Around a third of companies already use wearables to track their team’s activity and better gauge their physical, mental and emotional wellbeing, according to Deloitte’s 2024 Global Human Capital Trends Report. Deloitte predicts that usage will increase to two thirds by 2027. Neurotechnology, which uses electronics to read brain activity and can contextualise employee behaviour and interactions, is also anticipated to ramp up dramatically in use in that timeframe, from 3 percent to 31 percent.
For architects and designers, this trend is a gift. There is a lot that we know intuitively about how to design space well – for example, to make sure that there is plenty of natural light. While our intuition is based on experience, it is increasingly useful to be able to back this up with data. Quantifying your intuition about how best to design space and then proving that it is working has not always been possible to the level that it is today.
Previously, surveys, observations and interviews have been commonly used to understand how the built environment is impacting people. We know that these methods of research have their limitations. A person may not remember everything about how they experienced a space, or even have been aware of how the space was affecting them at the time.
Biometric data – of the kind you would get from wearables and neurotechnology – is free from bias and provides us with much more granular detail about how people are feeling and responding. It is a great example of using emerging means to better understand user feedback in space. Body and mind are connected, and electrical activity from the brain and heart tells us a lot about levels of happiness, comfort or stress.
Alex Dunham is Managing Director of Ark, an HLW Specialty Studio
There are many tools we can use, from headsets to more familiar smartwatches to monitor wellbeing. Eventually, this tech will be integrated into other things people wear day to day, like glasses and headphones. As technology becomes more sophisticated, we will be able to capture even more specific kinds of data, both from people and from the built environment itself, as well as how people interact with it.
The British Council for Offices report, Wearables in the Workplace, highlighted the possibility of embedding sensors in objects such as furniture and having them interact with wearables to monitor wellbeing. Take the intelligent sit–stand desk, for example: the wearable detects back strain while sitting, signals the desk to rise and nudges the person to stand.
When HLW moved office in 2020, we used biometric devices to compare our new space to the old. We are always investigating new tools and methods to be at the cutting edge and better inform our designs, and we recognised that the move was a rare opportunity to have the same people working for the same organisation wear the same sensors in different locations. It was an exciting study as a first step in better understanding this technology and forwarding the dialogue on its use in future practice.
In our old office, the café area was buried at the back and in a high traffic area. From the brainwave patterns of people using that space we could see they did not experience it that differently from other work areas. In the new office, with a welcoming open concept kitchen with a view to the outdoors, we were able to see a big change in brainwave patterns, reflective of it being a more relaxing, social space.
Our office move was just before the pandemic hit. Interestingly, the pandemic itself drove a surge in interest from employers in wearables. For example, the Financial Times reported in 2020 that resort company Las Vegas Sands bought 1,000 Oura rings to track early symptoms, predict who would get sick and manage staffing.
Even more interestingly, the rise of remote work as a result of the pandemic seems to be a motivating factor in employees granting access to their data. Perhaps as a way of building mutual trust, or simply feeling more connected. A PwC poll in 2014 found that 31% of people would be willing to use sensors and wearables to track productivity in ways their employers could access. In 2021, this had risen to 44%.
Clearly, transparency about how personal data is used is key, as in other areas of our modern lives. If we want people to engage with new technology, then we need to be able to demonstrate how it will benefit them. Biometric data opens up a whole new world of possibilities for tracking the performance of buildings and spaces, enabling continuous improvement to support users’ wellbeing.
This means that designers and clients will need to be open and willing to make changes off the back of their findings, not just to pat themselves on the back about what they got right. Let’s embrace the journey together.
October 2, 2024
Finger on the pulse: Is biometrics the future of workplace wellbeing?
by Alex Dunham • Comment, Wellbeing, Workplace design
For architects and designers, this trend is a gift. There is a lot that we know intuitively about how to design space well – for example, to make sure that there is plenty of natural light. While our intuition is based on experience, it is increasingly useful to be able to back this up with data. Quantifying your intuition about how best to design space and then proving that it is working has not always been possible to the level that it is today.
Previously, surveys, observations and interviews have been commonly used to understand how the built environment is impacting people. We know that these methods of research have their limitations. A person may not remember everything about how they experienced a space, or even have been aware of how the space was affecting them at the time.
Biometric data – of the kind you would get from wearables and neurotechnology – is free from bias and provides us with much more granular detail about how people are feeling and responding. It is a great example of using emerging means to better understand user feedback in space. Body and mind are connected, and electrical activity from the brain and heart tells us a lot about levels of happiness, comfort or stress.
Alex Dunham is Managing Director of Ark, an HLW Specialty Studio
There are many tools we can use, from headsets to more familiar smartwatches to monitor wellbeing. Eventually, this tech will be integrated into other things people wear day to day, like glasses and headphones. As technology becomes more sophisticated, we will be able to capture even more specific kinds of data, both from people and from the built environment itself, as well as how people interact with it.
The British Council for Offices report, Wearables in the Workplace, highlighted the possibility of embedding sensors in objects such as furniture and having them interact with wearables to monitor wellbeing. Take the intelligent sit–stand desk, for example: the wearable detects back strain while sitting, signals the desk to rise and nudges the person to stand.
When HLW moved office in 2020, we used biometric devices to compare our new space to the old. We are always investigating new tools and methods to be at the cutting edge and better inform our designs, and we recognised that the move was a rare opportunity to have the same people working for the same organisation wear the same sensors in different locations. It was an exciting study as a first step in better understanding this technology and forwarding the dialogue on its use in future practice.
In our old office, the café area was buried at the back and in a high traffic area. From the brainwave patterns of people using that space we could see they did not experience it that differently from other work areas. In the new office, with a welcoming open concept kitchen with a view to the outdoors, we were able to see a big change in brainwave patterns, reflective of it being a more relaxing, social space.
Our office move was just before the pandemic hit. Interestingly, the pandemic itself drove a surge in interest from employers in wearables. For example, the Financial Times reported in 2020 that resort company Las Vegas Sands bought 1,000 Oura rings to track early symptoms, predict who would get sick and manage staffing.
Even more interestingly, the rise of remote work as a result of the pandemic seems to be a motivating factor in employees granting access to their data. Perhaps as a way of building mutual trust, or simply feeling more connected. A PwC poll in 2014 found that 31% of people would be willing to use sensors and wearables to track productivity in ways their employers could access. In 2021, this had risen to 44%.
Clearly, transparency about how personal data is used is key, as in other areas of our modern lives. If we want people to engage with new technology, then we need to be able to demonstrate how it will benefit them. Biometric data opens up a whole new world of possibilities for tracking the performance of buildings and spaces, enabling continuous improvement to support users’ wellbeing.
This means that designers and clients will need to be open and willing to make changes off the back of their findings, not just to pat themselves on the back about what they got right. Let’s embrace the journey together.