16 Mar What do the pilot participants think about the SmartWork services?

Posted at 14:22h in News by

Part 1 – Interviews with the participants of the pilot activities in Denmark 

SmartWork pilot activities took place in Denmark (Center for Assisted Living Technology in Aarhus) and Portugal (Caritas Coimbra in Coimbra) in late 2021 and early 2022. ECHAlliance’s Innovation Director, Karolina Mackiewicz, spoke with the participants of the pilots to learn about their experience and if they recommend SmartWork to the other office workers. 

“Using the aggregated data on office environment measurements  would be a great way to improve the work environment.”

Ivan Kjær Lauridse,  Head of health and assisted living technologies, Assisted Living Technology, Aarhus Municipality 

What did you like most about SmartWork? Would you like to use it also after the end of the pilot?

I have enjoyed the FitBit wristband and the readings on the activity, e.g.  steps, floors, heart rate, distance and sleep. Three of these parameters also appear in healthyMe-app and the mobile ActivityCoach. I also enjoyed monitoring the physical environment at the office, telling me about variations in temperature, humidity and especially air quality. What I like very much is the historical data which provides evidence for the indoor environment – this can be brought to the people in charge of the indoor air quality in the office. I wouldn’t like my employer to have access to my health data, but using the aggregated data on office environment measurements  would be a great way to improve the work environment.

“In a few years people will love it!”

Sonja Hansen, European Project Officer, Assisted Living Technology, Aarhus Municipality 

Would you recommend SmartWork to your colleagues and friends who didn’t have a chance to use it yet?

I would recommend it, yes! Mainly because this is such a good possibility for people to get help and advice in daily life. But of course you must also convince your company or department you are working at that the device is very useful for helping people to stay longer in the labor market and have a good life both at work and at home. And then there is a small issue with the fact that SmartWork is based on health data, which is considered sensitive. Because of the GDPRrules, there is a problem with data sharing for example. This must be handled one way or another. The project is ahead of the time. In a few years people will love it!