Clinical Study: Workplace Stress Intervention

A health psychologist conducted a study with 180 corporate employees suffering from high work-related stress. To select suitable participants, each employee completed a standardized stress index questionnaire, which rated their stress on a scale from 1 (very low) to 10 (extremely high).

75 employees who had high stress scores of 8 or 9 were selected. They were randomly allocated to one of three conditions:

• Condition 1: Standard Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) – this consisted of 8 weekly, 2-hour face-to-face group sessions led by a trained practitioner.
• Condition 2: Micro-Mindfulness Program – this consisted of a daily 10-minute self-guided mindfulness mobile application for 8 weeks, with automated daily reminders.
• Condition 3: Waiting List Control – participants were placed on an 8-week waiting list for the standard MBSR program and received no active intervention during this period.

One week after completing their respective courses, participants in Condition 1 and Condition 2 completed the stress index questionnaire for a second time. Participants in Condition 3 did so at the end of the 8-week waiting period. Post-treatment stress index scores were compared across the three conditions.

Table 1: Mean and standard deviation of post-intervention stress index scores

The psychologist conducted a statistical test to compare the differences in post-intervention stress scores between Condition 1 (Standard MBSR) and Condition 2 (Micro-Mindfulness App). The difference between the two active interventions was found to be non-significant ($p>0.05$).