Can digital tools help create a healthier working life?
13 Apr 2022
Industry and several other sectors are reporting increased health problems among employees. In a new research project, businesses and researchers at University West will investigate how digital solutions can be used to develop new ways of working that contribute to sustainable health in working life.
“This is a novel approach to identifying and developing innovative working methods and human resource activities that can promote sustainable health at work,” says Professor of Informatics Ann Svensson. “Our focus is on developing digital solutions that meet these needs. The idea is to incorporate health-promoting activities into working life in a flexible way.”
Increasingly tight schedules and higher demands for results and productivity have led to a deterioration in employee health. This is something that employers within industry and several other fast-growing sectors have noticed in recent years.
“Together with a number of companies, we have launched the ‘Digitalization for health promotion’ research project to develop knowledge and expertise about which actions are important for achieving sustainable health and a healthy, productive working life. One of these companies, Stromder, develops digital solutions. The others are manufacturing companies.
Offering different types of activities
“We start by mapping the health situation at companies. The next step involves employees being offered a number of activities that promote good health in different ways. These could be personalised activities or group exercises such as yoga, walking, lectures on health and healthy eating.”
The activities will be available to employees via a digital tool on their mobile phones. Depending on how active the employees are, there will be various ‘rewards’ such as free lunches, water bottles and towels. The companies will continuously monitor whether the efforts have resulted in positive effects on employee health and on the organisation’s finances and sustainability.
“Our ambition is to create a tool that inspires health-promoting activities and is perceived as a positive element in this work.”
The ‘Digitalization for health promotion’ project (DIGHEP) is part of the research carried out within Industrial Work-Integrated Learning, and is part of University West’s Primus research environment. The project began in January 2022, and will run until 2024. It is being funded by the KK Foundation. More about DIGHEP