Effectiveness of Virtual Reality Therapy on Emotional Exhaustion and Quality of Work Life of Employees with Occupational Stress

Stress directly correlates with job satisfaction and employee performance and affects people's health, safety, and quality of work life (QWL). The present study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of virtual reality therapy (VRT) on emotional exhaustion and the QWL of employees with occupational stress (OS). This is a semi-experimental study with a pre-test and post-test design, control group, and follow-up. The statistical population included all employees with OS working in public organizations of Isfahan in 2021. The study sample consisted of 30 employees with OS, who were selected using convenience sampling and randomly assigned to the VRT and control groups. The VRT group attended eight 20-minute intervention sessions, whereas the control group did not receive any intervention. The participants completed the Emotional Exhaustion Questionnaire (EEQ) and Quality of Work Life Questionnaire (QWLQ) in three stages. The collected data were analyzed using repeated measures ANOVA in SPSS 26. The results indicated that the VRT reduced emotional exhaustion and improved the QWL of the employees with OS (P<0.001), and these effects remained stable during the follow-up (P<0.001). In this research, we found that the QWL of the employees with OS improved by using VRT. Accordingly, organizations can improve mental health and reduce OS in their employees by holding VRT courses.