Musculoskeletal Discomfort, Work-related Vigor
Conditions
Keywords
feasibility study, occupational health, AI coach, microbreaks
Brief summary
This study evaluates the feasibility of an online intervention based on artificial intelligence-the Movebite app integrated into the Slack platform-aimed at promoting engagement in micro-breaks involving physical activity, with the goal of enhancing workplace well-being and reducing musculoskeletal discomfort among remote workers.
Detailed description
Remote and hybrid work have intensified sedentary behavior, increasing the risk of professional burnout and negatively affecting employee health. This study investigates the feasibility and accessibility of the Movebite app, an AI-based tool integrated into Slack, designed to encourage active micro-breaks. Through a one-arm, pre-test post-test design, we evaluate the feasibility and usability of the AI-based virtual coach and its relevance for well-being of employees working from home. This research contributes to the development and promotion of empirically grounded solutions in the field of occupational health psychology, testing an innovative technological approach to reduce the negative impact of sedentary work.
Interventions
DEVICEMobi
Mobi is a conversational AI coach that serves as an occupational health coach for employees. Through coaching conversations, Mobi gets to know each employee and help them set micro-goals to work towards their overall health goal/objective. Mobi suggests small, personalized activities for the micro-breaks that align with these goals. To ensure ease of use it is integrated into Slack and MS Teams.
Sponsors
West University of Timisoara
Study design
Allocation
NA
Intervention model
SINGLE_GROUP
Primary purpose
DEVICE_FEASIBILITY
Masking
NONE
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to 60 Years
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
* Employees between the ages of 18-60 years' old * Full-time working entirely from home (home office) * Have a PC or laptop and basic digital competencies * Proficient in English language
Exclusion criteria
* Other work arrangements such as shift-work, part-time work * Unable to access the internet/computer/install Slack app (Yes/No questions) * No proficiency for English * Not working mainly from a desk (e.g., fieldwork) * Current health issues (current pregnancy, any neurological, vascular, or acute musculoskeletal condition or any disease or symptom)
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Positive and negative affect | Change from baseline to post-test (1 week; 5 workdays) | Affect will be measured using the Positive Affect subscale from the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS; Watson, Clark, & Tellegen, 1988). This scale assesses the extent to which individuals have experienced a range of positive emotions (e.g., enthusiastic, inspired, alert) over the past week. Participants rate each item on a 5-point scale, from Very slightly or not at all to Extremely. Higher scores reflect a higher level of positive emotional experience. |
| Vigor | Change from baseline to post-test (1 week; 5 workdays) | Vigor refers to a positive affective state experienced at work. It will be assessed using five items from the Physical Strength subscale of the instrument developed by Shirom (2003). A higher score means a better outcome (i.e., increased employee vigor). |
| Focus | Change from baseline to post-test (1 week; 5 workdays). | Focus refers to an employee's capacity to maintain attention and mental clarity while working. It will be assessed using five items from the Cognitive Liveliness subscale of the instrument developed by Shirom (2003). A higher score indicates a better outcome (i.e., increased cognitive focus at work). |
| Physical (dis)comfort | Change from baseline to post-test (1 week; 5 workdays) | Physical discomfort (musculoskeletal pain) will be measured using a single-item instrument based on the Visual Analog Scale (VAS) (Häfeli & Elfering, 2006). The VAS is a widely used and validated method for assessing subjective physical symptoms such as pain intensity. Participants will indicate their level of discomfort by marking a point along a continuum, reflecting their experience over the past week. Higher scores indicate greater musculoskeletal discomfort. |
| Satisfaction with the intervention | Post-intervention (1 week). | Seven additional items are open-ended and will be analyzed qualitatively. These items allow participants to elaborate on what aspects of the program they found most or least valuable, describe their experience with communication tools within the intervention, and offer suggestions for improvement. |
| System usability | Post-intervention (1 week) | We will use a 10 item questionnaire (Bangor et al., 2009) designed to measure participants' satisfaction with Mobi, the AI health coach. The total score of System Usability Scale is 0 and the highest one is 100. A higher score means a better outcome. |
| Treatment adherence | Post-intervention only (1 week) | Dropout rate and frequency of app usage. |
Other
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Before and/or after-work physical activities | Baseline only | To assess participants' engagement in physical activity outside working hours, we included two binary (Yes/No) items referring to typical weekly behaviors. The first item evaluates whether participants engage in light movement after work hours (e.g., walking, stretching), while the second item assesses participation in regular, scheduled workout sessions either before or after the workday. These items aim to provide a brief overview of participants' physical activity routines that may contribute to their overall well-being and complement the effects of the intervention. |
| Sociodemographic information | Baseline only | Age, gender, background, educational level, average monthly income, work experience, etc. |
| Physical activity during work | Baseline only | What employees currently do to stay active during working hours (i.e., stretching, short walks, taking the stairs, using a standing desk, scheduled workout sessions during work, other) |
Countries
Romania
Outcome results
None listed