like a poor trade so far as, lunchtime and the sickie no longer practical, just left with “presenteeism” (20% deficit in performance = 30+ days lost productivity) and working until you become ill and then taking a few days, weeks, months off sick instead. Of course, this new custom and practice also significantly increases the risk of shortening human resources “working life-cycle” as, the prevalence of long latency work-stress-related life changing or terminating non-communicable diseases is also growing.
So, is being “open season” on health data generated by more wearable tech going to result in better health care or up the risk to employees of screening alongside the introduction, because they can, of strict-liability forfeits for being sub-optimally “fit for work” gonna change work/life dynamics for the good or for the bad ?
In case your mind isn’t made up yet probably wouldn’t be a good idea to revisit the film “Gattaca” or any other of the titles working around a dystopian future………… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hWjlUj7Czlk
Have a cracking weekend off and try to get some sleep Sunday night before another Monday……