Stress levels, fear of redundancy and concerns about balancing work, childcare and self-care are ramping up across financial services, and one of the Big Four accounting firms is trying to tackle this head-on by using the latest developments in artificial intelligence and psychological analysis.

PwC UK has rolled out an AI wristband to its staff that monitors the wearer’s pulse, sleep and exercise patterns, and how they recover from heightened anxiety levels. Its aim is to understand how they are coping with stress during the pandemic.