Workers around the world willing to embrace wearable tech

A new survey commissioned by The Workforce Institute at Kronos Incorporated and conducted by Harris Poll1 finds that workers around the world are ready to embrace wearable technology at work, with nearly three-quarters (73 per cent) 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 (G.B.), and the US.

The world agrees that wearables could benefit the workplace. Seventy-three percent of adults around the world believe that wearable technologies could benefit the workplace in at least one way, including areas such as increasing efficiency, productivity, and safety.

While nearly half of US adults (48 per cent) believe that wearable technologies could benefit the workplace, this substantial percentage was the lowest out of all other regions: 96 percent in Mexico, 94 per cent in China, 91 per cent in India, 72 per cent in Germany, 69 per cent in Australia and France, and 66 per cent in G.B.

Only 13 per cent of US adults currently use wearable devices in their personal lives as opposed to 73 per cent of adults in China, the highest-ranking region. Other countries from high to low were: India (72 per cent), Mexico (70 per cent), Germany (40 per cent), Australia (30 per cent), G.B. (27 per cent), and France (22 per cent).

Wearable technology use more prominent at work, especially in countries that have embraced personal use. Countries where adults have adopted wearable technology for personal use appear to use wearable for work-related activities as well, and adoption of wearable technology is higher at work than for personal use across the board.

A whopping 82 per cent of adults in India and Mexico, and 81 per cent in China, have ever worn technologies such as headsets, smart badges, and barcode scanners for work-related activities, as have more than half (56 percent) of adults in Germany. Only 20 per cent of US, 38 per cent of G.B., 43 per cent of Australia, and 45 per cent of France adults have used a wearable device for work-related activities.

Factors such as collaboration, customer satisfaction, competition, data usage, and company profitability vary by region. When considering a group or company perspective, there were no definitive worldwide trends outside of safety that would make people more eager to adopt wearable technology for business-related purposes at work.