Recommending tips that support well-being at work to knowledge workers

Knowledge workers are often exposed to a high workload. This high workload can be can be difficult to manage and may impact well-being. The present thesis examines a computer supported lifestyle coaching application (i.e. ecoach) that attempts to support well-being at work. We describe the development and evaluation of an easy-to-use recommender system that provides knowledge workers with personalized (tailored) tips that are expected to improve well-being. The evaluation of the system is split in two phases. First, the recommendation method is evaluated and optimized in an offline setting. Second, we describe a user study that investigates the usability and effectiveness of the system. The study’s main objective is to examine whether tailored tips have a higher chance of being followed-up compared to randomized suggestions. Results are promising, as they suggest that knowledge workers have a positive attitude towards the implemented e-coach. On the other hand, we did not find strong evidence for our recommendation method, since tailored tips were only slightly more followed-up than tips that were not adapted the user’s preferences.

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