Fitbit announced a new Ready for Work solution to help employers with the challenge of employees returning to the workplace during COVID-19. The device gives employees access to personal health metrics from their Fitbit device along with exposure, symptom and temperatures within a daily check-in feature to tell them whether to go to work or stay home.
The solution is available through Fitbit Health Solutions and aims to help employees and employers combat workplace spread of COVID-19.
“For more than 13 years, Fitbit has been working with employers to provide accessible and engaging solutions for employees to improve their health. As workplaces start to reopen, we have an opportunity to help employees better track their health and make informed decisions about whether or not to go to work,” said Amy McDonough, general manager and senior vice president for Fitbit Health Solutions. “Early action is key to protecting the workforce and the workplace. Ready for Work enables employees to view trends in their Fitbit-tracked health metrics next to self-reported symptoms so they can assess their health and readiness for work from home.”
A More Complete View Of Health
The CDC recently estimated 40 percent of coronavirus transmission occurs before the onset of symptoms. Early research shows that resting heart rate data and other key health indicators from wearables have the potential to identify flu-like illness before symptoms emerge.
Unlike onsite temperature checks or screenings, Fitbit’s Ready for Work solution provides a continuous, more complete picture of an individual’s health. The Daily Check-In feature highlights for employees changes in their resting heart rate, heart rate variability and breathing rate alongside self-reported symptoms, temperature, and COVID-19 exposure. Based on these factors, the solution provides the employee with daily guidance to help them decide whether to go to work or stay home.
“Wearable devices are powerful because they measure nuances in biometrics potentially indicating the onset of illness that cannot be detected during a regular physician office visit,” said Dr. Michael Snyder, director of Stanford’s Center for Genomics and Personalized Medicine. “When measuring heart rate, even an increase of two heartbeats per minute could be indicative of a significant immune system response, which is why wearable devices can be important tools in assessing the overall health of employees as they prepare to return to work, especially when evaluating pre-symptomatic and asymptomatic cases of COVID-19.”
Supporting Employees During A Time Of Transition And Beyond
According to a recent Kaiser Family Foundation poll, more than half of U.S. adults surveyed reported that worry or stress related to the COVID-19 outbreak has led to at least one negative mental health effect. Transitioning back to the workplace is likely to further contribute to this stress. Supporting employees through COVID-19 requires an approach that provides ongoing mental health and wellness support whether individuals are working at home or onsite.
As part of Fitbit’s offering, employees will have access to Fitbit Care’s full suite of services including weekly webinars, podcasts, videos and other content from Fitbit health coaches to help employees learn strategies for adjusting to new routines and coping with change. Employers can offer their employees the opportunity to enroll in Fitbit Health Coaching and work with a Fitbit health coach to understand how stress is affecting them and access resources and guidance to support their ongoing mental health needs beyond this transitional return to work period.
Fitbit’s Ready for Work solution builds on the Fitbit Care platform, which focuses on driving lasting behavior change. Fitbit Care supports employees by providing health insights and guidance via Fitbit Premium, personalized health coaching, Fitbit Challenges, mindfulness tools and content to motivate and help employees reach their health goals.
Photo courtesy Fitbit
