Most Indians prefer wearable technologies at work: Study

With wearable technologies like smart headphones and watches becoming popular, about 82 per cent adults in India have started using them for work-related activities as well, says a recent study.

A whopping 82 per cent of adults in India have worn technologies such as headsets, smart badges and bar-code scanners for work-related activities, according to Kronos 'Wearables at Work' survey.

Countries where adults have adopted wearable technology for personal use appear to use wearables for work-related activities as well, and adoption of wearable technology is higher at work than for personal use across the board, the survey said.

"There's a strong belief that wearable technology will take off in the workplace before the home because devices such as smart watches, intelligent ID badges, and fitness and health monitors can provide organisations with uncharted data collection points to greatly improve safety, productivity, collaboration, and overall workplace effectiveness," Joyce Maroney, Director, The Workforce Institute, Kronos said.

She said that while more and more types of wearable technologies have hit the market, the concept of wearables at work is not new.

"Workers have been wearing uniforms, safety gear, ID badges, communications headsets for years to do their jobs better.

"This survey shows a marked difference in how wearable devices are used and perceived around the world, and people who use new wearable technologies in their personal lives tend to see more potential benefits in the workplace. "The more comfortable we become with wearables, the more apt we are to leverage these technologies in the workplace," she added.

However, not as many adults use wearable devises in the developed countries like the US (only 20 per cent), UK (38 per cent), Australia (43 per cent) and France (45 per cent) for work-related activities as well as personal life, the survey said. The Kronos 'Wearables at Work' survey was conducted online in Australia, China, France, Germany, India, Mexico, Great Britain and the US by Harris Poll on behalf of Kronos from September 8 to 16, 2014 among 9,126 adults of 18 years and older.

Seventy-three per cent 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.

About 96 per cent in Mexico, 94 per cent in China, 91 per cent in India, 72 per cent in Germany, 69 per cent in Australia and France believe that wearable technologies could benefit the workplace, however, it is as low as 48 per cent in the US, it said.

Globally, the top-three wearable devices that adults in most countries claimed would be useful in their current workplace position are smart headphones, smart watches and arm or wrist computing devices.