Could the Apple iWatch Actually Improve Your Productivity?

Could the Apple iWatch Actually Improve Your Productivity?

Apple recently launched its highly anticipated iWatch. Although there are many smartwatches in the market today, Apple’s release of the iWatch brought more attention and fashion sense to these wearable devices.

Security risks aside, employers have another concern about the latest technology trend – productivity. What happens to your employee’s productivity when he has easy access to his smartphone, tablet, and wearable technology in the workplace? Should you worry as an employer? Or should you encourage it?

Wearables + Employees = Better Efficiency

Employees wearing wearable devices, such as smartwatches and fitness trackers, are 8.5% more productive and 3.5% more satisfied with their jobs, according to Rackspace’s study, The Human Cloud at Work.

The study highlighted five dominant behaviors associated with using wearable technologies at work. These included:

1. Augmentation of an employee’s behavior toward something better, such as improved efficiency.
2. Visibility of real-time data from a person’s behaviors to how he feels.
3. Gamification of a person’s workday.
4. Balance between work and health.
5. Monitoring by the boss of an employee’s productivity.

Because wearable technology tracks so many variables, including health, business intelligence, and more, having it close by serves as a constant reminder.

1. Your employee is always in tune with his body through the health apps on his smartwatch.
2. Your sales team is always in tune with the business intelligence needed to close more deals.
3. Your employees always know the latest schedule through having apps, such as ScheduleBase at their fingertips.

Using Wearable Technology to Improve Your Workplace

The study is compelling, but how do you put it into action so that your business sees the same jump in efficiency and happiness? It’s not as easy as it might seem.

Not every employee will want to wear a smartwatch. Not every employee will own a smartphone. You probably won’t want to buy every employee their own device, so to harness this technological trend, you must come up with a plan.

1. What type of technology will you allow in the workplace?
2. How do you want this technology used?
3. How will you monitor the impact it has on your business’s productivity?

With these questions in mind, you can determine the best way for your business to harness the power of technology instead of shunning it. In the end, you just might see the same boost as the study, giving your business an upper hand in the productivity race.

Author Profile

Jon Forknell is the Vice President and General Manager of Atlas Business Solutions, Inc., a software marketing company specializing in employee scheduling software, including ScheduleBase employee scheduling software, and other business software solutions. In the past, Jon has been recognized by the U.S. Small Business Administration as a SBA Young Entrepreneur of the Year. Atlas Business Solutions was named as one of Software Magazine’s Top 500 Software Companies in 2004 through 2007 and again in 2010, 2013 and 2014.