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VR as a "Drop-In" Well-being Tool for Knowledge Workers

Published: October 3, 2025 | arXiv ID: 2510.02836v1

By: Sophia Ppali , Haris Psallidopoulos , Marios Constantinides and more

Potential Business Impact:

VR helps workers relax and feel better.

Business Areas:
Virtual Reality Hardware, Software

Virtual Reality (VR) is increasingly being used to support workplace well-being, but many interventions focus narrowly on a single activity or goal. Our work explores how VR can meet the diverse physical and mental needs of knowledge workers. We developed Tranquil Loom, a VR app offering stretching, guided meditation, and open exploration across four environments. The app includes an AI assistant that suggests activities based on users' emotional states. We conducted a two-phase mixed-methods study: (1) interviews with 10 knowledge workers to guide the app's design, and (2) deployment with 35 participants gathering usage data, well-being measures, and interviews. Results showed increases in mindfulness and reductions in anxiety. Participants enjoyed both structured and open-ended activities, often using the app playfully. While AI suggestions were used infrequently, they prompted ideas for future personalization. Overall, participants viewed VR as a flexible, ``drop-in'' tool, highlighting its value for situational rather than prescriptive well-being support.

Repos / Data Links

Page Count
11 pages

Category
Computer Science:
Human-Computer Interaction