Supporting Savouring and Positive Affect at Work with Personalized AI-Generated Images for Improving Mental Well-being

Workplace wellness programs often fail to improve mental health due to minimal uptake and engagement. Digital tools for mental health support are becoming increasingly popular; however, work programs are typically delivered through in-person formats and focus on more severe forms of support (e.g., offering leaves of absence) which often results in low engagement from the broader worker demographic. This project examines how wellness strategies can be more effectively supported digitally and provide everyday forms of support. It particularly focuses on savouring positive experiences. While photos are a popular method for fostering savouring in everyday life, people do not typically have photos of work contexts. The intern will explore how generative AI can create meaningful and memorable images of work life. They will investigate whether integrating these into everyday work technologies such as calendars can boost positive emotions and motivate the uptake of wellness strategies personalized to daily life. Partner organizations, Calm and Pathverse, are expected to benefit from the research findings by gaining deeper insights into the development of their own health-related apps. The results may also allow for new intervention strategies and feature possibilities that could be integrated into their apps to be accessed by a broader audience.

Faculty Supervisor:

Sowmya Somanath

Student:

Partner:

Pathverse Inc;Mental Health Research Canada;Calm

Discipline:

Computer science

Sector:

Other services (except public administration); Professional, scientific and technical services

University:

University of Victoria

Program: