A Web-based Stress Reduction Program for Occupational Health

Purpose: The purpose of this evidenced-based practice project is to implement a sustainable 6week mindfulness web-based program to reduce stress of call center employees in a corporate setting. Background/significance: Stress is a major public health issue, calling for a need of better stress management programs to prevent and manage chronic stress. Stress is caused when an individual perceives environmental demands as beyond his/her adaptive capacity. In the workplace, stress leads to emotional exhaustion, job dissatisfaction, lower productivity, and impaired performance (Allexandre et al., 2016). According to The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health report, 40% of workers reported their job was very or extremely stressful. The Seventh Annual Labor Day Survey results indicate that 80% of workers feel stress on the job, nearly half say they need help in learning how to manage stress, and 42% say their coworkers need such help (The American Institute of Stress (TAIS), 2014). Mindfulness meditation consists of developing focused attention, non-judgmental awareness, openness, curiosity, and acceptance of internal and external present experiences, all of which aim to help individuals act more reflectively rather than impulsively. Internet-based stress management programs, focusing on mindfulness meditation, may provide easy access, minimize stress-related diseases, and improve individual resilience (Morledge et al., 2013). From September 2014 to December 2016, the study site experienced a high number of stress-related clinic visits. 829 employees were seen and completed a health questionnaire. Of these employees, 17.1% were unsatisfied or very unsatisfied with their stress management posing a significant need for a program to reduce stress. Methods: The employees were informed about the web-based mindfulness stress management program via email and if interested in completing the 6-week course, were encouraged to inquire by responding to the notification. An individual meeting was held prior to the start of the program to introduce and review the details and at the end of the program to debrief. Throughout the duration of the program, participants received emails every week to ensure participation and completion of weekly topics. Two validated scales, The Perceived Stress Scale and the Mindfulness Attention Awareness Scale, were used at two time periods throughout the program: pre-program and post-program. Outcomes achieved: The results indicated that the mindfulness intervention group had significant decreases in perceived stress as well as increased mindfulness as evidenced by improvement in scores of the perceived stress and mindful attention awareness scales. Conclusions: This on-line mindfulness intervention seems to be both practical and effective in decreasing employee stress, while improving mindfulness leading to increased work engagement, work productivity and becoming effective at dealing with life’s stressful events, thereby enhancing overall employee well-being. A WEB-BASED STRESS REDUCTION PROGRAM Introduction Stress has been widely cited as the 20th century epidemic and a worldwide epidemic according to the United Nations in the world health organization (Azagba, & Sharaf, 2011). Stress is caused when an individual perceives environmental demands as beyond his/her adaptive capacity. Severe psychological stress affects approximately 35% of North Americans (Morledge et al., 2013). Highly stressed individuals are at greater risk for multiple health conditions including cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes, depression and anxiety, fatigue, obesity, and musculoskeletal pain (Wolever, et al., 2012). These health conditions in turn lead to greater utilization of health care services resulting in high costs for large corporations. Occupational pressure is now recognized as a major source of stress for United States (U.S.) adults, The National . According to productivity and employee health to hazard serious a representing , 40% of workers reported their job was very Institute for Occupational Safety and Health report results indicate that 80% of The Seventh Annual Labor Day Survey or extremely stressful. workers feel stress on the job, nearly half say they need help in learning how to manage stress, ). 2014 , TAIS rs need such help ( say their coworke 42% and In the U.S., 70% of employees consider the workplace a significant source of stress and 51% report that job stress reduces their productivity (Azagba, & Sharaf, 2011). The International Labor Organization has estimated that 30% of all work-related disorders are due to stress, and that the loss caused by such stressinduced disorders amounted to EUR 9.2 billion in the EU, EUR 1.1–1.2 billion in the U.K., and USD 6.6 billion in U.S.A.” (Wolever et al., 2012). 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