Mental well-being in the workplace has evolved considerably, evidencing a growing trend toward prioritizing mental health among workers. According to the American Psychological Association's (APA) Work in America 2023 Survey , 92% of workers indicated that it is very or somewhat important to them to work for an organization that values their emotional and psychological well-being. In addition, 77% of workers reported being very or somewhat satisfied with the mental health and wellness support they receive from their coworkers.
Recent statistics also reveal a growing demand from employers, with 71% of workers reporting that they believe their employers are more concerned about mental health than in the past. Even in countries such as the United States, employee mental health has declined to a level not seen in seven months, according to the September 2023 Mental Health Index report.
The emergence of new post-pandemic work scenarios has made attention to employee mental health essential to maintaining both productivity and staff retention. In this context, employers face the additional challenge of balancing costs without neglecting mental health support for their teams.
With this problem in mind, Quantik Lab developed 'Mindfulness VR'. Beyond a project, it is an experience that takes place at the intersection of virtual reality (VR) and mindfulness, which is the focusing of attention on the present moment, focusing on what is happening "here and now".
Using VR viewers, we created a series of immersive experiences, carefully designed to address different aspects of work stress to offer employees an escape and reflection amidst daily demands. Among the experiences available, employees can opt for options such as "Difficult meetings", "Relaxation" or "Charge your batteries!".
The contents were created using Generative Artificial Intelligence. Using combined image, video, text and audio generation tools, customized experiences could be designed that aim not only to relax the body, but also to work on specific objectives. For example, the "difficult meetings" experience contains thoughtful and consciously generated music and voiceover text to gradually guide the participant to achieve the goal of reaching a state of relaxation prior to a demanding meeting.
How do we implement it?
Implementation is as simple as it is effective. Through the meeting room booking platform used, in this case Teams, employees can schedule the time of their choice, subject to equipment availability, and access a booth specially designed for this purpose. Once inside, they put on the VR viewer and headset, and choose the immersive experience of their choice, which lasts only five minutes. The goal is to provide a respite, a moment of mental recalibration that can contribute to a better management of stress and anxiety, abstracting the user completely from daily operations.
The results
With close to 50 people participating in the experience, more than 90% of the participants rated the effectiveness of the project with a score of 8 out of 10. Some employees requested longer experiences, highlighting the impact and positive reception that 'Mindfulness VR' has had on the staff. Testimonials such as "I loved it. You can really relax, organize your thoughts and prepare for a meeting," sum up the resonance and relevance of the project in the contemporary work environment.
The Quantik Lab team is in the process of working on converting this experience into a scalable product, so that more companies in Uruguay and the region can attend to the health of their employees in an innovative and immersive way.
By Fabricio González, Head of Quantik Lab.
With more than 20 years in IT, Fabricio studied Systems Engineering and Administration at the University of Salamanca. He was a mentor at the Uruguayan Chamber of Technologies and has collaborated with organizations such as JCI and Singularity University. Today he leads software and innovation projects at Quantik.
About Quantik Lab
Quantik Lab is the area of the Quantik Group dedicated to research and development (R&D). Its objective is to foster and mature the creation of new products and technologies, which can then be scaled. Ideas for exploring new topics come from both customers and partners.
Today, he conducts research on metaverse, internet of things, electric mobility, customer experience and smart cities.
