Cited by 465Mindfulness and Compassion InterventionsDigital Mental Health InterventionsWorkplace Health and Well-being

Mindfulness on-the-go: Effects of a mindfulness meditation app on work stress and well-being

Open access
Bostock, Sophie, Crosswell, Alexandra D., Prather, Aric A., Steptoe, Andrew·2019·Journal of Occupational Health Psychology

Abstract

We investigated whether a mindfulness meditation program delivered via a smartphone application could improve psychological well-being, reduce job strain, and reduce ambulatory blood pressure during the workday. Participants were 238 healthy employees from two large United Kingdom companies that were randomized to a mindfulness meditation practice app or a wait-list control condition. The app offered 45 prerecorded 10- to 20-min guided audio meditations. Participants were asked to complete one meditation per day. Psychosocial measures and blood pressure throughout one working day were measured at baseline and eight weeks later; a follow-up survey was also emailed to participants 16 weeks after the intervention start. Usage data showed that during the 8-week intervention period, participants randomized to the intervention completed an average of 17 meditation sessions (range 0-45 sessions). The intervention group reported significant improvement in well-being, distress, job strain, and perceptions of workplace social support compared to the control group. In addition, the intervention group had a marginally significant decrease in self-measured workday systolic blood pressure from pre- to post-intervention. Sustained positive effects in the intervention group were found for well-being and job strain at the 16-week follow-up assessment. This trial suggests that short guided mindfulness meditations delivered via smartphone and practiced multiple times per week can improve outcomes related to work stress and well-being, with potentially lasting effects. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

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Crossref · 10.1037/ocp0000118

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  • Digital applications such as Headspace and Calm guide users through meditation practices and can help reduce mental stress, improve attention and focus, and enhance cognitive resilience.

    “Digital applications such as 'Headspace' and 'Calm' guide users through meditation practices and can help in reducing mental stress, improving attention and focus and enhance cognitive resilience (Bostock et al., 2019).”

    From The impact of digital technology, social media, and artificial intelligence on cognitive functions: a review (2023) · cites this paper as Bostock et al., 2019

    The Methods (Intervention; page unavailable) identify Headspace as the app used and describe its guided meditations. The Discussion (page unavailable) reports reduced distress and job strain in working adults. The paper does not study Calm or establish that either app improves attention, focus, or cognitive resilience; it discusses attention regulation as a possible mechanism rather than a measured outcome. (LLM, conf=0.88)

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  • Focused attention meditation has been shown to have similar benefits to other forms of mindfulness meditation, such as reducing stress and promoting relaxation.

    “This practice has been shown to have similar benefits to other forms of mindfulness meditation, such as reducing stress and promoting relaxation (Bostock et al. 2019;Jain et al. 2007).”

    From Lessons from Master Hongyi’s Experiences with Impermanence for Death Education (2024) · cites this paper as Bostock et al. 2019

    The Methods (Intervention; page unavailable) describe an app combining focused attention with open monitoring, and the Discussion reports reduced job strain after its use. The paper does not compare focused-attention meditation with other forms of mindfulness meditation or establish that it promotes relaxation. (LLM, conf=0.86)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
  • Self-directed app-based meditation has been shown to be effective for a variety of outcomes, including stress, burnout, and other aspects of professional well-being.

    “In addition, self‐directed app‐based meditation, which can be more accessible to busy clinicians than live classes, has been shown to be effective for a variety of outcomes, including stress, burnout, and other aspects of professional well‐being (Bostock et al., 2019; Champion et al., 2018; Gál et al., 2021; Flett et al., 2020; Radin et al., 2025; Taylor et al., 2022; Zawadzki et al., 2025).”

    From The effects of mindfulness meditation on burnout in clinical genetic counselors: A three-arm randomized controlled trial (2026) · cites this paper as Bostock et al., 2019

    The Discussion reports that app-based meditation improved job strain and several measures of well-being in working adults. It explicitly says burnout was not assessed and identifies it as an outcome for future research. The study also did not test accessibility specifically for busy clinicians. (LLM, conf=0.90)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
  • Some studies used commercially available apps not tailored to companies to test their effectiveness among their target group, and effectiveness in stress perception, perceived mindfulness and perceived well-being could be demonstrated.

    “Furthermore, some studies used commercially available apps (and, thus, ones not tailored to companies) to test their effectiveness among their target group. Examples of these apps are the Calm app [43, 57] and Headspace. Effectiveness in terms of, e.g., stress perception, perceived mindfulness and perceived well-being could be demonstrated [27, 34, 39, 40].”

    From Advantages and disadvantages of mobile applications for workplace health promotion: A scoping review (2024) · cites this paper as [27]

    The Methods (Intervention) identify Headspace as a commercially available app, and the Discussion says it contained no explicit work-stress teaching. The Results (Intervention Effects at Primary Endpoint) report improved well-being and reduced job strain among employees. However, this paper does not demonstrate an improvement in global perceived stress, and its mindfulness measure was a manipulation check rather than a reported study outcome. (LLM, conf=0.86)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
  • Positive effects were found in mindfulness, work engagement, job satisfaction, emotional exhaustion, emotional intelligence, self-efficacy, well-being, coping with stress and job strain, and perceptions of workplace social support.

    “Positive effects were found in the areas of mindfulness, work engagement, job satisfaction, emotional exhaustion, emotional intelligence, self-efficacy [50], well-being, coping with stress and job strain, and perceptions of workplace social support [27].”

    From Advantages and disadvantages of mobile applications for workplace health promotion: A scoping review (2024) · cites this paper as [27]

    The Results (Intervention Effects at Primary Endpoint, page not available) report improvements in well-being, job strain, and workplace social support, supporting the outcomes attributed to [27]. The paper discusses improved coping with stress as a proposed mechanism in the Introduction, but does not report coping as a measured intervention outcome. (LLM, conf=0.85)

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Research works printed but not linked: 1

  1. Pickering TG White WB American Society of Hypertension Writing Group 2008b When and how to use self (home) and ambulatory blood pressure monitoring Journal of the American Society of Hypertension: JASH 2 3 119 24 10.1016/j.jash.2008.04.002 20409893 · DOI · Paper page

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Authors
Bostock, S., Crosswell, A. D., Prather, A. A., & Steptoe, A.
Affiliations
  • University College London (GB)
  • University of California, San Francisco (US)
Venue
Journal of Occupational Health Psychology
Published
2019-02
Volume
24
Issue
1
Pages
127-138
ISSN
  • 1076-8998 (ISSN-L)
  • 1939-1307
OpenAlex
W2801990151
Cited by
465
References
65
Citations by year
2026: 45 · 2025: 61 · 2024: 62 · 2023: 76 · 2022: 98 · 2021: 59 · 2020: 39 · 2019: 22 · 2018: 3
FWCI
36.06
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Journal of Occupational Health Psychology (publishedVersion, other-oa)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
  • UCL Discovery (University College London) (submittedVersion)
  • eScholarship (California Digital Library) (submittedVersion)
Funders
  • British Heart Foundation
  • National Institute on Aging (R24AG048024)
  • National Heart Lung and Blood Institute (K08HL112961)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Mindfulness and Compassion Interventions
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Applied Psychology › Digital Mental Health Interventions
  • Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Workplace Health and Well-being
Keywords
mindfulness meditation, mobile application, occupational stress, job strain, psychological well-being, ambulatory blood pressure, social support at work, occupational health, digital mental health interventions, employee well-being
MeSH terms
Smartphone, Occupational Stress, Adult, Analysis of Variance, Blood Pressure, Female, United Kingdom, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Personal Satisfaction, Psychiatric Status Rating Scales, Social Support, Treatment Outcome, Blood Pressure Monitoring, Ambulatory, Meditation, Young Adult, Mobile Applications, Mindfulness

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