Employees’ Perspectives on the Facilitators and Barriers to Engaging With Digital Mental Health Interventions in the Workplace: Qualitative Study
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Abstract
Background: Prevalence rates of work-related stress, depression, and anxiety are high, resulting in reduced productivity and increased absenteeism. There is evidence that these conditions can be successfully treated in the workplace, but take-up of psychological treatments among workers is low. Digital mental health interventions delivered in the workplace may be one way to address this imbalance, but although there is evidence that digital mental health is effective at treating stress, depression, and anxiety in the workplace, uptake of and engagement with these interventions remains a concern. Additionally, there is little research on the appropriateness of the workplace for delivering these interventions or on what the facilitators and barriers to engagement with digital mental health interventions in an occupational setting might be. Objective: The aim of this research was to get a better understanding of the facilitators and barriers to engaging with digital mental health interventions in the workplace. Methods: Semistructured interviews were held with 18 participants who had access to an occupational digital mental health intervention as part of a randomized controlled trial. The interviews were transcribed, and thematic analysis was used to develop an understanding of the data. Results: Digital mental health interventions were described by interviewees as convenient, flexible, and anonymous; these attributes were seen as being both facilitators and barriers to engagement in a workplace setting. Convenience and flexibility could increase the opportunities to engage with digital mental health, but in a workplace setting they could also result in difficulty in prioritizing time and ensuring a temporal and spatial separation between work and therapy. The anonymity of the Internet could encourage use, but that benefit may be lost for people who work in open-plan offices. Other facilitators to engagement included interactive and interesting content and design features such as progress trackers and reminders to log in. The main barrier to engagement was the lack of time. The perfect digital mental health intervention was described as a website that combined a short interactive course that was accessed alongside time-unlimited information and advice that was regularly updated and could be dipped in and out of. Participants also wanted access to e-coaching support. Conclusions: Occupational digital mental health interventions may have an important role in delivering health care support to employees. Although the advantages of digital mental health interventions are clear, they do not always fully translate to interventions delivered in an occupational setting and further work is required to identify ways of minimizing potential barriers to access and engagement. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT02729987; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02729987?term=NCT02729987& rank=1 (Archived at WebCite at http://www.webcitation.org/6wZJge9rt)
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Participants expressed a need for more structured use of DMHIs (e.g., app reminders or a human coach checking on them regularly).
“Participants expressed a need to receive more structured use, for example, through app reminders or a human coach checking on them on a regular basis [49,50,113,122,133,137,139,148,150,163,175-182].”
From Barriers to and facilitators of user engagement with digital mental health interventions: Systematic review (2021) · cites this paper as [137]
The Results section, “Facilitators to Engagement” (page not provided), says automated reminders and e-coach log-in prompts helped participants engage. However, “The Role of the E-Coach” says participants differed in how proactive they wanted the coach to be; it does not establish a general need for regular coach check-ins or more structured use. (LLM, conf=0.84)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredSome participants were concerned about whether an intervention was truly anonymous if it was used in a small setting with a limited number of known users.
“Other study participants were concerned about whether an intervention was truly anonymous if it was used in a small setting, with a limited number of known users [137].”
From Barriers to and facilitators of user engagement with digital mental health interventions: Systematic review (2021) · cites this paper as [137]
The Results section ('The Negatives of Digital Mental Health Interventions'; page unavailable) reports concern that colleagues in an open-plan office could see a participant’s screen. The Discussion ('Positives and Negatives of Digital Mental Health in the Workplace'; page unavailable) says anonymity was hard to maintain in that environment. Neither passage attributes the concern to a small setting with a limited number of known users. (LLM, conf=0.86)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredIn 7 studies, anonymity (users could share and receive information anonymously) was listed as a facilitating factor to engage and encourage disclosure of information.
“Overall, 7 studies listed anonymity, meaning that users could share and receive information anonymously, as a facilitating factor to engage and encourage disclosure of information [41,88,129,137,141,148,232].”
From Barriers to and facilitators of user engagement with digital mental health interventions: Systematic review (2021) · cites this paper as [137]
The Discussion section, “Positives and Negatives of Digital Mental Health in the Workplace” (page unavailable), says anonymity helped some participants access support without fear of stigma, supporting its role as an engagement facilitator. The paper does not establish that anonymity encouraged disclosure through sharing and receiving information anonymously; the Results section, “The Negatives of Digital Mental Health Interventions,” includes a participant who said anonymous use involved “no real sharing.” The count of seven studies belongs to the citing paper’s synthesis, not to this source alone. (LLM, conf=0.86)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredStudy participants who used a mental health intervention in the workplace said privacy was not possible, as colleagues could see what someone was doing at their desk and when they were interacting with the intervention.
“Study participants who used a mental health intervention in the workplace [137] said privacy was not possible, as colleagues could see what someone was doing at their desk and when they were interacting with the intervention.”
From Barriers to and facilitators of user engagement with digital mental health interventions: Systematic review (2021) · cites this paper as [137]
In Results, under “The Negatives of Digital Mental Health Interventions” (page unavailable), a participant describes an open-plan desk where colleagues could see her computer screen, supporting the privacy concern. But the paper presents this as a difficulty for some participants, not as proof that privacy was impossible for everyone; its Results also describe participants who valued the intervention’s privacy. (LLM, conf=0.87)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredIt may be difficult to successfully implement web-based interventions within an organization as employees prefer to separate health matters and their workplace.
“It may also be difficult to successfully implement web-based interventions within an organization as employees prefer to separate health matters and their workplace [32].”
From Acceptability of Web-Based Mental Health Interventions in the Workplace: Systematic Review (2022) · cites this paper as [32]
In 3 studies, participants mentioned that it was challenging to find a private space at home or work to use an intervention, which formed a barrier to engaging with it.
“In 3 studies, participants mentioned that as opposed to going to a health care provider office, it was challenging to find a private space at home or work to use an intervention, which formed a barrier to engaging with it [136-138].”
From Barriers to and facilitators of user engagement with digital mental health interventions: Systematic review (2021) · cites this paper as [137]
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“There is currently little evidence to support the use of online peer support groups for people experiencing depression [65,66] or for young people experiencing mental health problems [67].”
Wahle, F., Bollhalder, L., Kowatsch, T., & Fleisch, E. (2017) · Journal of Medical Internet Research · doi:10.2196/jmir.7381 · Cited by 48 · cited 1× · see citing works
“There is also evidence, however, that these email prompts could be easily ignored (and even resented) in a workplace context as a consequence of a full inbox [49].”
de Visser, R. O., Graber, R., Hart, A., Abraham, C., Scanlon, T., Watten, P., & Memon, A. (2015) · Health Psychology · doi:10.1037/hea0000163 · Cited by 42 · cited 1× · see citing works
“Combining quantitative and qualitative data is recommended as an effective means of getting a better understanding of new and innovative technologies [26] and other interventions [27].”
Barriers to Mental Health Service Use Among Workers With Depression and Work Productivity
Dewa, C. S., & Hoch, J. S. (2015) · Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine · doi:10.1097/jom.0000000000000472 · Cited by 41 · cited 1× · see citing works
“There is evidence that these conditions can be successfully prevented and treated in the workplace [11-14], but take-up of psychological treatments among workers is low, resulting in many workers going untreated [2,15,16].”
The Solutions Focus. The Simple Way to Positive Change
Cowburn, J. (2003) · Leadership & Organization Development Journal · doi:10.1108/lodj.2003.02224cae.002 · Cited by 38 · see citing works
Health-related job loss: findings from a community-based survey
Solomon, C., Poole, J., Palmer, K., & Coggon, D. (2006) · Occupational and Environmental Medicine · doi:10.1136/oem.2005.024257 · Cited by 38 · cited 1× · see citing works
“They are associated with reduced productivity [2-5], early retirement [6], increased sickness absence [7-8], presenteeism (not working at capacity while at work) [9], and staff turnover through health-related job loss [10].”
UMANODAN, R., SHIMAZU, A., MINAMI, M., & KAWAKAMI, N. (2014) · Industrial Health · doi:10.2486/indhealth.2013-0209 · Cited by 36 · cited 1× · see citing works
“Although there are examples of occupational digital mental health interventions that have achieved good adherence [18-21], uptake of and engagement with these interventions in the workplace clearly remains a pressing concern.”
Disability, employment and work performance among people with ICD-10 anxiety disorders
Waghorn, G., Chant, D. C., White, P., et al. (2005) · Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry · doi:10.1111/j.1440-1614.2005.01510.x · Cited by 36 · see citing works
Junge, M. N., Lehr, D., Bockting, C., Berking, M., Riper, H. M., Cuijpers, P. J., & Ebert, D. D. (2014) · Internet Interventions · doi:10.1016/j.invent.2014.11.007 · Cited by 27 · cited 1× · see citing works
“These advantages have led digital health interventions to being described as being well suited for the workplace [25], but with occupational digital mental health interventions still being in their infancy, little research has been done to see if these perceived advantages translate to an…”
Feasibility of a worker-directed web-based intervention for employees with depressive symptoms
Geraedts, A. S., Kleiboer, A. M., Wiezer, N. M., Cuijpers, P., van Mechelen, W., & Anema, J. R. (2014) · Internet Interventions · doi:10.1016/j.invent.2014.07.001 · Cited by 17 · cited 1× · see citing works
“The lack of time has been identified by other studies on digital health interventions delivered in the workplace as a reason given by participants for disengaging from interventions [53-56].”
Increasing engagement with computerised cognitive behavioural therapies
Cavanagh, K., & Millings, A. (2013) · ICST Transactions on Ambient Systems · doi:10.4108/trans.amsys.01-06.2013.e3 · Cited by 15 · cited 1× · see citing works
“…a number of advantages to digital health interventions compared with traditional face-to-face interventions: these are often described as the anonymity and accessibility of the Internet with clients being able to access treatment at a time, a place, and at a pace that is convenient to them [22-24].”
Carolan, S., Harris, P. R., Greenwood, K., & Cavanagh, K. (2016) · Trials · doi:10.1186/s13063-016-1733-2 · Cited by 9 · cited 2× · see citing works
“[Jane, 28 years, third sector] Similarly, Anna [47 years, third sector] noted that engaging with the intervention “became almost a luxury” , and that when work pressures were mounting “I couldn’t devote the time to do it."”
Self-citation
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- [37]Lehr D Geraedts A Persson Asplund R Khadjesari Z Heber E de Bloom J Ebert DD Angerer P Funk B Wiencke M Cacace M Fischer S Occupational e-Mental Health: Current Approaches and Promising Perspectives for Promoting Mental Health in Workers Healthy at Work 2016 Cham Springer
- [64]Humphreys K Marx B Lexington J O'Donohue WT Fisher JE Self Monitoring as a Treatment Vehicle General Principles and Empirically Supported Techniques of Cognitive Behaviour Therapy 2009 New Jersey Wiley & Sons 576 583
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Borghouts, J., Eikey, E., Mark, G., De Leon, C., Schueller, S. M., Schneider, M., Stadnick, N., Zheng, K., Mukamel, D., & Sorkin, D. H. (2021) · Journal of Medical Internet Research · doi:10.2196/24387 · Cited by 1,069 · see citing works
“Overall, 7 studies listed anonymity, meaning that users could share and receive information anonymously, as a facilitating factor to engage and encourage disclosure of information [41,88,129,137,141,148,232].”
BackgroundInfluentialWei, Y., Zheng, P., Deng, H., Wang, X., Li, X., & Fu, H. (2020) · Journal of Medical Internet Research · doi:10.2196/21687 · Cited by 238 · see citing works
“Users highlighted the importance of being able to choose when and how they receive reminders [43,45,53,57,63-65,72], set goals for the future use of the tool [43,47,49,53,54,58,63,65], and select preferred styles, such as the color and font [46,54,59].”
BackgroundInfluentialEngagement and retention in digital mental health interventions: a narrative review
Boucher, E. M., & Raiker, J. S. (2024) · BMC Digital Health · doi:10.1186/s44247-024-00105-9 · Cited by 201 · see citing works
“Con-ceivably, these inconsistent results may be due to the fact that mental health symptoms do not directly predict engagement with DMHIs, but may impact a user’s level of motivation, which has been shown to predict engagement more consistently [47, 49].”
BackgroundInfluentialImplementing practices focused on workplace health and psychological wellbeing: A systematic review
Daniels, K., Watson, D., Nayani, R., Tregaskis, O., Hogg, M., Etuknwa, A., & Semkina, A. (2021) · Social Science & Medicine · doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2021.113888 · Cited by 92 · see citing works
Mental health in the global south
Pendse, S. R., Karusala, N., Siddarth, D., Gonsalves, P. P., Mehrotra, S., Naslund, J. A., Sood, M., Kumar, N., & Sharma, A. (2019) · ACM SIGCAS Conference on Computing and Sustainable Societies (COMPASS) · doi:10.1145/3314344.3332483 · Cited by 70 · see citing works
“Discreet technologies and mobile applications that connect people to care in safe ways may help diffuse some of the impact of stigma on helpseeking, as has been seen in several studies of mobile mental health applications [18, 48].”
BackgroundDeterminant Factors of Public Acceptance of Stress Management Apps: Survey Study
Apolinário-Hagen, J., Hennemann, S., Fritsche, L., Drüge, M., & Breil, B. (2019) · JMIR Mental Health · doi:10.2196/15373 · Cited by 63 · see citing works
“Likewise, a qualitative study [120] showed that employees characterized an optimal e-mental health intervention as a website with interactive elements that involve temporarily unlimited access to state-of-the-art information and advice.”
Carolan, S., Harris, P. R., Greenwood, K., & Cavanagh, K. (2017) · Internet Interventions · doi:10.1016/j.invent.2017.08.001 · Cited by 62 · see citing works
Self-citationPaterson, C., Leduc, C., Maxwell, M., Aust, B., Strachan, H., O’Connor, A., Tsantila, F., Cresswell‐Smith, J., Purebl, G., de Winter, L., et al. (2024) · Systematic Reviews · doi:10.1186/s13643-024-02569-2 · Cited by 63 · see citing works
“Stakeholder engagement was reported by 10 studies [83, 92, 94, 95, 97, 98, 100, 113, 117, 118] as facilitating implementation, for example, via multidisciplinary stake-holder groups [94, 97, 98, 113] and engaging staff at all levels in decision making [83, 92, 94, 95, 103, 113, 118].”
BackgroundInfluentialMoe-Byrne, T., Shepherd, J., Merecz-Kot, D., Sinokki, M., Naumanen, P., Hakkaart-van Roijen, L., & Van Der Feltz-Cornelis, C. (2022) · PLOS Digital Health · doi:10.1371/journal.pdig.0000123 · Cited by 55 · see citing works
“An advantage of digital interventions for employees in psychological distress may be that participants remain anonymous by delivering the interventions through the internet [63].”
BackgroundRecent developments in the use of smartphone interventions for mental health
Mehrotra, S., & Tripathi, R. (2018) · Current Opinion in Psychiatry · doi:10.1097/yco.0000000000000439 · Cited by 45 · see citing works
Yoon, S., Goh, H., Nadarajan, G. D., Sung, S. C., Teo, I., Lee, J., Ong, M. E. H., Graves, N., & Teo, T. L. (2021) · Journal of Medical Internet Research · doi:10.2196/26282 · Cited by 38 · see citing works
“Individualized tailoring has been found to be an effective nudge in sustaining user engagement for digital mental health interventions [24-26].”
BackgroundAcceptability of Web-Based Mental Health Interventions in the Workplace: Systematic Review
Scheutzow, J., Attoe, C., & Harwood, J. (2022) · JMIR Mental Health · doi:10.2196/34655 · Cited by 30 · see citing works
“The key data were extracted and are outlined in Table 1 (see Multimedia Appendix 2 [31-33,35,38,39,45-48] for direct measures and qualitative data sources).”
BackgroundMethodResultInfluentialRenfrew, M. E., Morton, D. P., Northcote, M. T., Morton, J. K., Hinze, J. S., & Przybylko, G. (2021) · Journal of Medical Internet Research · doi:10.2196/25358 · Cited by 34 · see citing works
“Employees described their ideal workplace intervention as one that was short, that was easily accessible, that was available for an indefinite period, updated regularly, and that provided some form of e-coaching support [14].”
Connected Mental Health: Systematic Mapping Study
(2020) · doi:10.2196/19950 · Cited by 33 · see citing works
Chan, C. M. H., Ng, S. L., In, S., Wee, L. H., & Siau, C. S. (2021) · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · doi:10.3390/ijerph18010314 · Cited by 32 · see citing works
“It is important to examine the facilitators and barriers to engaging with digital mental health interventions in the workplace [26], which was beyond the scope of this study.”
BackgroundRenfrew, M. E., Morton, D. P., Morton, J. K., & Przybylko, G. (2021) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2021.716106 · Cited by 32 · see citing works
“While access to human support is often desired by non-clinical DMHPI users (Carolan and de Visser, 2018; Renfrew et al., 2020b), its effectiveness in improving adherence or outcomes is less convincing, based on three randomized studies that compared human support variables and targeted general…”
BackgroundResultHaile, C., Kirk, A. F., Cogan, N. A., Janssen, X., Gibson, A., & MacDonald, B. (2020) · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · doi:10.3390/ijerph17165763 · Cited by 27 · see citing works
“Indeed, research has found that not having a private space within the workplace to access a digital mental health intervention and feeling exposed using the intervention whilst sat at their desk were barriers to engagement [43].”
BackgroundThe association between digitalization and mental health: The mediating role of wellbeing at work
Sun, J., Shen, H., Ibn-ul-Hassan, S., Riaz, A., & Domil, A. E. (2022) · Frontiers in Psychiatry · doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2022.934357 · Cited by 27 · see citing works
“In particular, this mental health innovation (e.g., ITI) is a convenient way of overcoming health crises in the workplace setting (17, 23).”
BackgroundCoppens, E., Hogg, B., Greiner, B. A., Paterson, C., de Winter, L., Mathieu, S. L., Cresswell‐Smith, J., Aust, B., Leduc, C., Audenhove, C. V., et al. (2023) · Journal of Occupational Medicine and Toxicology · doi:10.1186/s12995-023-00378-2 · Cited by 26 · see citing works
“Our results also show that employees have easier access to online interventions via their personal smartphone than via a computer [8] also report that for people working in open-plan offices, access to such interventions during work-hours is considered less feasible.”
BackgroundBorghouts, J. W., Eikey, E. V., Leon, C. D., Schueller, S. M., Schneider, M. L., Stadnick, N. A., Zheng, K., Wilson, L., Caro, D., Mukamel, D. B., et al. (2022) · JMIR Formative Research · doi:10.2196/43192 · Cited by 24 · see citing works
Strategies for Implementing Occupational eMental Health Interventions: Scoping Review
Bernard, R. M., Toppo, C., Raggi, A., de Mul, M., de Miquel, C., Pugliese, M. T., Feltz-Cornelis, C. M. V. D., Ortiz-Tallo, A., Salvador‐Carulla, L., Lukersmith, S., et al. (2022) · Journal of Medical Internet Research · doi:10.2196/34479 · Cited by 22 · see citing works
Engdahl, P., Svedberg, P., Lexén, A., & Bejerholm, U. (2020) · JMIR Formative Research · doi:10.2196/15625 · Cited by 22 · see citing works
“Addressing professionals’ views on digital solutions is important to foster successful adoption and implementation of such interventions [29,46].”
Kawadler, J. M., Hemmings, N. R., Ponzo, S., Morelli, D., Bird, G., & Plans, D. (2020) · JMIR Formative Research · doi:10.2196/18067 · Cited by 20 · see citing works
“Smartphone apps offer a practical, scalable, accessible, and cost-effective solution to promoting employee mental health [11-13].”
BackgroundNwaogu, J. M., Chan, A. P. C., Naslund, J. A., Hon, C. K. H., Belonwu, C., & Yang, Y. (2021) · JMIR Formative Research · doi:10.2196/18969 · Cited by 20 · see citing works
Stephenson, A., McDonough, S., MURPHY, M. H., Nugent, C., Wilson, I. M., & Mair, J. L. (2020) · Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine · doi:10.1097/jom.0000000000001777 · Cited by 20 · see citing works
Shkel, J., Green, G., Le, S., Kaveladze, B. T., Marcotte, V., Rushton, K., Nguyen, T., & Schueller, S. M. (2023) · JMIR Formative Research · doi:10.2196/46062 · Cited by 19 · see citing works
Jesuthasan, J., Low, M., & Ong, T. (2022) · Frontiers in Digital Health · doi:10.3389/fdgth.2022.846375 · Cited by 16 · see citing works
“…for employees, which target large-scale, long-term wellness and health management, have the potential to minimize barriers to engagement with in-person psychological treatments, including shortages of mental health professionals, lack of flexibility, and stigma associated with mental illness (7).”
BackgroundMental health at work: a practical framework for employers
Ballard, D. W., Lodge, G. C., & Pike, K. M. (2025) · Frontiers in Public Health · doi:10.3389/fpubh.2025.1552981 · Cited by 17 · see citing works
“Outpatient treatment is increasingly available through telehealth services and other technology-enabled delivery mechanisms, which reduce barriers to access and make mental health services more convenient in terms of both time and location (99).”
Barriers to the Use of Web-Based Mental Health Programs for Preventing Depression: Qualitative Study
Eccles, H., Nannarone, M., Lashewicz, B., Attridge, M. D., Marchand, A., Aiken, A. B., Ho, K., & Wang, J. (2021) · JMIR Formative Research · doi:10.2196/16949 · Cited by 16 · see citing works
“This finding is echoed in previous studies [11,31-33].”
ResultMurphy, J., Noble, J. M., Chakraborty, P. A., Michlig, G. J., Michalak, E. E., Greenshaw, A. J., & Lam, R. W. M. (2023) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0283057 · Cited by 15 · see citing works
“For example, a qualitative study that elicited barriers and facilitators to use of a digital intervention to support workplace mental health [42] points to the importance of engaging with service users in intervention design and implementation planning.”
Angelis, M. D., Volpi, L., Giusino, D., Pietrantoni, L., & Fraboni, F. (2024) · International Journal of Human-Computer Interaction · doi:10.1080/10447318.2024.2313892 · Cited by 18 · see citing works
“In mental health contexts, digital nudges can direct managers towards effective mental well-being strategies and data interpretation (Jesse & Jannach, 2021; Carolan & De Visser, 2018).”
Kechagias, E. P., Papadopoulos, G. A., & Rokai, I. (2024) · Administrative Sciences · doi:10.3390/admsci14060131 · Cited by 15 · see citing works
Eccles, H., Nannarone, M., Lashewicz, B., Attridge, M. D., Marchand, A., Aiken, A. B., Ho, K., & Wang, J. (2020) · Journal of Medical Internet Research · doi:10.2196/16961 · Cited by 17 · see citing works
“Although studies have found results consistent with this finding [51], more research is needed to find the optimal medium for reminders to motivate program use.”
Occupational e-Mental Health – eine Übersicht zu Ansätzen, Evidenz und Implementierung
Lehr, D., & Boß, L. (2019) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-662-59044-7_11 · Cited by 14 · see citing works
Paganin, G., Margheritti, S., Farhane‐Medina, N. Z., Simbula, S., & Mazzetti, G. (2023) · Healthcare · doi:10.3390/healthcare11233030 · Cited by 16 · see citing works
“Furthermore, as indicated along the table diagonal, all scales reported an internal consistency value (Cronbach’s alpha) exceeding the criterion of 0.70 [48].”
BackgroundInfluentialChildbearing women's experiences of midwives' workplace distress: Patient and public involvement
Pezaro, S., Pearce, G., & Bailey, E. A. (2018) · British Journal of Midwifery · doi:10.12968/bjom.2018.26.10.659 · Cited by 12 · see citing works
Strudwick, G., McLay, D., Lo, B., Shin, H. D., Currie, L. M., Thomson, N., Maillet, É., Strong, V., Miller, A., Shen, N., et al. (2021) · Journal of Medical Internet Research · doi:10.2196/25773 · Cited by 11 · see citing works
Braun, L., Freund, J., Thielecke, J., Baumeister, H., Ebert, D. D., & Titzler, I. (2022) · JMIR Mental Health · doi:10.2196/39122 · Cited by 11 · see citing works
“Flexibility of intervention use has been reported as both a facilitating and a hindering factor in a workplace setting if prioritization of time fails or temporal and spatial boundaries between work and treatment get blurred [20].”
BackgroundResultInfluentialBenefits and Limitations of Implementing Mental Health Apps Among the Working Population
Jones, N. M., Johnson, M., Sathappan, A. V., & Torous, J. B. (2021) · Psychiatric Annals · doi:10.3928/00485713-20210112-01 · Cited by 11 · see citing works
Thomson, M., Henderson, G., Rogers, T., Locke, B., Vines, J., & MacBeth, A. M. (2024) · PLOS Digital Health · doi:10.1371/journal.pdig.0000522 · Cited by 12 · see citing works
Hunt, X., Jivan, D. C., Naslund, J. A., Breet, E., & Bantjes, J. R. (2023) · Cambridge Prisms Global Mental Health · doi:10.1017/gmh.2023.39 · Cited by 10 · see citing works
Blewitt, C., Savaglio, M., Madden, S. K., Meechan, D., O’Connor, A., Skouteris, H., & Hill, B. (2022) · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · doi:10.3390/ijerph192215078 · Cited by 10 · see citing works
Blankenhagel, K. J., Theilig, M.-M., Koch, H. H., Witte, A.-K., & Zarnekow, R. (2019) · Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences (HICSS) · doi:10.24251/hicss.2019.461 · Cited by 10 · see citing works
BreathePulse: Peripheral Guided Breathing via Implicit Airflow Cues for Information Work
Gemicioglu, T., Viranda, T., Zhao, Y., Yessenbayev, O., Arora, J., Wang, J., Lopes, P., Adams, A. T., & Choudhury, T. (2024) · Proceedings of the ACM on Interactive Mobile Wearable and Ubiquitous Technologies · doi:10.1145/3702211 · Cited by 9 · see citing works
Klasen, S. H., van Amelsvoort, L. G. P. M., Houkes, I., Jansen, N., & Kant, I. (2021) · BMC Public Health · doi:10.1186/s12889-021-10322-w · Cited by 9 · see citing works
“A study on a digital mental health intervention at the workplace showed that stigmatization of mental illness is still a major problem [39].”
BackgroundSupport for depression in the workplace: Perspectives of employees, managers, and OHS personnel
Eerd, D. V., Cullen, K. L., Irvin, E., Pouésard, M. L., & Gignac, M. A. M. (2021) · Occupational Health Science · doi:10.1007/s41542-021-00090-9 · Cited by 8 · see citing works
Ellis, D. M., & Anderson, P. L. (2023) · JMIR Mental Health · doi:10.2196/43929 · Cited by 7 · see citing works
“…implement evidence-based techniques, including psychoeducation, behavioral activation, mindfulness strategies, and symptom tracking [4], may prove useful for improving equitable access to mental health treatment as they are often more cost-effective [5,6], private [7], and readily accessible [8].”
West, A. B., Guo, Y. V., & Bucher, A. (2023) · Frontiers in Psychiatry · doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1219229 · Cited by 7 · see citing works
Forman‐Hoffman, V. L., Flom, M., Montgomery, R. M., & Robinson, A. H. (2024) · Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine · doi:10.1097/jom.0000000000003038 · Cited by 7 · see citing works
Connected Mental Health Solutions: Global Attitudes, Preferences, and Concerns
Drissi, N., Ouhbi, S., Serhani, M. A., Marques, G., & Díez, I. D. L. T. (2022) · Telemedicine Journal and e-Health · doi:10.1089/tmj.2022.0036 · Cited by 7 · see citing works
Krisher, L. K., Boeldt, D. L., Sigmon, C. A. N., Rimel, S. E., & Newman, L. S. (2024) · American Journal of Public Health · doi:10.2105/ajph.2023.307505 · Cited by 7 · see citing works
Chen, M., Sparkes, V., & Sheeran, L. (2025) · Digital Health · doi:10.1177/20552076251336281 · Cited by 6 · see citing works
“14 To address these limitations, multifaceted interventions integrating ergonomic, psychological, educational, and exercise components have been developed and shown effectiveness.”
Effectiveness of Digital Interventions in Reducing Occupational Stress: A Systematic Review
Indra, B., Palmasutra, V., & Setyawan, F. A. (2024) · Portuguese Journal of Public Health · doi:10.1159/000540748 · Cited by 5 · see citing works
“A comprehensive analysis and synthesis of Internet-based psychological interventions administered in workplace settings revealed that digital mental health interventions can enhance employees ’ psychological well-being and boost work ef fi cacy [42].”
Goodyear, T., Richardson, C. G., Aziz, B., Slemon, A., Gadermann, A., Daly, Z., McAuliffe, C., Pumarino, J., Thomson, K., & Jenkins, E. (2023) · Digital Health · doi:10.1177/20552076231173528 · Cited by 7 · see citing works
Bibliometric Analysis of Global Research Trends on Digital Occupational Health Using Scopus Database
Er-Rays, Y., Lemqeddem, H. A., & Ezzahiri, M. (2024) · Lecture notes in networks and systems · doi:10.1007/978-3-031-52388-5_1 · Cited by 5 · see citing works
Shaffer, K. M., Perepezko, K. M., Glazer, J. V., Mattos, M. K., Klinger, J., Buysse, D. J., Ritterband, L. M., & Donovan, H. S. (2024) · Annals of Behavioral Medicine · doi:10.1093/abm/kaae041 · Cited by 5 · see citing works
Boß, L., Hannibal, S., & Lehr, D. (2025) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1524285 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
Investigating the Role of Situational Disruptors in Engagement with Digital Mental Health Tools
Bhattacharjee, A., Williams, J. J., Beltzer, M., Meyerhoff, J., Kumar, H., Song, H., Mohr, D. C., Mariakakis, A. T., & Kornfield, R. (2025) · Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction · doi:10.1145/3757487 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
“Echoing previous research [20, 22, 37], we observed that consistent engagement faltered when individuals found it difficult to weave these digital interventions into their everyday routines.”
Васильевна, К. А., Александровна, А. А., Иванова, Е. С., & Drapkina, O. M. (2025) · CARDIOVASCULAR THERAPY AND PREVENTION · doi:10.15829/1728-8800-2024-4232 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
de Miquel, C., Moneta, M. V., Weber, S., Lorenz, C., Olaya, B., & Haro, J. M. (2023) · Journal of Medical Internet Research · doi:10.2196/42317 · Cited by 7 · see citing works
“In recent years, occupational mental health interventions [5,6] have increasingly been delivered in a digital form, because electronic mental health (e-mental health) interventions are thought to be more convenient, flexible, easily accessible, and anonymous [7,8].”
Chau, C. W., Studd, H., Huang, D., Norton, C., Kruzan, K. P., & Jacobs, M. L. (2024) · Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction · doi:10.1145/3686932 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
“Digital interventions can increase access to individual-level strategies, enable more confidential support, and can be scalable and cost-effective for organizations [13, 49].”
InfluentialEmployee Preference and Use of Employee Mental Health Programs: Mixed Methods Study
Sevov, B., Huettemann, R., Zinner, M., Meister, S., & Fehring, L. (2025) · JMIR Human Factors · doi:10.2196/65750 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
“Several studies have also identified different general facilitators of and barriers to using EMHPs [24,41,42].”
InfluentialPaterson, C., Leduc, C., Maxwell, M., Aust, B., Strachan, H., O’Connor, A., Tsantila, F., Cresswell‐Smith, J., Purebl, G., de Winter, L., et al. (2024) · Research Square · doi:10.21203/rs.3.rs-3658425/v1 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
Lisá, E., Štefančík, P., & Lančaričová, L. (2025) · Current Psychology · doi:10.1007/s12144-025-07842-8 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
“Carolan and de Visser ( 2018 ) highlight the challenges associated with maintaining engagement in online mental health interventions, particu - larly when participants do not receive ongoing support or supervision.”
InfluentialAnttilainen, J., Haukka, E., Järnefelt, H., & Pehkonen, I. (2025) · Ergonomics · doi:10.1080/00140139.2025.2509610 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
“…facilitators and barriers to the successful implementation of web-based mental health interventions in occupational settings (Borghouts et al. 2021; carolan and de Visser 2018). similarly to earlier workplace interventions, previous web-based mental health interventions have mainly targeted…”
Lampinen, V. S., Kämper, E., Balla, V. R., Katajavuori, N., & Asikainen, H. (2026) · Internet Interventions · doi:10.1016/j.invent.2026.100909 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
“However, employees may often access digital ACT programs as lower-threshold, preventive resources rather than clinical treatment, and must engage with them alongside competing work demands and time pressure (Carolan and de Visser, 2018; Paterson et al., 2024; Yarker et al., 2022).”
Atorkey, P., Paul, C. L., Wiggers, J. H., Bonevski, B., Mitchell, A., & Tzelepis, F. (2021) · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · doi:10.3390/ijerph18179336 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
“Similarly, previous evidence with adult populations has found that lack of time due to busy schedules was a barrier to using support services to change SNAP risk behaviours [23,30,43,53].”
BackgroundResultObasa, A. J., Akinradewo, O. F., & Olanipekun, A. O. (2022) · International Journal of Construction Management · doi:10.1080/15623599.2022.2135943 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
“These technologies are tailored to fulfill specific needs, such as managing stress, mood, anxiety, mental fitness, and well-being, and are offered via digital technology such as smart-phones, wearables, websites, or PCs (Carolan and de Visser 2018).”
BackgroundBetriebliche Gesundheitsförderung
Lehr, D., & Boß, L. (2023) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-662-65816-1_23 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
Ganapathy, A., Casey, L. M., Rowland, D. P., Grady, A. B., Sotheren, K. V., & Clough, B. A. (2023) · Advances in Mental Health · doi:10.1080/18387357.2023.2254864 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
Bawack, R. E., Kamdjoug, J. R. K., & Dennehy, D. (2023) · Information Systems Frontiers · doi:10.1007/s10796-023-10447-w · Cited by 7 · see citing works
“…managers can show employees their support for the use of digital platforms, especially after hiring new employees, by micromanaging their use of such platforms; employees feel supported because it helps them familiarize with the systems faster and helps build their morale (Carolan & Visser, 2018 ).”
Sasaki, N., Ogawa, S., Sawada, U., Shimazu, T., Powell, B. J., Takeno, H., Tsutsumi, A., & Imamura, K. (2024) · Internet Interventions · doi:10.1016/j.invent.2024.100754 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
“Most employees do not have motivation for content that directly addresses mental health (Hogg et al., 2021; Martin et al., 2015; Carolan and de Visser, 2018).”
BackgroundEr-Rays, Y., M’dioud, M., & Lemqeddem, H. A. (2024) · medRxiv · doi:10.1101/2024.04.18.24306040 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
Managing Change Towards the Future of Work - Clustering Key Perspectives
Singer-Coudoux, K., Braun, G., & Stahre, J. (2023) · IFIP advances in information and communication technology · doi:10.1007/978-3-031-43662-8_37 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
Manning, J. B., BLANDFORD, A. E., & Edbrooke-Childs, J. H. (2024) · Journal of Medical Internet Research · doi:10.2196/50457 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
“In other workplaces, interesting content and interactivity, short completion time, progress tracking for reflection and reminders [93], and personalization in apps were appreciated [8,94]; and flexibility, goals, and calming strategies were desired [95].”
InfluentialMuñoz-Martínez, A., Otto-Scheiber, C. S., Zuluaga-Jassir, S., Medina-Díaz, A., Pulido-Rozo, J., Venegas-Ramírez, M., & Igua-Jojoa, A. (2022) · Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science · doi:10.1016/j.jcbs.2022.07.005 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
Rezaee, R., Ghaffari, M., Rabiei, R., Kavousi, A., & Rakhshanderou, S. (2024) · Journal of Prevention · doi:10.1007/s10935-024-00801-2 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
“And that users remain anonymous when sharing their data with healthcare providers or for research (Carolan & Visser, 2018; Perski et al., 2017).”
Demirel, S., Roke, Y., Chavannes, N. H., & van Harten, P. N. (2026) · BMC Digital Health · doi:10.1186/s44247-026-00260-1 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Ryan, C., Bergin, M., & WELLS, J. S. G. (2025) · Journal of Workplace Behavioral Health · doi:10.1080/15555240.2025.2599179 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
“Carolan and de Visser (2018) suggest, for example, that the ideal work-stress management intervention would be a short course that users work through independently, supplemented by regularly updated, time-unlimited information and advice that they can access over a longer period.”
Influentialde Miquel, C., Feltz-Cornelis, C. M. V. D., Roijen, L. H., Merecz‐Kot, D., Sinokki, M., Rodeiro, J., Sweetman, J., Staszewska, K., Vorstenbosch, E., Porricelli, D., et al. (2026) · Interactive Journal of Medical Research · doi:10.2196/66041 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
“Occupational mental health interventions have been increasingly delivered through digital platforms, described as being more flexible, anonymous, and convenient [7].”
Digital interventions for mental health promotion among individuals with disabilities
Alara, J. A., & Alara, O. R. (2026) · Health Sciences Review · doi:10.1016/j.hsr.2026.100272 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Jiménez, B. R., Allen-Perkins, D., Caballero, D. C., Rico‐Martín, S., & Juárez, L. M. (2024) · International Journal of Qualitative Methods · doi:10.1177/16094069241254007 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
“In other cases, health or mental health problems are described as luxuries that the participants cannot really afford to dwell in (Carolan & de Visser, 2018; Mohr et al., 2010).”
Böttcher, N., & Kauffeld, S. (2025) · Gruppe Interaktion Organisation Zeitschrift für Angewandte Organisationspsychologie (GIO) · doi:10.1007/s11612-025-00795-3 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
“Digital tools are valued for their convenience and anonymity (Carolan and de Visser 2018) and have been shown to improve psychological well-being and work effectiveness (Carolan et al. 2017).”
Synergies, Capability and Authenticity
Daniels, K., Tregaskis, O., Nayani, R., & Watson, D. J. (2022) · Aligning perspectives on health, safety and well-being · doi:10.1007/978-3-031-00665-4_8 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Tangible Changes and Activated Mechanisms
Daniels, K., Tregaskis, O., Nayani, R., & Watson, D. J. (2022) · Aligning perspectives on health, safety and well-being · doi:10.1007/978-3-031-00665-4_3 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Yingta, N., Saadati, P., Abdelnour-Nocera, J., Brew, O., & Rehman, I. U. (2023) · Electronic workshops in computing · doi:10.14236/ewic/bcshci2023.30 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
An mHealth Walking Intervention for Pregnant Women with Obesity
Senek, M. (2018) · Sheffield Hallam University · doi:10.7190/shu-thesis-00181 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
“Previous studies have examined barriers to engagement in interventions delivered via social media (SM) (163) such as lack of time and anonymity.”
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Hunt, X., Jivan, D. C., Naslund, J. A., et al. (2023) · Cambridge Prisms Global Mental Health · doi:10.1017/gmh.2023.39.pr9
Hunt, X., Jivan, D. C., Naslund, J. A., et al. (2023) · Cambridge Prisms Global Mental Health · doi:10.1017/gmh.2023.39.pr8
Hunt, X., Jivan, D. C., Naslund, J. A., et al. (2023) · Cambridge Prisms Global Mental Health · doi:10.1017/gmh.2023.39.pr7
Hunt, X. (2023) · Cambridge Prisms Global Mental Health · doi:10.1017/gmh.2023.39.pr6
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“Researchers adopted inductive, re fl exive thematic analysis, 21,22 espoused as a data-driven methodology where patterns, codes and themes emerge directly from within the data without being in fl uenced by pre-existing theories, models or frameworks.”
- Authors
- Carolan, S., & de Visser, R. O.
- Affiliations
- University of Sussex (GB)
- Corresponding author
- Carolan, Stephany
- Venue
- JMIR Mental Health
- Publisher
- JMIR Publications Inc.
- Published
- 2018-01-19
- Volume
- 5
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- e8
- ISSN
- 2368-7959 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC5797290
- OpenAlex
- W2783482506
- Cited by
- 121
- References
- 65
- Citations by year
- 2026: 12 · 2025: 15 · 2024: 26 · 2023: 24 · 2022: 14 · 2021: 15 · 2020: 7 · 2019: 4 · 2018: 3 · 2017: 1
- FWCI
- 9.14
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- cc-by
- Locations
- JMIR Mental Health (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Sussex Research Online (University of Sussex) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Applied Psychology › Digital Mental Health Interventions
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Workplace Health and Well-being
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Mental Health Treatment and Access
- Keywords
- digital mental health interventions, workplace mental health, employee engagement, barriers to engagement, occupational stress, depression, anxiety, e-coaching, open-plan offices, anonymity, work-life separation, intervention design, staff perspectives, time constraints, reminders, interactive content, workplace mental health support
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