Wellness @ Work, Stage 1

According to the HRPA “1 in 5 Canadians are experiencing symptoms of depression, anxiety or posttraumatic stress disorder and 68% who reported a mental health issue reported that their mental health has worsened since the pandemic.”
In the private sector, depression alone causes an estimated 200 million workdays per year, or about $17-$44 billion in financial losses – or about $15,000 per employee experiencing mental health issues. We expect that immersive and virtual experiences can provide people with a virtual world of wellness where they can improve their health and well-being and assist in improving mental health and wellness. At a high-level, this project seeks to address mental health in the workplace through the development of an immersive virtual reality world that
implements research backed psychological interventions for individuals to experience in the work-place or at home, to increase their mental health, resilience, and physical health. Imagine for a moment a future where it becomes commonplace to take a 15 minute “reset” at work, where you can enter a virtual world and attend a meditation session on a beach, before returning to your work day. Or perhaps, that you finish work and return home stressed and tired. Before interacting with your friends and family, you wash the day’s stress away in Esvedra, and emerge with your mind refreshed and in a positive mindset. We believe that these digital spaces will be the future of wellness.

Faculty Supervisor:

Ben Unterman

Student:

Partner:

EsVedra Wellness Inc.

Discipline:

Computer science

Sector:

Professional, scientific and technical services

University:

Emily Carr University of Art + Design

Program: