Humanscale, the benchmark for ergonomics in the workplace have released their latest office ergonomic designs for 2015.
Their most exiting product, OfficeIQ is the new standard for office intelligence. The focus of the technology is to fight sedentary work behaviour and improve the health of office workers. Sitting is the new smoking and Humanscale has found an intuitive way to combat the issue. The product is portable, non intrusive, and can be added to height adjustable workstations and clerical chairs. It is suitable for your cubicle, the conference room, and other common work areas.
So how does OfficeIQ actually work?
The technology encourages employees to be active throughout the day of work. It tracks workers health during the working day including heart rate, calories burned, blood pressure etc. An analytical report is provided to the employee at the end of the day, working week, and working month. The technology is compatible with many third party apps and devices.
Privacy becomes a concern, when personal health data is collected from employees. This product could be very useful in the work place for individuals to control the way they work and for management to learn how to better structure the workspace, but whats to stop employers using this data to screen their employees. It is likely that from a privacy and rights perspective, the data collected should remain in the confidence of the employee.