What if Your Boss Tracked Your Sleep, Diet, and Exercise?

Dad_of_3
Dad_of_3 Posts: 517 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Inside most companies, the typical health and wellness program includes regular blood pressure checks, a list of fresh foods for the office fridge, and some sort of exercise guru who shows up every so often to tell people they should work out more. If you’re lucky, you might even get some coupons designed to encourage healthier eating — and cut company insurance costs.

But at Citizen — a Portland, Oregon company that designs mobile technology — things are a little different. Employees at the company are now uploading data on how much they exercise, what they eat, and how much they sleep to a central server, as part of an effort to determine whether healthy employees are actually happier and more productive. The ultimate aim is to explicitly show employees how they can improve their work through better personal habits.

Read the rest at http://www.wired.com/wiredenterprise/2013/04/quantified-work-citizen/

Replies

  • Amy106Days
    Amy106Days Posts: 172 Member
    No to this
  • cindygretz
    cindygretz Posts: 94
    1984 is coming 30 years later than expected,
  • glovepuppet
    glovepuppet Posts: 1,710 Member
    will this prove that healthier people are happier,
    or just that happier people make the effort to be healthier?
  • dbmata
    dbmata Posts: 12,950 Member
    That's pretty cool!
  • yamsteroo
    yamsteroo Posts: 480 Member
    Crikey - it's a bit different where I work. As long as you turn up and don't die on the premises they're pretty happy :)
  • LoosingMyLast15
    LoosingMyLast15 Posts: 1,457 Member
    he'd be jealous of what i do because he always complains he doesn't get enough sleep, his lunch/snacks come from the vending machine and he never exercises.
  • Dad_of_3
    Dad_of_3 Posts: 517 Member
    I would not volunteer to let such private information be known to me. What will eventually happen is they will tie in insurance premiums to your (non-vice) habits.
  • Timshel_
    Timshel_ Posts: 22,834 Member
    The Maricopa Community College District I work for now incentivizes employees who live a healthier lifestyle by giving rebates on health care cost that can be applied to the next years cost. They test for smoking and for other issues. Just taking the tests yearly gives a small amount back. If you don't smoke you get a larger refund. And for other healthly stuff I think there are other incentives.

    I TOTALLY agree with this approach personally. In group medical there are issues realted to non-healthy lifestyles that end up costing the group money. These major preventable types of things would normally cost an indidivual more, but end up being spread over the gruop. Not really fair for those living a healthier lifestyle.

    But to track everything...I dunno about that.
  • socajam
    socajam Posts: 2,530 Member
    You can always find another job.
  • luckyshilling
    luckyshilling Posts: 229
    1984 is coming 30 years later than expected,

    :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    If you're not getting enough sleep for good health, will they force you to take a nap? If so, I'm totally in.
  • JoRumbles
    JoRumbles Posts: 262 Member
    Thank Goodness I live in the UK!

    God bless the NHS.
  • doc500
    doc500 Posts: 5
    I'm on the fence on this one. On one side, it sounds pretty invasive to one's private life. However, if it is incentives that can be redeemed, more would participate. The County of Riverside has an incentive program. Extra money never hurt anybody. They have already proven healthier employees to be more productive and happy.
  • roadmapmaker
    roadmapmaker Posts: 120 Member
    Crikey - it's a bit different where I work. As long as you turn up and don't die on the premises they're pretty happy :)

    Thats funny! Although we've had a few expire on the premises - not so funny...
  • chocl8girl
    chocl8girl Posts: 1,968 Member
    Grumpy-Cat-Says-No.jpg
  • Joreanasaurous
    Joreanasaurous Posts: 1,384 Member
    I could be bribed into doing this. Mostly I'm pretty meh about it either way.
  • glovepuppet
    glovepuppet Posts: 1,710 Member
    You can always find another job.
    unemployment rates back up your claim. true story.
  • jaz050465
    jaz050465 Posts: 3,508 Member
    Thank Goodness I live in the UK!

    God bless the NHS.

    Here here!!!!!!

    There was a lot of criticism about how much it was featured in our Uk Olympic opening ceremony, but I for one, think its brilliant. When I read here about people asking for advice about illness and injuries as they can't afford to go to the doctor- it amazes me.
  • timberowl
    timberowl Posts: 331 Member
    I'd love it if they tracked my exercise, but if they tracked my diet I think they'd have a heart attack.

    {Burp}
  • kmm7309
    kmm7309 Posts: 802 Member
    will this prove that healthier people are happier,
    or just that happier people make the effort to be healthier?

    yep! Correlation is not equal to causation :noway:
  • jaz050465
    jaz050465 Posts: 3,508 Member
    Would that mean they could see 'activity!!' At night. I take my BMF off as I think that is just too weird.
  • spamantha57
    spamantha57 Posts: 674 Member
    What about how much cocaine we do?

    j/k
  • Lulzaroonie
    Lulzaroonie Posts: 222 Member
    If it was purely a research thing, like you only had to do it for a month then I'd be ok with it. If it was a permanent thing, then it would just be weird...
    "Jerry on floor 5, cubicle 18 has started smoking again. And he ate pizza twice this week. And he got an hours more sleep than required last night. Keep him on observation, he might start dropping in his productivity."
    "Tina has stopped drinking alcohol in the week. And she's started lifting weights. But her carb intake is too high. Send someone to have a word with her."
  • Sweeterescape
    Sweeterescape Posts: 132
    How would they measure what are "healthy" habits and what are unhealthy? There are a lot of different opinions out there as evidenced by these boards - low calorie, low fat, 40 30 30, eating at or below TDEE, etc etc. Would those netting under 1200 and working out be penalised? Would those eating tons of protein packed calories to bulk be penalised?

    I think this could be very unfair. Once again, thank goodness for the NHS!!!
  • upgetupgetup
    upgetupgetup Posts: 749 Member
    If it was purely a research thing, like you only had to do it for a month then I'd be ok with it.

    Yeah, & done by a 3rd party (university, or government), with sufficient anonymization of info.

    This would yield some amazing insights (even if at the level of description or correlation), though, if it were done for a couple of decades. And I would LOVE to have this kind of data on myself.
  • kmm7309
    kmm7309 Posts: 802 Member
    If it was purely a research thing, like you only had to do it for a month then I'd be ok with it.

    Yeah, & done by a 3rd party (university, or government), with sufficient anonymization of info.

    This would yield some amazing insights (even if at the level of description or correlation), though, if it were done for a couple of decades. And I would LOVE to have this kind of data on myself.

    I think it's called an algorithm (a mathematical equation designed to find a pattern, usually used to predict future patterns. If someone could develop an algorithm that they needed to prove, I would certainly volunteer! I would give my decades to science to help future generations :drinker:

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