Managing Depressive Symptoms in the Workplace Using a Web-Based Self-Care Tool: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial

Area of Science:

• Digital mental health interventions
• Workplace behavioral health
• Psychological intervention research

Background:

• Workplace depression incurs substantial costs due to lost productivity.
• myStrength offers a comprehensive digital platform for psychological interventions.
• Evidence-based psychological interventions are crucial for managing depression.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the effectiveness of myStrength in reducing depressive symptoms among at-risk employees.
• To compare myStrength's impact against an active control group.
• To assess the feasibility of myStrength as a workplace mental health solution.

Main Methods:

• A 26-week randomized controlled trial (RCT) compared myStrength to "Depression Tip/Fact of the Week" emails.
• Participants (n=146) were employees at risk of depression.
• Self-reported depression scores were analyzed using a linear random effects model.

Main Results:

• myStrength users showed a significantly faster and greater reduction in depressive symptoms (P<.001).
• The intervention demonstrated effectiveness in a nonclinical employee sample.
• The study included 78 participants in the myStrength arm and 68 in the control arm.

Conclusions:

• This pilot study supports myStrength as a scalable, complementary workplace behavioral health solution.
• myStrength can promote mental health and well-being in the workplace.
• Further research can build upon these findings for broader deployment.