Publicis Inspire for Baloise: Laugh out loud, work healthy

In Switzerland, work is having an increasing impact on our mental health. A third of Swiss workers describe themselves as chronically stressed. Stress-related health problems cost the economy an estimated CHF 6.5 billion a year - not to mention the impact on individuals, families and everyone working in small businesses.

Mental health is a complex issue that requires coordination and investment from employers, governments and health services. However, there is a simple, powerful and free tool that can help us all reduce stress and better manage its effects: Laughter.

This is where the Chief LOL Officer comes in - a device designed to promote a healthy working environment through laughter. Developed by Publicis Inspire with Baloise, this innovative product is being launched on the Swiss market in time for World Mental Health Day on October 10, with a special focus on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

A special kind of new colleague

The Chief LOL Officer was designed for use in the workplace, where it recognizes and records human laughter using a specially developed machine learning algorithm.

Should the frequency of laughter fall below a set threshold, the device responds by emailing funny internet content to get teams laughing again. It's a simple but entertaining way to create a healthy working environment. Because regular laughter promotes the well-being of employees.

Baloise and Publicis Inspire developed the device in collaboration with technical partner Bellprat Partner and naut. A particular challenge for the project's programmers was to ensure that the Chief LOL Officer only reacts to human laughter in order to avoid false alarms and preserve data protection.

Henry Clarke, Copywriter, Publicis Inspire: "Digital technologies have made work faster, more efficient and more flexible - but not healthier. The Chief LOL Officer is the first device with the sole purpose of improving the mental health of employees."

The He-he-Hexperiment

The Chief LOL Officer has already been installed at the headquarters of Fasoon, an online start-up platform for new companies. Alexandra Toscanelli, Marketing Manager at Baloise: "In contrast to damage to the body, damage to the human soul is still a taboo subject in the world of work. With the Chief LOL Officer, we want to show that laughter is already a first step towards reducing the risk of mental illness thanks to the release of serotonin and focus on promoting mental health in the workplace. We are already excited to see what insights the experiment at Fasoon will bring." Other companies will be invited to test the device in the coming months.

Baloise: Supporting mental health in the workplace

"We are aware that the Chief LOL Officer is not enough in cases of profound mental health problems, let alone depression. In such cases, we consult our external specialists," says Alexandra Toscanelli. Baloise pays particular attention to the mental well-being of its insured employees and supports companies with occupational health management. Various solutions help to prevent employee absences due to mental stress or at least keep them as short as possible: With the Case Management Plus supplementary insurance, insured employees receive tailor-made help from partner organizations in the event of conflicts at work or unexplained short-term illnesses, among other things, and thanks to the Helpline supplementary insurance, not only employees but also their relatives receive round-the-clock, unlimited and completely anonymous telephone support from external specialists such as lawyers, psychologists, psychotherapists and management coaches.

Responsible at Baloise: Alexandra Toscanelli (Marketing Manager), Manuel Thomas (Senior Online Marketing Manager), Fiona Egli (Communications Manager), Aline Franklin (Marketing Manager), Salomé Dreier (Senior Campaign Manager) Responsible at Publicis Inspire: Henry Clarke (Text), Cedric Fuchs, Maureen Wangui (Art Direction), Celina Stadler (Graphic), Matteo Attanasio (Photography), Lea Zaydowicz (Account Director), Alain Stocker (Communication Strategist), Michel Nellen (Creative Amplification Director) Responsible at Bellprat Partner: Arnau Bellprat (Creative Director), Lino Fischer (Scenographer), Iwan Funk (Co-CEO) Responsible at naut: Luigi Cassaro (Interaction Designer), Fabian Kuhn (Interaction Designer)