30 Day Mobile App Programs for Stress Management in Customer Service Representatives
Condition: Psychological Stress; Inflammation
MeSH terms: Inflammation; Stress, Psychological
Study type: Interventional

Summary: 
      Burnout and stress at work can make individuals less productive, which can carry over into
      their personal and at-home lives and negatively impact health. Customer service
      representatives are under especially high strain as they are exposed to significant
      interpersonal conflict at work, both with frustrated customers and with pressure from
      coworkers and supervisors. However, recent research has found that different stress
      management interventions (e.g., mindfulness meditation training) can increase job
      satisfaction and work productivity. However, individuals with significant stress might find
      these training program classes difficult to attend with their busy schedules. Newer
      interventions have focused on smartphone mobile applications as an effective delivery system
      for these training programs. Thus, the purpose of this project is to conduct a randomized
      controlled trial (RCT) comparing two different stress management smartphone app programs to
      evaluate effects on job-related outcomes, functional and structural brain outcomes, and
      biology.
    

Detailed description: 
      Approach: Employees will be given study flyers describing the study and encouraged to call a
      project hotline to evaluate their study eligibility. Eligible participants will be scheduled
      for an in-person study baseline and neuroimaging appointment at Carnegie Mellon University
      where they will provide written informed consent, complete baseline survey measures, provide
      several drops of blood via a finger prick (Dried Blood Spot (DBS) samples), and complete a
      60-minute neuroimaging scan. After completing baseline measures participants will be
      instructed on how to download and use the Headspace smartphone app, and will be randomly
      assigned to one of the two programs. Participants will be asked to complete a 7- minute
      end-of-day daily diary measure each day during the treatment period, which will measure
      stress, affect, sleep, and workplace perceptions (a text message link will be sent an hour
      before the participant's standard bedtime each day). The project team will monitor treatment
      adherence (participants who do not complete a daily practice session will be called and
      reminded the following day). In the week following the end of the treatment period,
      participants will be scheduled to come back to Carnegie Mellon for a post-treatment
      appointment where they will complete the same measures as at baseline (survey measures, DBS,
      and neuroimaging). Participants will then be debriefed, compensated, and dismissed.
      Approximately two months after participants complete the 30-day program, we will call them
      for a 15-minute follow-up call. During this call, participants will answer a few
      questionnaire items and a brief program evaluation.

      Interventions: Participants will be asked to complete one lesson daily for 30- days on the
      Headspace app; the first ten lessons will be 10 minutes long, the next ten will be 15 minutes
      long, and the final ten will be 20 minutes long. The mindfulness program will consist of the
      standard base program offered in Headspace. The Recharge program will consist of problem
      solving and stress management instruction.

      Setting and Participants: David Creswell's Health and Human Performance Laboratory at
      Carnegie Mellon University will direct this study. Participants will be customer service
      employees (those who interact with customers daily via phone or in-person interactions)
      recruited from the Pittsburgh region.
    

Intervention name(s): Mindfulness Training; Reflection and Problem Solving
Intervention type(s): Behavioral; Behavioral
Intervention description(s): Guided mindfulness meditation and stress management training; Guided reflection,problem solving,and analytical thinking training
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: Single (Outcomes Assessor)
Primary purpose: Basic Science
Keywords: Job Stress; Mindfulness; Inflammation; Neuroimaging