Intensive smartphone use in the workplace leads to well-documented phenomena: distraction from notifications, reliance on the device as a strategy for emotional regulation, and difficulty maintaining clear boundaries between professional and personal life. When these behaviors become entrenched, they constitute what the literature refers to as Problematic Smartphone Use (PSU), a widespread problem that manifests with varying intensity depending on the context and the individual’s situation. The most common organizational responses ‒ such as bans or policies on device use ‒ address the symptoms without addressing the underlying mechanisms or helping employees develop lasting self-regulation skills. This exploratory mixed-methods study involved 20 employees of a social cooperative in Northern Italy (10 educators, 10 administrative staff), who voluntarily used one of two proposed self-control apps for one week: Forest, based on gamification, and AppBlock, based on scheduled restrictions. Data were collected via a post-intervention questionnaire (37 items, Likert scale) and eight semi-structured interviews. Emotional coping emerged as the most significant PSU dimension in the sample, with higher scores among administrative staff than among educators. The two apps showed essentially equivalent perceived effectiveness, which suggests that the interpretation should focus on the reflective process they trigger rather than on the specific technical function of the tool. From the perspective of the reflective practitioner (Schön, 1983), Forest and AppBlock function as mediators of reflection-in-action, making previously automatic behaviors observable. The study proposes an app-based training model and discusses the role of the corporate trainer as a facilitator of digital awareness rather than a purveyor of technological solutions.
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