Mindfulness App Maintains Improvements in Employee Stress at 4 Months

A recent study demonstrated that a digital mindfulness-based program is an easily accessible way to alleviate employee stress, with benefits maintained at 4 months.1 Using the mindfulness app for approximately 5 to 10 minutes demonstrated greater stress reduction; however, using the app for < 5 minutes relieves stress more than doing no meditation.

“This study confirms prior findings indicating psychological benefits of mindfulness practice for employees and extends them to a digital platform,” wrote investigators, led by Rachel M. Radin, PhD, from the department of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the University of California San Francisco.

Research has shown mindfulness meditation helps to reduce work-related stress.2 Many workplaces have implemented in-person mindfulness programs to address workplace stress and enhance employee well-being. Still, these programs are often challenging to distribute widely, leaving many employees without sufficient opportunities to manage stress.

Investigators wanted to see if digital mediation programs would be an effective option for managing workplace stress.1 They conducted a randomized clinical trial to assess the effects of digital mediation on general and work-specific stress compared with a waiting list condition. The team also wanted to see whether greater engagement in the intervention moderated the effects.

The study recruited 1458 adults aged ≥ 18 years (mean age, 35.54 years; 80.80% female) from May 16, 2018, through September 28, 2019, who worked at a large academic medical center, reported mild to moderate stress, and had access to a web-connected device. Participants were randomized 1:1 to a digital meditation program (n = 728) or the waiting list control condition (n = 730). The digital meditation program required 10 minutes of meditation per day for 8 weeks, whereas the control group continued their normal activities and did not do any meditation during the study period.

The primary outcome was a change in Perceived Stress Scale score at 8 weeks, and the secondary outcome was a change in job strain, measured as work effort-reward imbalance. Investigators measured stress, job strain, burnout, work engagement, mindfulness, depression, and anxiety at baseline, 8 weeks, and 4 months. The data was analyzed from March 2023 to October 2024.

Participants in the meditation group showed greater improvements in the Perceived Stress Scale score (Cohen d, 0.85; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.73 to 0.96) and in job strain (Cohen d, 0.34; 95% CI, 0.23 to 0.46) at 8 weeks compared with participants who did not do any meditation. These improvements were maintained at 4 months (Perceived Stress Scale: Cohen d, 0.71; 95% CI, 0.59 to 0.84; job strain: Cohen d, 0.37; 95% CI, 0.25 to 0.50). Participants who meditated also showed significant improvements at 8 weeks in work burnout, depression, anxiety, mindfulness, job reward, and work engagement.

People who used the meditation app longer, from 5 to 9.9 minutes per day compared with < 5 minutes per day, demonstrated a greater stress reduction (mean Perceived Stress Scale score difference, -6.58; 95% CI, -7.44 to -5.73).

“The mechanisms by which digital mindfulness interventions impart benefits for both general and work-related stress may include an improved capacity to cope with and positively reappraise stressful situations, as well as enhanced mindfulness and attention regulation,” investigators wrote. “In a work context, these enhanced coping abilities may lead to the reappraisal of demands as manageable and work stressors as within one’s control, leading to decreased job strain.”

Investigators noted that the findings were limited by a limited sample of participants who identified as service workers, Black or African American, or males—all groups who were likely high in work burnout. The team also added how they were unable to determine whether treatment effects were due to nonspecific factors such as time or attention or mindfulness-based factors.

“Given the strong effects of digital mindfulness and the low cost, greater dissemination across workplace settings could be beneficial,” investigators concluded. “Future studies are needed to enhance adherence and to better characterize treatment mechanisms.”

References

1. Radin RM, Vacarro J, Fromer E, et al. Digital Meditation to Target Employee Stress: A Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA Netw Open. 2025;8(1):e2454435. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.54435
2. Jamieson SD, Tuckey MR. Mindfulness interventions in the workplace: A critique of the current state of the literature. J Occup Health Psychol. 2017 Apr;22(2):180-193. doi: 10.1037/ocp0000048. Epub 2016 Sep 19. PMID: 27643606.