HRV-based workplace consultation for managers: a randomized controlled trial on enhancing biopsychosocial awareness
Elisabeth M Balint1,2, Christin Braun3, Charlotte Mümken3
1Leadership Personality Center Ulm (LPCU), University of Ulm, Ulm, Germany.
Introduction:
Effective tools are needed to communicate the biopsychosocial model of health in the workplace, emphasizing the interaction between mind, body, and environment. A 24-h heart rate variability (HRV) spectrogram, combined with a diary, was used to provide individualized feedback on these interactions.
Methods:
One hundred managers from a manufacturing and engineering company in southern Germany were randomized into either an intervention group (IG) or a control group (CG). The IG underwent a 24-h ECG measurement, documented daily events, and completed questionnaires. These data informed a 50-min consultation that focused on the connection among emotions, thoughts, recorded situations, and HRV. Questionnaires were repeated after 3 months. Changes in the primary outcome-awareness of biopsychosocial interactions-were analyzed using repeated-measures ANOVA.
Results:
Data from 81 participants were included in the final analysis. Participants (94% men, mean ± SD age 48 ± 8.6 years) in the IG reported significantly greater awareness of mind-body interactions (p = 0.032, η 2 = 0.057) and were more likely to respond to their body's needs (p = 0.008, η 2 = 0.085). Perceived stress was significantly reduced only in the IG (p = 0.017, η 2 = 0.071).
Conclusion:
This approach, which integrates HRV visualization with diary-based reflection, proved to be a feasible and effective method for enhancing awareness of biopsychosocial processes, supporting self-regulation, promoting behavioral change, and reducing perceived stress in occupational settings.
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