Introduction

Imagine this: your workplace introduces a new “employee wellness platform” that tracks your sleep, mood, and heart rate through a wearable device. Participation is technically optional—but your manager mentions it in every meeting, and team leaders report on who’s opted in. You start to feel like opting out isn’t really a choice.

This scenario isn’t hypothetical—it’s becoming the new frontier of HR technology. In the race to support workplace wellness, organizations are rapidly adopting tools like emotional AI, wearable health trackers, and mood-monitoring platforms. But what happens when tools designed to support psychological safety begin to erode it?

This article explores how seemingly benevolent wellness tech, when poorly implemented, may create coercive dynamics, erode trust, and make reporting misconduct even more difficult—especially for the most vulnerable employees.

The Rise of Well-Being Surveillance

Post pandemic, most organizations have placed a strong emphasis on mental health and employee well-being. This shift is quite positive, at least in principle. However, the methods being used to deliver these initiatives are raising ethical concerns.

A growing number of workplaces now deploy “wellness” platforms that:

• Track heart rate and stress levels via wearables
• Analyze facial expressions in meetings to detect mood
• Use algorithms to detect “burnout risk” or “engagement scores”

These tools are often marketed as empowering—but employees rarely understand how their data is used, who has access to it, or what happens if their wellness scores are deemed “low.”

Consent That Isn’t Really Consent

One of the core ethical challenges is the illusion of choice.

According to Chowdary, et al., (2023), many workers who “consent” to data-driven wellness tools do so under indirect pressure. When wellness tech becomes linked with performance evaluations, team cohesion, or leadership attention, the ability to say “no” becomes largely theoretical.

This is especially concerning for:

• Early career professionals, who may feel they have less power to decline
• Racialized and marginalized employees, who are often already navigating complex dynamics around being “seen” as team players
• Employees with trauma or mental health challenges, who may find biometric tracking invasive or retraumatizing

In short, “voluntary” becomes illusory. And HR risks undermining the very goals it seeks to promote.

The Psychological Safety Paradox

One of the cornerstones of inclusion is psychological safety: the belief that one can speak up, report concerns, and be authentic without fear of negative consequences. A psychologically safe workplace is where employees feel comfortable taking risks and being themselves without fear of judgment, lateral violence (for example exclusion, bullying) or negative consequences (Lee Baggley & Grant, 2023).

When employees feel they are being constantly monitored—whether for wellness or productivity—their sense of safety deteriorates. This has real-world consequences:

• They become less likely to report bullying, harassment, or discrimination
• They may begin masking their stress or dissatisfaction to avoid triggering wellness flags
• They may disengage from genuine well-being initiatives out of distrust

Ironically, tech meant to support employee mental health may create the opposite effect: a workplace where people feel even more compelled to self-silence (Thompson, 2025).

What HR Leaders Must Do Differently

To remain ethical, inclusive, and employee-centered, HR leaders must treat digital wellness initiatives with the same level of scrutiny given to any other area involving power and privacy. Here are five essential guidelines:

1. Re-define Consent: Make it F.R.I.E.S.

Consent should be Freely given, Reversible, Informed, Enthusiastic, and Specific. Employees must be able to opt out—without pressure, consequence, or follow-up (Chowdary, et al., 2023).

2. Decouple Data from Management

Well-being data should never be accessed by direct managers or used in performance evaluations. It should be anonymized, aggregated, and reviewed by an independent, confidential party.

3. Run Pilot Focus Groups with Diverse Staff

Before launching any tech platform, invite feedback from a cross-section of staff, including BIPOC employees, neurodivergent individuals, baby boomers and early-career professionals. Their perspectives often reveal risks leadership overlook. Participants such cross sections sought evidence about the technology’s efficacy (Chowdary, et al., 2023). So, it is better to involve them in pilot studies.

4. Build Ethics Reviews into HR Tech Procurement

Partner with legal and DEIB professionals to evaluate not just technical compliance, but cultural and ethical fit. Ask: Will this build or erode trust?

5. Reaffirm the Role of Human Connection

Digital tools can support but cannot replace the human relationships that foster safety. Invest in leadership training, restorative conflict resolution, and trauma-informed HR practices.

Conclusion: Reclaiming Trust in the Era of Tech-Driven Well-Being

Wellness tools may be here to stay, but how we implement them will determine whether they become a force for empowerment or erosion.

HR professionals must lead with courage and clarity. If we truly believe in employee well-being, then we must design systems that respect autonomy, foster trust, and honor the complexities of human experience.

In a world increasingly shaped by algorithms, our job is to protect the one thing technology can’t automate: dignity amongst people.

Bibliography

Chowdary, S., Kawakami, A., Gray , M. L., Suh, J., Olteanu, A., & Saha, K. (2023). Can Workers Meaningfully Consent to Workplace Wellbeing Technologies? ACM FaCCT .

Lee Baggley, D., & Grant, S. M. (2023, May 09). Fostering psychological safety in the workplace: 4 practical, real?life tips based on science. Retrieved from Dal News: https://www.dal.ca/news/2023/05/09/workplace-safety-tips-psychology.html

Thompson, J. (2025, January 29). Pros and Cons of Fitness Trackers for Employees. Retrieved from business.com: https://www.business.com/articles/fitness-trackers-for-employees/

Arjun Mullakkara hails from South India, who came to Canada to pursue his Master’s and quickly fell in love with the country. With nearly six years of experience as a business instructor and currently enrolled as a student in Human Resources student at Simon Fraser University, he brings both cultural perspective and academic insight to his work. His focus areas include DEIB, workplace culture, and psychological safety.