JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

Modern workplaces create increasing demands on employees, often leading to stress, burnout, and reduced functional capacity. These challenges contribute to significant functionality losses, with absenteeism and presenteeism posing economic burdens. Mindfulness-based workplace interventions have been shown to improve mental health, yet their effect on specific work-related performance outcomes such as concentration, mistakes, and procrastination over time is less explored.

Objective:

This study evaluates self-reported workplace function changes over a 10-week period among users of a digital behavioral health program.

Methods:

This retrospective analysis used real-world data from users of the Dario Health Behavioral Health App. Participants were required to complete at least two workplace functionality assessments, including one at week 1as baseline. The assessment comprised three items measuring concentration difficulties, mistakes at work, and procrastination, each rated on a 0 (“Not at all”) to 3 (“A lot”) scale. Users who initially scored 2 (“Often”) or 3 (“A lot”) on each respective measure formed the cohorts for analysis. A piecewise mixed-effects model, with a cut-off at 4 weeks, examined changes in each outcome over two-time segments (weeks 1–4 and weeks 4–10), with random intercepts for individual participants.

Results:

The results per each assessment; Concentration: Among 1,254 users, no significant change was observed during weeks 1–4 (B = −0.01, p = .48). Significant improvement occurred in weeks 4–10 (B = −0.05, p < .001). Mistakes at Work: In 167 users, no change was detected in weeks 1–4 (B = −0.02, p = .47), but significant improvement was noted in weeks 4–10 (B = −0.19, p < .001). Procrastination: Among 1,004 users, no change was found in weeks 1–4 (B = −0.00, p = .66), while weeks 4–10 showed significant improvement (B = −0.06, p < .001).

Conclusions:

The behavioral health digital platform was associated with meaningful improvements in workplace function, particularly after sustained use beyond four weeks. By addressing mental health and gradually enhancing cognitive performance, such programs can reduce functionality impairments and support employee well-being. Long-term engagement appears essential to maximize benefits, warranting further research into sustained impacts and optimization strategies for workplace productivity.