Get some sleep: Fitbit-style app could assess your work habits and suggest tweaks

FORGET apps that count your daily steps. Soon your employer could know all about your habits, both at the workplace and when you leave.

Is this app ingenious or just really creepy?

IMAGINE if your boss could watch your every move, assessing how much work you’re doing, how you spend your breaks and the health of your social life.

It’s an unsettling thought, but that’s exactly what employers will be able to do using a Fitbit-style app that tracks every aspect of your performance.

Dartmouth computer science professor Andrew Campbell came up with the idea after he found there was little correlation between students’ time spent in the classroom and their grades, Public Radio International reported.

He created an app called StudentLife, which collected behavioural data from 48 of his students, when they were studying, walking, exercising, sleeping and even partying. It provided an accurate prediction of that student’s grade point average (GPA) to within 17 hundredths of a point.

Prof Campbell, of Vermont, analysed the data and tracked trends in behaviour, mental health and academic achievement over a term in 2013 for his SmartGPA study. While some may find this sort of constant surveillance unnerving, his results could be vital in helping us tweak our lives to maximise happiness and productivity.

“I think we’ve crossed the Rubicon in terms of invasive technologies in our lives,” he told Public Radio International. “Whether you like it or not, devices are intelligent and they can say things about you that may be hidden.”

The experiment revealed a number of interesting trends. Higher performers had shorter conversations in the evening and night later in the term, and spent more time studying. They were more conscientious, and had higher average levels of “positive affect” (enthusiasm, energy, confidence and alertness) than low performers. Their stress levels peaked around the midterm exams and positive affect decreased as the term went on, probably because of mental exhaustion from working hard.

The app did not reveal a correlation between high achievement and extroversion, agreeableness or openness — but it did show that neuroticism could lead to lower performance.

Sociability is good for performance — but should drop in busy periods.

If you’re on track, your stress levels should decrease after challenging times.

Attendance drops after mid-terms but students are studying harder.

“Imagine a world where a student simply checks their phone to see if their behaviour is in synch with their desired GPA,” Dartmouth student and YouTube video star Jake Gaba said. “If not, the phone provides tips on how to get back on track. That’s the future we’re working on.”

The app could provide real-time feedback for universities and employers on the stress levels and achievement levels of their students and staff. Its creators say the next step is to offer useful feedback and intervention — for example, identifying at-risk people and offering them advice and support in changing their lifestyle.

“Our results open the way for novel interventions to improve academic performance,” the StudentLife website says.

This could be as simple as getting more sleep, studying more or partying less. It could be as nuanced as identifying anxiety or depression, spotting unhealthy eating habits or warning of potential social isolation.

Prof Campbell plans to test the app on a larger cohort at the University of Texas.

It looks like your performance review is about to get uncomfortably accurate.