The broader/commercial impact of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is the creation of a "Resilience Gym", where mid-career, college-educated employees can proactively develop their emotional health in the same way they do their physical health at a regular gym. The current pandemic and mental health crisis have affected society deeply. In a 2021 survey, McKinsey found that 85% of frontline employees and managers do not find meaning at work. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics reported 4.3 million people, or 2.9% of the entire workforce, quit their jobs in August 2021. These statistics demonstrate the urgent need to address the issue of workplace dissatisfaction and support individuals in finding meaning and purpose in their lives. Since 2017, the team has successfully taught over 150 adult students to achieve their potential by studying behavioral science research and applying it to their lives. Over 50% of these students, despite having accomplished careers, are dissatisfied with their lives and seek more meaning. The team has found that adopting an empowering mindset is the most effective resilient action for these students to achieve more and find deeper meaning in life. The Resilience Gym uses technology to provide a scalable solution to improve the emotional health and prosperity of working adults._x000D_ _x000D_ The team's innovation is a mobile and web app subscription service that delivers a step-by-step Resilience Gym process and guides users to adopt new, empowering mindsets. The product is based on decades of behavioral science research and uses virtual reality, artificial intelligence and mobile nudges to provide a scalable solution that is personalized the individual user. Based on real-time progress, users may adopt new mindsets.The team will also incorporate neuroscience research to enrich the solution. To develop the design, the team uses the 5-step Stanford d.school design thinking approach (empathize, define, ideate, prototype, and test) for which the team has deep expertise. The approach is complimented with the agile methodology to have short milestones, scrum meetings, and backlog tracking to ensure new learnings can be adapted from users and delivered on schedule and within the planned budget. Combining the expertise of technology startups and university researchers, the team develops scientifically driven products that achieve both significant impact and commercial success._x000D_ _x000D_ This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
