There was once a time, not so long ago, when the only people obsessed with the distance they travelled and the number of calories they burned each day were sinewy runners and cyclists looking at oversize mini-computers attached to their wrists.

Today, you’re never far away from someone who is glancing at their FitBit, Apple Watch or other bit of wearable tech to see whether they are on track for their step count for the day.

The mainstreaming of wearable tech is one of the unexpected trends of the past couple of years but does it represent an opportunity for employers in helping improve employee wellbeing?

An issue to resolve

In theory, the answer should be yes, with two good reasons. The first is that employees and employers are waking up to the fact that if we are all to be working until our late 60s, then the way we spend those eight hours every day plus the commuting time is going to make a big difference to our ability to work effectively. The second is the realisation that we haven’t ever really looked at how we can use physical wellbeing to improve performance in the workplace.

Gadget heaven

There is no doubt also that the means are there to help employers do all this. In fact I doubt many of us aware of just how sophisticated the newest of this technology is. Today the capability of wearable tech goes way beyond basic pedometers to devices which can measure heart rates, perspiration and body temperature. The tools are there to find out how stressed, immobile and communicative we are in every minute of every day through hidden microphones, patches and monitors.

Enter big brother

The big question around wearable tech and workplace wellbeing is not so much about whether or not we have the ability to measure employee health, more the extent to which our people will let employers monitor every move they make. With adoption at its earliest stage (unless you are an astronaut or F1 driver), it is hard to find case studies about where employers have succeeded in this area and even how it might work. But it is safe to assume that, outside of perhaps health and safety-focused environments, there would have to be some pretty major gains on all sides for employees to be wired up and measured all day.

Material benefits

So how could employers use wearable tech? 

For me, the focus would have to be on linking reward or employee benefits with behaviour change around wellbeing. For instance, employees who use wearable technology and meet targets for steps taken and time away from desks might be eligible for subsidised life insurance or meals.  Going further than this, if you could establish that more active people took fewer sick days than their less active counterparts, you might give a reward of extra holiday for those who are more active at work and could prove it with wearable tech. Equally, those with wandering heart-rates or higher levels of stress would be good candidates for health screening or other medical attention.

These are, of course, just ideas. And what is clear from reading around the subject is the science and data needed to make wearable tech a viable driver of employee wellbeing in the workplace is not quite there yet – even if the potential for its application seems great.

I am sales and marketing director at Employee Benefits provider Edenred. You can follow me at andy_philpott and find more research and insight at www.edenred.co.uk/ehub