AI-Powered Micro-Breaks at Work

NCT07209553 | Completed

• 1 other identifier: SmartBreaks
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 16
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

This study evaluates the feasibility of an online intervention based on artificial intelligence-the Movebite app integrated into the Slack platform-aimed at promoting engagement in micro-breaks involving physical activity, with the goal of enhancing workplace well-being and reducing musculoskeletal discomfort among remote workers.

Conditions

Musculoskeletal Discomfort; Work-related Vigor

Keywords

feasibility study; occupational health; AI coach; microbreaks

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (7)

• Satisfaction with the intervention

  Seven additional items are open-ended and will be analyzed qualitatively. These items allow participants to elaborate on what aspects of the program they found most or least valuable, describe their experience with communication tools within the intervention, and offer suggestions for improvement.

  Post-intervention (1 week).

• System usability

  We will use a 10 item questionnaire (Bangor et al., 2009) designed to measure participants' satisfaction with Mobi, the AI health coach. The total score of System Usability Scale is 0 and the highest one is 100. A higher score means a better outcome.

  Post-intervention (1 week)

• Treatment adherence

  Dropout rate and frequency of app usage.

  Post-intervention only (1 week)

• Vigor

  Vigor refers to a positive affective state experienced at work. It will be assessed using five items from the Physical Strength subscale of the instrument developed by Shirom (2003). A higher score means a better outcome (i.e., increased employee vigor).

  Change from baseline to post-test (1 week; 5 workdays)

• Focus

  Focus refers to an employee's capacity to maintain attention and mental clarity while working. It will be assessed using five items from the Cognitive Liveliness subscale of the instrument developed by Shirom (2003). A higher score indicates a better outcome (i.e., increased cognitive focus at work).

  Change from baseline to post-test (1 week; 5 workdays).

• Physical (dis)comfort

  Physical discomfort (musculoskeletal pain) will be measured using a single-item instrument based on the Visual Analog Scale (VAS) (Häfeli \& Elfering, 2006). The VAS is a widely used and validated method for assessing subjective physical symptoms such as pain intensity. Participants will indicate their level of discomfort by marking a point along a continuum, reflecting their experience over the past week. Higher scores indicate greater musculoskeletal discomfort.

  Change from baseline to post-test (1 week; 5 workdays)

• Positive and negative affect

  Affect will be measured using the Positive Affect subscale from the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS; Watson, Clark, \& Tellegen, 1988). This scale assesses the extent to which individuals have experienced a range of positive emotions (e.g., enthusiastic, inspired, alert) over the past week. Participants rate each item on a 5-point scale, from "Very slightly or not at all" to "Extremely." Higher scores reflect a higher level of positive emotional experience.

  Change from baseline to post-test (1 week; 5 workdays)

Other Outcomes (3)

• Physical activity during work

  Baseline only

• Before and/or after-work physical activities

  Baseline only

• Sociodemographic information

  Baseline only

Study Arms (1)

Intervention

EXPERIMENTAL

The intervention involved using the Mobi AI coach to set up and engage in active micro-breaks over five consecutive working days.

Device: Mobi

Interventions

Mobi DEVICE

Mobi is a conversational AI coach that serves as an occupational health coach for employees. Through coaching conversations, Mobi gets to know each employee and help them set micro-goals to work towards their overall health goal/objective. Mobi suggests small, personalized activities for the micro-breaks that align with these goals. To ensure ease of use it is integrated into Slack and MS Teams.

Intervention

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years - 60 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64)

You may qualify if:

• Employees between the ages of 18-60 years' old
• Full-time working entirely from home (home office)
• Have a PC or laptop and basic digital competencies
• Proficient in English language

You may not qualify if:

• Other work arrangements such as shift-work, part-time work
• Unable to access the internet/computer/install Slack app (Yes/No questions)
• No proficiency for English
• Not working mainly from a desk (e.g., fieldwork)
• Current health issues (current pregnancy, any neurological, vascular, or acute musculoskeletal condition or any disease or symptom)

Sponsors & Collaborators

• West University of Timisoara: lead

Study Sites (1)

West University of Timisoara

Timișoara, Timiș County, 300223, Romania

Location

Related Publications (4)

• Bangor, A., Miller, J. & Kortum, P. (2009). Determining what individual SUS scores mean: Adding an adjective rating scale. Journal of Usability Studies, 4(3), 114-123. Retrieved from http://uxpajournal.org/determining-what-individual-sus-scores-mean-adding-an-adjective-rating-scale/

  BACKGROUND

• Shirom, A. (2003). Feeling vigorous at work? The construct of vigor and the study of positive affect in organizations. In Emotional and physiological processes and positive intervention strategies (pp. 135-164). Emerald Group Publishing Limited.

  BACKGROUND

• Watson D, Clark LA, Tellegen A. Development and validation of brief measures of positive and negative affect: the PANAS scales. J Pers Soc Psychol. 1988 Jun;54(6):1063-70. doi: 10.1037//0022-3514.54.6.1063.

  PMID: 3397865 BACKGROUND

• Haefeli M, Elfering A. Pain assessment. Eur Spine J. 2006 Jan;15 Suppl 1(Suppl 1):S17-24. doi: 10.1007/s00586-005-1044-x. Epub 2005 Dec 1.

  PMID: 16320034 BACKGROUND

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: NA
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: DEVICE FEASIBILITY
• Intervention Model: SINGLE GROUP
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: September 9, 2025
• First Posted: October 7, 2025
• Study Start: April 7, 2025
• Primary Completion: June 27, 2025
• Study Completion: July 16, 2025
• Last Updated: October 7, 2025

Record last verified: 2025-10

Locations

RO (1)