The Healthy Work Survey: A Standardized Questionnaire for the Assessment of Workplace Psychosocial Hazards and Work Organization in the United States

Abstract

Objectives: Work-related psychosocial stressors have been recognized as occupational hazards and assessed in workplaces in many countries for decades. Identifying tools to measure work-related psychosocial hazards to increase awareness in the United States about the impact on employees' health and safety is critical (J Occup Environ Med. 2021;63: e245-e249). Methods: We describe the development and psychometric validation of an online tool, the Healthy Work Survey, utilizing items from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health Quality of Work Life questionnaire. Results: There are 55 items in the final core work section of the HWS. Factor analyses confirmed nine factors, and the subsequent multi-item scales had acceptable internal consistency. A user-friendly, online system and automated report compares individual's and organization's scores to distributions from a representative US working population (General Social Survey Quality of Work Life). Discussion: The HWS is a reliable, valid tool for organizations and individuals to assess psychosocial work hazards.