Early detection of human-related risks in an increasingly digitized work environment

Abstract

Purpose – Human-related risks are practices in a given organization that lead to harmful behaviors that prevent managers and their teams from achieving goals. The purpose of this article is to enable the organization to provide a preventive and simple response to risks in the event that deterioration in employee well-being is detected. Design/methodology/approach – In the literature, many questionnaires based on a variety of metrics have been developed and tested to measure and assess the quality of work life (e.g. stress, commitment, satisfaction, etc.). The approach of this study was to identify the most meaningful items and combine them into a unique score integrated into an effective decision-making module. Findings – A long process of trial and error was necessary to collect confidential information from employees, both anonymously and longitudinally, to measure well-being in the workplace objectively and globally. The unique score generated provides an indication of potential human risk. Research limitations/implications – This research and its practical implementation have demonstrated the importance of personal-data protection and the need to work harder to maintain employees' digital trust while using a digitized tool. Practical implications – Development of a new app that was used for the first time to regularly assess ill-being in several companies. Social implications – The social implication of this research is to contribute to health policies related to well-being in the workplace. Originality/value – To the authors’ knowledge, this is the first time that a software module measuring the human risk of an entire company has been embedded in Enterprise Risk Management (ERM).

Keywords

• Human risk
• Digital transformation
• Digitized work environment
• Occupational stress
• Workplace well-being
• Data protection