Anxiety and depression continue to be two of the most widespread challenges affecting employees around the world. As workplaces evolve and people navigate new pressures, companies are increasingly looking for ways to support mental well-being that actually work for real people in real life. One promising direction is the rise of digital mental health solutions, which make support more accessible and easier to fit into a busy day.
A recent research report by ifeel’s clinical research team examined how employees who use digital psychological support improve over time. The study analysed data from more than six thousand users and explored changes in symptoms of anxiety and depression over several weeks. The results offer a practical and encouraging message: when people can access support in a flexible and culturally sensitive way, their symptoms improve, and they often feel better equipped to manage daily life.
You can explore the full research report here.
What the study measured
To understand how people improved, the researchers followed 6212 users who engaged with ifeel’s digital mental health solution. The analysis relied on two well-known assessment tools:
- PHQ 9 for symptoms of depression
- GAD 7 for symptoms of anxiety
These assessments were collected at the start of care and approximately every month, allowing researchers to observe each person’s progress over time.
Unlike controlled research trials, this population consisted of everyday working adults seeking support while balancing jobs, responsibilities, cultural backgrounds, and personal challenges. The goal of the study was to understand how symptom levels change in a real-world environment where people engage voluntarily and organically, rather than in a laboratory setting.
The report also tracked changes in SOFAS scores, a measure of how well someone functions in daily life, including at work. This matters because mental health symptoms not only affect how someone feels emotionally but also how they participate socially, handle responsibilities, and maintain performance.
What the conclusions tell us
The report’s conclusions reveal clear, measurable gains for many users over time.
Across the population, anxiety symptoms decreased by 3% and depression by 6.3% within three to four months. A meaningful share of users moved into lower‑severity categories, including 25% of those with anxiety and 40% of those with depression. Those starting with higher symptom levels often improved the most, such as users with severe anxiety (23.21%) and those with moderate depression (20%).
There was also a strong link between progress and engagement. Users who improved were 31% more likely to remain in therapy at six months. Beyond symptom changes, functioning also improved: 25% of anxiety users and 27% of depression users showed better performance in work and interpersonal settings. These findings highlight the real‑world value of accessible, therapist‑guided digital care. Read the full conclusions here
Why this matters for workplaces
In recent years, mental health has shifted from being a personal wellness matter to a central part of organisational strategy. Companies recognise that wellbeing is linked to engagement, performance, and retention. The challenge is understanding which solutions actually help employees improve emotionally and functionally.
This research offers several insights that are relevant for HR and well-being leaders:
- Employees want private, flexible options that work with their schedules.
- Symptom improvement is possible when care is regular and guided.
- Digital models remove many structural barriers to care, including location, language, and stigma.
- Monitoring functioning, not just symptoms, gives a clearer view of real impact.
As companies evolve their well-being strategies, evidence like this helps them understand what creates meaningful outcomes rather than simply offering access. For companies interested in translating these findings into an effective well-being strategy, the ifeel Playbook provides a concise and practical overview.
Understanding mental health with the ifeel Verity® model
ifeel Verity® is a measurement-based care model that transforms clinical data into actionable organisational insights. By continuously tracking employees’ mental health progress, ifeel Verity® ensures each person receives the right support at the right time, while helping businesses measure and enhance the impact of their well-being strategies.
The ifeel Verity® methodology uses validated scientific tools, including:
- SOFAS: Evaluates social and occupational functioning.
- WSAS: Measures how mental health affects work and social adjustment.
- PHQ-9: Assesses mood and emotional well-being.
- GAD-7: Evaluates levels of generalised anxiety.
- GAS: Tracks progress through goal attainment and growth indicators.
This method allows for:
- Evidence-based protocols that follow strict clinical standards.
- Continuous monitoring to assess effectiveness and adapt care.
- Dynamic well-being pathways that match employee needs to the right level of support.
This level of precision ensures a direct link between wellbeing improvement and measurable ROI for organisations. Simply put, when mental health care is managed with evidence and analytics, employee benefits deliver real, quantifiable value.
Making mental health support more accessible
One of the biggest challenges highlighted in the research report is that traditional therapy models are often difficult to access, especially for global companies. Barriers include time, cost, language, geography, cultural norms, and lack of flexibility. Many employees want help long before they feel ready for a formal therapy session, and digital solutions give them a gentler entry point.
With options like text messaging, asynchronous support, and on-demand resources, people can reach out at the moment they need it most. When someone is ready for deeper work, they can transition to structured therapy with a licensed psychologist.
This blend of accessibility and professional quality is one of the key factors that contributed to symptom reduction in the study population.
A more human approach to wellbeing
The findings from this research reflect something many people already know intuitively. When support is easy to access, personalised, and culturally sensitive, people use it. And when they use it consistently, they often feel better, cope more effectively, and function more confidently in both personal and professional contexts.
Workplaces have an important opportunity to help remove barriers and create environments where mental well-being is taken seriously. Data-driven insights like those in the report help guide these efforts and show what is possible when care is delivered thoughtfully and at scale.
If your organisation is exploring how to strengthen its wellbeing strategy or wants to understand how solutions such as ifeel could help, you can connect with ifeel’s team here
About the author:
Surya is an international marketing specialist and content creator, working in partnership with ifeel’s clinical research team. She identifies evolving needs across global markets and delivers an integrated approach that blends strategic marketing with deep expertise in mental wellbeing to produce innovative, educational content. She writes extensively about the financial impact of mental health in enterprise organisations, translating complex wellbeing challenges into clear, actionable narratives for decision-makers. Her work is grounded in rigorous research and preventive, evidence-based practice, strengthening engagement, mitigating absenteeism, and turning wellbeing gains into measurable productivity improvements and tangible cost efficiencies.
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