Wearable technology is not new, but the increasing functionality and decreasing size of wearable devices are spawning a growing industry. Devices are increasingly smaller, more intelligent, and more wearable than in the past. They can collect more information including location information through GPS or access points and employee biometric data such as movement, heart rate, sleep patterns, and fatigue. Sensors can be embedded almost anywhere - such as on an employee's uniform or even on tiny stickers on a person's skin. Employee data from wearable tech can be combined with data from other sources to provide real time visibility into worker productivity and availability.
There a lot of vendors in this space and the global market for wearable tech is anticipated to grow from over $9 billion in 2014 to over $30 billion by 2018. As the variety and volume of these devices increases, organizations are taking notice of potential benefits of newer wearable technologies. We recently conducted a global study to assess worker attitudes toward wearable tech. You can read the results of our Wearable at Work survey here.
Some of the highlights we found interesting:
We'd love to hear from you about your thoughts on wearable technology in the workplace. I'm co-hosting a tweet chat on Monday, December 1 at noon with Stowe Boyd, lead researcher for the future of work and work technologies at Gigaom Research. You can join the tweet chat at #WearablesAtWork.
Relevant links to learn more about wearable technology in the workplace:
Wearable Technology Set to Take the Workplace by Storm - Gigaom Research
US Perception of Wearables at Work Lags Rest of World - Gigaom Research
Will the Workplace Lead Wearable Technology Adoption? - Forbes
Kronos Brings Bio-Tracking Wearable Tech into the Workplace - BostInno
Presentation on the Future of Wearable Technology - Joyce Maroney
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