Danish app helps relieve stress in the workplace

Using an internationally recognised method, the app helps employees track their stress level

Lucie Rychla

Aug 4, 2015

Using five simple questions, Danish mobile app Howdy assesses whether employees are at risk of going down with stress and offers professional help.

Research shows that on any given day some 35,000 Danes will be on sick leave due to stress, and finding suitable substitutes costs business approximately half a million kroner a day.

Available both for Android and iPhones, the app was developed by Work Life Barometer in collaboration with Psykiatrifonden (mental health foundation).

Bi-weekly mental check-up
Every fortnight, the app checks users for their mental well-being through five quick questions that are based on an internationally recognised method of measurement, the WHO-5 index.

Users are asked to rate whether they are in a good mood, whether they feel calm and relaxed, active and energetic, and whether they feel fresh and well-rested.

Good way to start
If they find themselves in the red zone, they receive a phone call follow-up from a psychologist from Psykiatrifonden.

“If you want to combat stress, it is hard to know where to start. These five simple questions are a really good starting point,” believes Michael Danielsen, the chief psychologist at Psykiatrifonden.

So far 15 Danish companies have asked their employees to install Howdy on their phones.

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