Managing Depressive Symptoms in the Workplace Using a Web-Based Self-Care Tool: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial

Background Depression in the workplace creates a significant burden on employees and employers in terms of lost productivity and related costs. myStrength provides a robust, holistic Web- and mobile-based solution empowering users to learn, practice, and implement a range of evidence-based psychological interventions. Objective The main aim of this study was to demonstrate improvement in depressive symptoms among employees at risk of depression through myStrength use. Methods A 26-week, parallel-arm, pilot, randomized controlled trial was designed to assess the effectiveness of myStrength compared to a series of informational “Depression Tip/Fact of the Week” emails as the active control arm. Study participants (n=146) were commercially insured employees of a mid-sized financial software solutions firm. The primary outcome was self-reported change in depression score as best fit by a linear random effects model accounting for individual baseline symptoms. Results The final sample consisted of 78 participants in the experimental arm, myStrength, and 68 participants in the active control arm. myStrength users demonstrated significantly steeper and more rapid reduction in depressive symptoms over time compared to the active control ( P <.001), suggesting that the intervention generated improvement in behavioral health symptoms, even in a nonclinical sample. Conclusions This pilot study builds foundational support for the scalable deployment of myStrength as a complementary behavioral health offering to promote overall mental health and well-being in the workplace.