New NIOSH Resource Aims to Help Assess Worker Well-Being

A new resource released by NIOSH is intended to help researchers, employers, and others measure worker well-being and target interventions to improve it. The agency’s Worker Well-Being Questionnaire, or NIOSH WellBQ, helps assess the well-being of workers across several areas, including quality of working life, circumstances outside of work, and physical and mental health status. The questionnaire takes approximately 15 minutes to complete and gathers responses about topics such as work evaluation and experience, workplace policies and culture, workplace physical environment and safety climate, and health status as well as home, community, and society. According to NIOSH, employers can use the survey to inform decisions to advance worker well-being, while occupational health and safety experts might use NIOSH WellBQ to monitor changes in worker well-being. The tool can also be used to assess the well-being of workers before, during, and after an intervention.

NIOSH WellBQ was developed by NIOSH and researchers at the RAND Corporation, a nonprofit organization focused on public policy challenges, with funding from NIOSH. The agency’s website features resources and frequently asked questions related to NIOSH WellBQ. The questionnaire is freely available for download.