By Liz Dickinson, founder and CEO of Mio Global
Every year, we see more and more fitness trackers finding a home on wrists. The general increase in fitness and healthy living—as our healthcare system is shifting—has positioned wearables as a valuable tool, especially for fitness tracking. According to a recent study from Forrester, one in six people now own a smartwatch or fitness tracker.
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With the demand for fitness wearables soaring, many corporations have introduced them into employee wellness programs in hopes that their employees will live more active lifestyles—ultimately showing a return on investment and reducing the bottom line. These wellness programs involve incentives such as gift cards to encourage employees to reach a step count goal that is monitored by their wearable.
However, employees are getting pretty creative with ways to cheat the system. A pedometer, no matter how technologically advanced, can be cheated multiple ways. The problem we’re facing is that, by using goals like 10,000 steps, we are giving employees a “one-size-fits-all” approach to fitness monitoring.