Towards Personalized Feedback as an Energizer: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Abstract

Higher levels of personal energy are related to higher well-being, productivity, creativity, and better mental health. Thus, systems supporting employees to self-manage their energy at work might be a straightforward instrument of sustainable health promotion and performance maintenance. However, assistance for energy self-management is still in its infancy and requires further research on energy trajectories, individual factors involved, and the implications for behavioral recommendations. In order to investigate day-to-day fluctuations, experience sampling is a common assessment instrument. In recent years, experience sampling researchers have begun to provide their participants personalized feedback reports. Mostly, however, feedback only serves to motivate participation and is therefore provided at the end of a study. Accordingly, the potential benefits inherent in the personalized feedback on phenomena still being investigated are understudied. Taking into account individual variability, we developed personalized feedback on energy trajectories and associated behaviors. This feedback is automatically created from the self-reported data of each participant during daily diaries. We conducted a comprehensive randomized controlled study across four weeks with a sample of 136 employees from diverse occupational contexts to evaluate the effectiveness of this personalized feedback. Our analyses show promising opportunities for utilizing feedback to benefit experienced energy and for deepening research in IT-supported energy self-management.