Randomized Controlled Trial
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2024. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Clin Cases. Jan 16, 2024; 12(2): 322-334
Published online Jan 16, 2024. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v12.i2.322
Use of cognitive-behavioral career coaching to reduce work anxiety and depression in public employees
Mkpoikanke Sunday Otu, Maximus Monaheng Sefotho
Mkpoikanke Sunday Otu, Maximus Monaheng Sefotho, Department of Educational Psychology, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg 2006, Gauteng, South Africa
Author contributions: Otu MS contributed significantly to every part of the manuscript. Specifically, he handled conceptualisation, visualisation, drafting, Writing, investigation, data analysis, data collection and project administration; Sefotho MM was responsible for sourcing for funding, proofreading, responding to reviewer’s/editors’ comments, reviewing of the manuscript before submission, English and technical editing, and general project supervision.
Institutional review board statement: In compliance with research ethics, the researchers complied with the standards set by the committee of research and ethics in the faculty of education, University of Nigeria, Nsukka. The researchers also conformed with the research principles specified in the Declaration of Helsinki, the World Medical Association, and the ethical standards for research with human subjects. The approval number for the study is REC/UNN/FE/2019/000039.
Clinical trial registration statement: This study was registered at Open Science Framework (OSF) registries (https://osf.io/5qfaw). The registration identification number is https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/5QFAW.
Informed consent statement: All the participants signed informed consent form.
Conflict-of-interest statement: There is no conflict of interest in this study.
Data sharing statement: Data used in this study is available on request.
CONSORT 2010 statement: The authors have read the CONSORT 2010 statement, and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the CONSORT 2010 statement.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Mkpoikanke Sunday Otu, Doctor, Postdoctoral Fellow, Research Fellow, Researcher, Department of Educational Psychology, University of Johannesburg, Auckland Park, Johannesburg 2006, Gauteng, South Africa. motu@uj.ac.za
Received: November 2, 2023
Peer-review started: November 2, 2023
First decision: November 28, 2023
Revised: December 4, 2023
Accepted: December 25, 2023
Article in press: December 25, 2023
Published online: January 16, 2024
ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS
Research background

It is common for employees in the public sector to experience anxiety and depression. These conditions can negatively impact an individual's overall well-being and performance at work. As a promising approach to reducing anxiety and depression among public employees, cognitive-behavioral career coaching has emerged in recent years. Providing cognitive-behavioral career coaching to public employees is a valuable way to reduce work anxiety and depression. In addition to providing individual support, cognitive-behavioral career coaching helps public employees overcome mental health challenges and improve their work performance and well-being by developing skills, behavioral strategies, and self-awareness. It is possible for public employers to foster a culture that prioritizes the mental health of its employees by investing in training programs, employee assistance programs, dedicated coaches, and organizational support. Public institutions can contribute to the health and productivity of their workforce by implementing these strategies.

Research motivation

Public employees are often stressed, anxious, and depressed because of today's fast-paced, high-pressure work environment. Individuals with mental health issues can suffer significant adverse effects on their professional performance and overall well-being. The cognitive-behavioral career coaching approach has emerged as a promising method of coping with and reducing work-related anxiety and depression among public employees in recent years. Using cognitive-behavioral career coaching to achieve this goal was the aim of this study.

Research objectives

The objective of this research is to find out whether the cognitive behavioral coaching (CBCC) interventional program is useful for reducing work anxiety and depression among public employees in North-Central, Nigeria.

Research methods

This was a group randomized trial designed to examine the effectiveness of cognitive Behavior career coaching for employees with severe anxiety and depression in the workplace. There were 120 public employees recruited for this study, who were randomly assigned to either the treatment group or the control group based on a random number generator. In contrast to the control group, which did not receive any intervention, the treatment group was provided with eight sessions of CBCC. The Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale and Beck Depression Inventory were administered at the beginning and end of the study for the purpose of collecting data.

Research results

It is clear from the post-test results that participant who received the CCBC intervention displayed significantly lower levels of anxiety and depression than participants receiving the no treatment. In addition, in a follow-up exercise, participants who continued receiving the CBCC treatment maintained the reduced levels of work anxiety and depression compared to those who returned to their usual treatment. According to these results, the CCBC treatment reduced participants' levels of work anxiety and depression for a long time. Overall, the findings of the study provide compelling evidence that CBCC is an effective treatment for reducing work anxiety and depression among public employees.

Research conclusions

It was demonstrated that cognitive CBCC treatment resulted in significantly lower anxiety and depression levels among public employees in comparison to those receiving no treatment. Over time, the CBCC intervention reduced work anxiety and depressive symptoms effectively. Public employees' mental health and work well-being can be improved by CBCC, according to the study. Accordingly, it is recommended that efforts be made to implement the CBCC approach across Nigeria's public civil service. The use of CBCC practices in the civil service will decrease work anxiety and depression among public employees, increasing their productivity and maintaining their psychological, social, and professional health.

Research perspectives

The existing research has provided promising results, but further refinement and improvement of cognitive-behavioral career coaching in mitigating work anxiety and depression in public employees can be explored in the future. Research can be conducted in the following areas: (1) Individual differences should be examined in order to understand how cognitive-behavioral career coaching reduces anxiety and depression at work because of differences in personality traits, coping styles, and social support; (2) A combination of face-to-face sessions and online programs, or both, can be effective delivery mechanisms for cognitive-behavioral career coaching; (3) In order to develop sustainable interventions, it is crucial to understand the long-term effects of cognitive-behavioral career coaching; (4) It is important to compare cognitive-behavioral career coaching with traditional intervention strategies to determine if it is more cost-effective; (5) Evaluation of the effectiveness of cultural adaptation in cognitive-behavioral career coaching to ensure inclusivity and effectiveness across racial and ethnic groups; and (6) Addressing these future directions will allow our understanding of cognitive-behavioral career coaching in reducing work anxiety and depression to advance.