INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Stress is a common problem in the workplace, but better business strategies and employee-friendly workflows can ensure productivity is
Intellectual Property and Standards and Professor Dr
Eco de Geus, Head of the department of Biological Psychology at Vrije University, Amsterdam1
How real an issue is workplace stress today?Dr
Eco de Geus: Stress is not just a buzzword in the workplace
forming a major public health burden and topping the dialogue of global health and public sector leaders
an increasingly connected society, long time periods in front of business PCs, and the need to balance work with other life demands, and you
have the key ingredients for a workplace stress epidemic
Practically everything can act as a stressor, from physical events (such as physical activity, drugs, alcohol, food intake, etc.) to
psychological triggers (such as emotions, mental activity, social interactions)
Each of these events or triggers result - regardless of the source of the stressor - in physiological and hormonal effects that can lead to
a reduced cognitive performance.2
What role can EmoGraphy play in helping both detect and track stressed workers?NN: People generally are seeking a better work-life balance
and looking to lead healthier lives
In doing so, they are becoming increasingly aware of how stress is affecting their lives
Thereby empowering them to better manage their daily stress and maintain a balanced lifestyle
the accumulated levels of cortisol
Cortisol is widely regarded as the stress hormone
Being able to predict cognitive performance, EmoGraphy allows users to maintain their optimal performance by taking steps to stay out of the
Vrije Universiteit tested whether EmoGraphy correctly measures activity of the sympathetic nervous system
With its skin conductance-based measurement, we concluded that EmoGraphy from a wrist-worn wearable is a valid index of sympathetic nervous
A further attractive aspect of Emography for work stress research from a practical point of view is that it can be worn continuously and
How does EmoGraphy look to help address issues with workplace stress?EdG: Our ultimate validation of daily-life stress responses is in their
prediction of the detrimental health outcomes that a stressful workplace or work life can have
Here, EmoGraphy can play an important role in employee monitoring, particularly when we can link the data to contextual factors of the
workplace and to indicators of physical and mental health over time
workplace environment which can in turn increase worker engagement, ensure more effective outcomes.4
How did you develop the algorithms used in EmoGraphy?NN: Philips recognised the health risks associated with stress early on
Being active already with technologies to track vital signs and health metrics, we worked directly with users to understand what insights
could help them better track and manage their daily stress
From those co-creation sessions, we learned that consumers wanted to be more aware of when their cognitive performance is optimal and when
found a way to model cortisol levels from skin conductance signals, and with our mission to improve the lives of people in mind, we set to
bring this technology to market
In doing so, we have been able to gather and translate physiological measurements into meaningful information regarding stress level, and
How do you ensure being monitored for stress does not become a stressful experience in itself?EdG: There are two issues at play when it
comes to monitoring stress
First, we need to reduce the burden on participants by making health monitoring as unobtrusive as possible
We know that wrist-watch based sensors are highly accepted by users, but future developments will likely expand the sensor toolkit with
electrodes engrained in clothing, extensions of wrist-worn biosensors, steroids in hair samples, and skin patches detecting changes in the
capturing data accurately and doing it in a way that is increasingly non-invasive - whilst also respecting privacy when permission is not
Stress profiles should provide accessible and meaningful feedback to participants or useful guidelines for coaches and healthcare
professionals to prioritise when, where, and how to intervene when stress levels are outside a zone of optimal emotional arousal
connecting wearables like EmoGraphy to tailored health interventions with real-time feedback, and systems that select, tailor, and then send
relevant health messages to users based on their personal data, will enhance a positive user experience
with psychologists experienced in coaching, we learned that the amount of feedback given throughout the day should be limited, for the exact
reason that feedback itself becomes a stressor
For our coaching approach, we primarily focus on daily, insightful summaries and only provide real-time feedback a couple of times a day
Ideally, when the output of EmoGraphy is integrated in smart, personal environments such as a car, living room or workspace, light, scent,
and temperature can provide many opportunities to serve unobtrusively as stress relief moments
This is one example of what Eco referred to before as contextual factors.6
Where do we go from here? Can we ever truly eliminate stress?EdG: Medical professionals now label stress as a major intervention target
However, very little practical guidance is provided on how to track the fitness and monitor the stress levels of a given user in daily life,
or when such stress levels should be considered detrimental
If we seek to reduce daily-life stress, a paradigm shift in stress research is needed
Although prior stress physiology research has been informative, these lab-based studies suffer from poor validity as they use artificial
demands of the health and wellness-conscious consumer, and those of the companies developing health tech products for them
licensing in order to fulfil these needs, addressing a gap in the stress technology and wearables marketplace to more effectively guide
consumers towards their optimal daily performance
In taking these steps now, Philips is setting the foundation for not only better stress tracking and management, but also for greater
intensity that is needed in order to trigger a full set of physiological and emotional stress responses that come into play when stress is
withdrawal, lack of physical activity, and change in sleep, smoking or alcohol habits
Being able to measure continuously through a comfortable wearable with the EmoGraphy technology on board is a good first step
Also, initiatives like the Stress-in-Action consortium are already dedicated to understanding daily life stress
Stress-in-Action aims to provide the scientific framework for understanding daily-life stress, which in turn can enable the development of
personalised monitoring and intervention strategies to make people more stress-resilient and reduce stress-related health loss.NN: The
impact of stress should be a wake-up call to businesses
Over 12 million days are lost a year because of stress at work
With people spending such a high percentage of their lives in the workplace, the opportunity for employers to help maintain overall health
turn, critically depends on awareness
The immediate step to be taken therefore is to enhance the awareness of stress responses, and the context in which they seem to occur for a
By introducing mindful initiatives for example, sessions that put the employee at the centre, businesses can help improve workplace stress
through recognition and management
reflection of the workforce, businesses can make informed decisions at an organizational level to help safeguard employees from stress in
