Your how-to: Utilising apps for tracking wellness activities and goals in the workplace
Utilising apps for tracking wellness activities and goals in the workplace involves integrating digital technology into your organisational culture to monitor, enhance, and promote mental well-being among employees. These applications utilise self-reporting tools and real-time data to provide insights into individual and collective staff welfare, helping HR teams gauge workplace stress, fulfilment, and overall staff morale.
In the Australian context, there is a growing realisation of the importance of mental well-being in ensuring compliance with Work Health and Safety laws, which call for the provision of a safe working environment—both physically and mentally. Apps aid in illustrating an organisation's commitment to these obligations by encouraging self-care, regular mental check-ups, and fostering an environment that values work-life balance.
Such apps can track a broad range of wellness activities from mindfulness and meditation practices, fitness goals, dietary habits, and sleep patterns, to name only a few. They empower employees by giving them personal control over their mental health and wellbeing while also providing HR teams with critical data to identify potential issues, promote activities contributing to better mental health, and set achievable wellness targets.
So, in essence, utilising wellness tracking apps in the workplace is about leveraging digital tools to promote a healthier, happier, and more productive working environment. From an HR perspective, it's an effective strategy for proactive mental health management in the workplace.
Step by step instructions
Evaluate the Need and Relevance: Before introducing a wellness app, you need to understand the need for it in your organisation. Start by assessing the current state of mental health in your workplace. Identify any gaps that need to be addressed, mindful of Australia's Work Health and Safety laws requiring a safe working environment.
Assess Data Privacy and Security Standards: Before settling on an app, consider the data privacy and security implications and whether they align with Australian privacy laws. Analyse what personal information the app collects, how it is used, and safeguards put in place to protect the data.
Implement a Pilot Program: Start by implementing a pilot program with a small group of employees. This step will allow you to evaluate the app in real-world conditions and identify any obstacles before a full-scale roll-out.
Launch the App to all Employees: Once you have tweaked the app based on feedback, roll it out to all employees. Ensure comprehensive training is provided to every employee to encourage high adoption rates.
Identify Appropriate Wellness Apps: Perform a comprehensive review of available wellness tracking apps. Choose an app that offers wide-ranging functionalities, from tracking mindfulness practices and workouts to monitoring diet and sleep.
Involve the HR Team: Your Human Resources teams should be involved from the beginning as they will be instrumental in encouraging employees to use the app and in using the data generated to inform health and wellness strategies.
Gather Feedback & Make Necessary Adjustments: After running the pilot program, collect feedback from participants and make necessary adjustments based on their experiences and suggestions. This step is crucial and ensures the app meets the needs of your team.
Regularly Review and Adjust: Program After the app has been launched, incorporate regular reviews. Assess its impact on the overall mental health and well-being of employees, and make adjustments as necessary.
Use this template to implement
To ensure you can execute seamlessly, download the implementation template.
Pitfalls to avoid
Some wellness apps require a continuous internet connection or specific devices like iPads for its full functionality, which might not be possible in all workplaces. Make sure the app you choose can be used flexibly with different devices and has offline availability.
This technology comes with the need to handle sensitive health and activity data of employees, which obligates an organisation to follow strict privacy norms. Failing to properly secure and manage this data can lead to a breach of privacy laws, including the Australian Privacy Principles (APP) under Australian Privacy Act 1988.
Wellness programs can fall flat if there is no active participation from employees. Before adopting the app, you need to clarify the benefits and protection to personal data these apps might provide, to encourage usage among employees.
In the rush to join the wellness tech bandwagon, one may end up choosing a flashy but non- functional app. While trendy interfaces might look attractive, the functionality of the app should be priority.
Some apps have costly subscriptions to unlock the complete set of features. While investing in the wellness of your employees is important, you must also consider the ROI of these subscriptions before plunging in.
There's a risk of fostering a culture of competition rather than wellness if the results from these apps are viewed as performance metrics.