Baloise tests a laughter detector in an office

(Keystone-ATS) The insurer Baloise is testing the frequency of laughter in an office for better job satisfaction. Those who rarely laugh receive an encouraging message by email, for example with a funny video.

The device, which looks like a handy speaker, has a microphone and measures sounds in the environment using artificial intelligence (AI), explains project manager Alexandra Toscanelli in an interview published Friday in the Tamedia German-speaking newspapers.

Baloise has installed the so-called Chief LOL Officer in the offices of a long-standing commercial client with ten employees, the Appenzell online business portal Fasoon. The test is expected to last four weeks.

“An adult laughs on average about 15 times a day, that’s why we said: four laughs in two hours should be possible, anything below is insufficient,” says Ms. Toscanelli. If you laugh less often, for example because you are stressed, you will receive an encouraging message by email.

According to Toscanelli, it could be a meme, a video of a cat falling off a table, or someone accidentally doing a funny stunt with a scooter. A specialist social media agency has brought together the best of the Internet.

With this project, Baloise wants to strengthen mental health. One of the target groups is small and medium-sized businesses. Absenteeism and mental health are important topics, particularly because they cost companies a lot of money. According to Baloise, Swiss companies lose 6.5 billion francs per year because the mental health of employees is affected.

“We still talk much less about psychological problems than about a broken leg,” notes Ms. Toscanelli, recognizing that “laughter is not the solution to everything. We also need contact people, hotlines and help centers.”