The most seasoned and well-adjusted remote workers know the danger: working from home can bring your physical activity to a halt if you're not careful.
Employers are aware of this as well. They're increasingly searching for methods to improve corporate health programs by providing fitness trackers, such as Fitbit, Garmin, and Amazon, to encourage staff to exercise more during the day. Oura, another popular alternative, provides intelligent rings to measure sleep, exercise, temperature, and even disease symptoms. Employers may even assess the risk of sickness across their whole staff using an Oura dashboard.
Many large health insurance companies, such as UnitedHealth Group, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Cigna, and Aetna, provide insurance savings to employees who register a particular level of physical activity. Under their deductibles, they can compensate beneficiaries for medication co-pays and other healthcare expenses.
However, fitness trackers at the workplace and health surveillance, in general, pose significant privacy concerns. A data breach on Get Health, a third-party provider of employee fitness incentives, exposed more than 60 million records from Fitbit, Apple, and other firms in June.
Here Are A Few Things To Consider Before Providing Fitness Monitors To Your Employees:
1. For The Time Being, Fitness Trackers Will Save You Money On Insurance Rates.
Employees who fulfil specified health objectives can frequently reduce their insurance rates if they use a fitness tracker. Some employees can make up to $1,500 per year, which they can put toward their health insurance payments. Wearable fitness gear and even gym equipment are available for free or reduced cost to employees. A few studies have demonstrated that fitness monitors can help employers save money on insurance rates. However, several businesses claim that their insurance prices have stayed constant.
There are now no rules or regulations to prevent insurers from exploiting data from fitness trackers to increase rates. Researchers from the American Medical Association expressed worry in an article published in The Journal of the American Medical Association that such data might lead to higher insurance rates for some populations.
"Physical activity, calorie consumption, blood pressure, and weight may all be tracked with wearable. Insurance firms are now using this information for reward programs, but no laws prevent them from doing the exact reverse, "says freelancer Mike, offering expert essay help online.
2. HIPAA Does Not Protect The Information Your Workers Disclose.
HIPAA, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, prohibits health care providers and insurers from exchanging any patient information. However, this prohibition does not apply to Google, Apple, or any other private company whose employees want to disclose their healthcare information. According to The Wall Street Journal, HIPAA prohibits third-party corporations from analyzing or selling healthcare data that customers freely provide.
If you're considering using fitness-tracking systems, familiarise yourself with the device's privacy regulations and be prepared to field queries from workers. You'll also be responsible for informing employees how much access your organization has to their data and its utilization. Workers should be aware that they will not use data from fitness trackers against them and are under no obligation to participate in the program.
3. The Evidence For The Use Of Fitness Trackers Is Inconsistent.
Wearing gadgets that measure their activity levels motivates some folks to get off the couch. Permanently altering one's health habits, on the other hand, necessitates a lot more work. According to a study published in The Lancet by Duke-NUS Medical School researchers, wearing an activity tracker combined with a monetary incentive boosted employees' fitness levels. After six months, employees did not maintain their former fitness levels when they stopped the financial incentive. Employees who wore fitness monitors were compared to those who did not, and there was no discernible difference in the quantity of exercise they completed.
However, several other studies have found that fitness trackers can help people boost their activity levels in minor or moderate ways. According to a review of 28 studies involving over 7,000 participants published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, researchers discovered that people who used fitness trackers were more physically active than those who did not. Setting personal objectives and SMS reminders was most beneficial for motivating individuals to exercise.
Conclusion
If your organization decides to join a fitness-tracking program, keep in mind that you won't be able to persuade all of your employees to participate. You may also attempt measures like subsidized gym memberships, healthy food options at work, or payment for exercise equipment if you want to assist staff in improving their health. While fitness trackers may help you improve your health, they are only one tool. Significant lifestyle adjustments are necessary, such as better nutrition, sleep, and fitness. You can take top-quality essay writing help to know more about maintaining employees.
Author's Bio: The author is a professional journalist and an award-winning writer; he is a regular contributor to LiveWebTutors. He has a team of professional writers with him offering essay writing help services.
