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funding envelope to make the Hugr Authentic Connections app a reality. The process used to
create the app was intentional and clear once the decision was made to invest in this mental
health innovation. The goal was to support the WSPS client base to mitigate the risk of isolation
and loneliness created by the pandemic. Dr. Howatt connected WSPS and Territorial who
created the app. One member of the Territorial team had relevant lived experience with mental
illness and had be working on an early version of a Hugr mental health app that had no focus on
isolation or loneliness. This experience along with Dr. Howatt's subject matter expertise were
leveraged to design and build the Hugr Authentic Connection app that would be used for the
study. Dr. Dayna Lee-Baggley was hired to be an independent researcher to conduct the
research study including submitting the proposed research through the institutional research
ethics board (REB) at Saint Mary's University (SMU), where she is a faculty member. She was
tasked to provide an independent evaluation of the app that met an academic standard.
Prior to beginning this study WSPS, the Globe and Mail and Dr. Howatt had been
working collaboratively studying the issue of loneliness and isolation in the workplace before the
COVID-19 pandemic. This work was published in the CEO Health and Safety Leadership
Network "Exploring the relationships between perceived isolation, loneliness and resiliency"
[42]. This prior work served as the guiding evidence to move forward with this project because
of the potential value for creating a scalable digital app that targeted the psychosocial risk factor
of isolation to mitigate the risk the psychosocial hazard of loneliness. Dr. Howatt and the CEO of
WSPS were concerned of the potential impact of remote work on worker well-being with respect
to isolation and loneliness.
Existing and emerging research supports this focus as the risk associated with isolation
and loneliness in employees and the need to address it by employers continues to mount. For
