A new survey commissioned by The Workforce Institute at Kronos Incorporated and conducted by Harris Poll is telling us something very, very important about wearable technology.
The global workforce is ready for the wearables revolution.
According to a report summary shared with MMW, workers around the world “are ready to embrace wearable technology at work, with nearly three-quarters (73 percent) of online adults seeing at least one potential workplace benefit.”
The Kronos “Wearables at Work” survey examines the differences in perception and use of wearable technologies in the workplace of online adults ages 18 and older in Australia, China, France, Germany, India, Mexico, Great Britain, and the U.S.
While nearly half of U.S. adults (48 percent) believe that wearable technologies could benefit the workplace, this substantial percentage was the lowest out of all other regions: 96 percent in Mexico, 94 percent in China, 91 percent in India, 72 percent in Germany, 69 percent in Australia and France, and 66 percent in G.B.
“There’s a strong belief that wearable technology will take off in the workplace before the home because devices such as smart watches, intelligent ID badges, and fitness and health monitors can provide organizations with uncharted data collection points to greatly improve safety, productivity, collaboration, and overall workplace effectiveness,” says Joyce Maroney, director of The Workforce Institute at Kronos.
“And while more and more types of wearable technologies have hit the market, the concept of wearables at work isn’t new,” Maroney adds. “Workers have been wearing uniforms, safety gear, ID badges, communications headsets, and so on for years to do their jobs better. This survey shows a marked difference in how wearable devices are used and perceived around the world, and people who use new wearable technologies in their personal lives tend to see more potential benefits in the workplace. The more comfortable we become with wearables, the more apt we are to leverage these technologies in the workplace.”
