Digital Tools Help Combat Growing Worker Well-Being Issues

Recent studies show that employees of all stripes are experiencing poor well-being, and more organizations are turning to digital wellness tools to help address the growing problem.

Apps, chatbots, websites, and wearables—many enhanced by evolving artificial intelligence—are helping workers cope with mental, physical, and financial wellness issues in ways that prove convenient to their schedules and reduce stigma. They can also be cost-effective for employers seeking to tackle workforce problems that drive lower performance and productivity.

Research shows that growing burnout, expanding workloads, and toxic work cultures are fueling low levels of employee well-being across job categories. A 2024 SHRM survey found that 44% of U.S. employees are burned out from their work, and 47% of those in human resources said that working in HR has hurt their mental health and well-being. A study this year from Perceptyx found that well-being among managers is “dangerously low,” with managers in the study scoring lower than both executives and individual contributors on factors such as reasonable workloads and manageable stress levels.

A 2023 study by Deloitte also showed a troubling disconnect between how the C-suite and employees view the state of workforce well-being. While most employees in the survey said their well-being had worsened or remained the same in the past year, about 80% of C-suite executives believed that employee well-being had improved over the same period.

Rising Demand for Digital Tools

While digital tools aren’t a panacea for employee well-being issues, experts say they can be an effective option for those who might otherwise face long waits for in-person therapy or who prefer more convenient and discreet ways of addressing their mental, physical, or financial concerns. Some studies show that workers of Generation Z want more access to digital well-being tools as part of their employers’ benefits packages.

“Digital tools can be used anytime, anywhere, which is particularly important when someone is experiencing distress at a time when a provider might not be available,” said Vaile Wright, Ph.D., senior director of health care innovation for the American Psychological Association. “Digital tools can also greatly lower the barriers to accessing mental health care by reducing cost and stigma.”

Jacqueline Brassey, co-leader of healthy workforces and director of research science at the McKinsey Health Institute, said digital wellness tools can be a valuable part of an organization’s broader employee health and well-being strategy. She noted that apps, chatbots, wearables, and other tools have advantages that may make them more appealing to workers.

“For example, digital tools are on demand,” Brassey said. “Employees can use them when they need them, so there’s an important element of flexibility. The other important piece is confidentiality and privacy. With digital tools, no one needs to know you’re using them.”

From an employer’s perspective, Brassey said the benefits include scalability of the tools and an improved ability to gather and track analytics, including utilization rates and the impact of digital solutions. “That’s especially true if the tools can be enabled with AI or a large language model,” she said.

AI’s Impact on Digital Wellness Tools

The AI revolution has had a significant influence on digital wellness tools, bringing a new level of personalization, usability, and impact to tools including mental health chatbots, meditation apps, wearables used to collect physiological data, and sensors that detect things such as improper sitting posture at work.

AI-powered chatbots, such as Woebot and Wysa, are now used for employee mental health support by thousands of organizations around the globe. Through conversations with these clinically validated bots, workers can develop skills for coping with anxiety or depression, improve their emotional regulation, and practice skills such as mindfulness.

AI is also commonly used in financial wellness software, which is designed to help employees manage their budgets, set savings goals, track expenses, create debt management plans, and more. AI is used in digital platforms to personalize financial recommendations to workers’ needs based on their responses to online assessments, for example, with the goal of reducing stress related to finances.

A 2024 study by WTW found that financial well-being is now employees’ No. 1 challenge—a result of factors including inflation, slowing wage growth, and rising credit card debt—but employers report that digital tools are least effective in that area of wellness support.

Wright said that some algorithms operate behind the scenes to predict health risks or to recommend personalized treatment plans, while others interface directly with employees in the form of tools such as therapeutic chatbots. “They deliver treatments in real time and can be customized to meet a client’s preferences,” she said.

Woebot, for example, uses principles of cognitive behavioral therapy and has the added benefit of providing detailed analytics for HR leaders. That data includes areas of employee focus and concern, population health insights, quality measure scores, and more.

Generative AI (GenAI) has also made inroads in the digital wellness space. The wellness platform meQuilibrium, for example, recently introduced a new GenAI-powered dashboard for business users. Employees can select their well-being goals, and the GenAI dashboard helps them focus on the most impactful things they can do to improve their resilience and reduce stress.

The tool also claims to quickly spot problems, identify employees at risk, and recommend services that those employees need, including employee assistance programs, well-being benefits, or training courses. meQuilibrium recently launched a feature called Mood Coach,

which tracks employees’ feelings, helps build deeper self-awareness, and provides personalized AI-driven insights, according to a meQuilibrium spokesperson.

Technology vendor Workday also recently unveiled a new AI-powered solution designed to give HR and benefits leaders more insight into the wellness solutions their employees most want and use. Companies looking to access things such as utilization rates and claims data from wellness solutions usually have to ask their providers for it, which can lead to lengthy delays. Workday’s product promises the benefit of a real-time exchange between employers and wellness partners to produce that data faster.

Cautions About AI Use

Despite these benefits, experts say that HR leaders should approach the use of AI in digital wellness tools with caution. Because many of the tools are not subject to federal regulation, according to Wright, they often lack rigorous testing to demonstrate their effectiveness and mitigate any risks.

“These tools may be under no obligation to protect sensitive data, leaving employees vulnerable to data breaches,” Wright said.

She added that HR and benefits leaders considering investing in AI-powered digital tools should ask wellness vendors some pointed questions.

“For example, are there clinical professionals with subject matter expertise on the leadership team that’s developing the tools?” Wright said. “Can the digital tool provide any data or research showing it’s effective at doing what it says it does? Does the vendor encrypt personal data or have any additional technology-related certifications, such as the HITRUST framework?”

Brassey said it’s also important for HR leaders to view digital tools as only one component of a broader employee well-being strategy.

“You can’t over-rely on a single intervention,” Brassey said. “AI and digital wellness tools have an important place in a broader portfolio of employee health interventions. But they aren’t a ‘Holy Grail’ as a stand-alone point solution and won’t address systemic wellness issues within an organization.”

Dave Zielinski is principal of Skiwood Communications, a business writing and editing firm in Minneapolis.