How to spot employee blues

Employees generate a constant stream of data, such as hours worked, amount of specific deliverables, time spent on specific work, and time spent on websites unrelated to their work. Employers must be sensitive and transparent in how they use this data, but Jeffrey T. Polzer, a professor of human resource management at Harvard Business School who has studied the rise of people analytics, says all of this “creates unprecedented opportunities for studying human behavior at work,” including mental well-being, so that employers can identify workers needing support.

Historically, companies have used employee wellness surveys to assess the mental and physical health of employees and measure their well-being at work. Josh Bersin, CEO of The Josh Bersin Company, an HR advisory firm, cites an investment bank that regularly polls employees for mental health concerns. “[Its] chief medical officer looks at data daily to see if teams are overworked or under stress,” he says. Bersin says bank executives tell him they can identify management issues causing employee stress within days and then provide coaching to get worker well-being back on track for a happier, more engaged workforce.
 

“These metrics help managers identify employees who may need attention,” says Alejandro Martinez Agenjo, co-founder and CEO of Erudit.

Apps like the coaching platform BetterUp also use AI to measure emotional and cognitive states. When these apps are provided by employers or insurers as a part of their benefits, this information is relayed back to organizations or providers. BetterUp provides an employer dashboard of people analytics for companies that sign up for BetterUp Care, its corporate program.

Some companies, such as BMW and Audi, have used data from employees’ wearable devices (with their permission) to maintain visibility into worker well-being. Others, like Intuit, have used sentiment analysis of communications to spot symptoms of employee mental health issues. Hitachi has tested voice analysis technology as a way to reduce absenteeism stemming from wellness issues.

Even though employees may have varying degrees of awareness that everything they do is free for a company to see and know about, experts suggest that companies are better off setting clear rules and gathering data about their employees’ experiences on an aggregate level.

“The main issue is confidentiality,” Bersin says. “If an employee has problems at home, at work, or with a manager or peer, it should be kept confidential. Third-party apps do this, and coaching networks are confidential.”

Rider University's Promislo says the holistic solution is clear communication. “Transparency and guidelines have to be there,” he says. “This is very personal, and I think most employees may not be aware that companies are using data to assess well-being.”

Better yet, he suggests, collect and analyze employee data at the aggregate level. “Then employers can see that, for instance, maybe all the people who work remotely tend to have mental health issues, so maybe we can introduce a program to alleviate that,” he says.

Ultimately, says Bersin, “There’s no substitute for a well-run company with managers and supervisors who listen, care, support, and help develop their people.” But technology for measuring employee well-being and tools that make work easier can certainly help.