01
Work Evaluation and Experience
Job satisfaction, engagement, supervisor relationships, sense of meaning, workplace climate, fairness perceptions, work-related stress
🇺🇸 United States 🇺🇸 United States · NIOSH WellBQ · Total Worker Health · OSHA General Duty Clause 5(a)(1)
Work-related stress + psychosocial
US organizational psychosocial assessment leads with the free, public-domain NIOSH WellBQ (Worker Well-Being Questionnaire) within the Total Worker Health® framework. COPSOQ III (US adaptation, NIOSH + Harvard CWHWB) adds traditional psychosocial depth. Unlike the UK's explicit statutory duty, US psychosocial hazards fall under the OSHA General Duty Clause 5(a)(1).
Statutory basis — divergence from the UK
Unlike the UK's explicit duty under HSWA section 2 + MHSWR 1999, there is no dedicated federal psychosocial-risk standard in the US. Workplace psychosocial hazards are addressed under the OSHA General Duty Clause, Section 5(a)(1) of the OSH Act (29 U.S.C. § 654), which requires each employer to furnish a workplace "free from recognized hazards that are causing or are likely to cause death or serious physical harm." Recognized psychosocial hazards (e.g. workplace violence, severe stress) can therefore be cited under 5(a)(1) in the absence of a specific standard.
NIOSH WellBQ — primary US instrument
The Worker Well-Being Questionnaire (CDC NIOSH, 2021). Free + public domain. The US first-line, organization-level well-being instrument. Worker self-administered, then aggregated at the workplace level for program evaluation.
Domains
5
Length
126 items (16 scales + 5 indices + 31 single items) across 24 subdomains; ~20-25 minutes administration
License
Free + public domain (NIOSH-developed)
Purpose
Comprehensive worker well-being assessment + framework for intervention
02
Workplace Policies and Culture
Health-supportive policies, supervisor support for well-being, anti-discrimination/harassment, work-life integration, job security
03
Workplace Physical Environment and Safety Climate
Physical hazards exposure, safety culture, safety-related communications, work environment quality
04
Health Status
Self-rated health, mental health, physical conditions, sleep, energy, health behaviors
05
Home, Community, and Society
Experiences and activities outside work: family + community relationships + belonging, off-the-clock recovery + non-work activities, financial security (income adequacy, basic needs, retirement, debt stress)
Intended use
Worker self-administered; aggregate at workplace level for program evaluation
Total Worker Health® — the NIOSH framework
NIOSH Total Worker Health® integrates protection from work-related safety + health hazards with promotion of injury + illness prevention, spanning work and non-work determinants of well-being. The WellBQ is its standard outcome measure.
NIOSH Total Worker Health® program (sprint9 us-camp-001) uses WellBQ as standard outcome measure for TWH interventions
COPSOQ III (US adaptation) — complementary depth
The Copenhagen Psychosocial Questionnaire (COPSOQ International Consortium, NRCWE origin), adapted for the US by NIOSH + Harvard CWHWB. Adds traditional psychosocial dimensions — effort-reward, social capital, burnout (CBI), offensive behaviours, work-family conflict. The same international instrument used in UK + ES SUPERPREVEN — direct cross-jurisdiction comparison.
Versions: Short (~25-40 items) · Medium (~70-80 items) · Long (~120 items)
Purpose: Comprehensive psychosocial work environment assessment
01 Work demands (quantitative, work pace, emotional, cognitive)
02 Work organization + content (influence, possibilities for development, meaning of work, commitment)
03 Interpersonal relations + leadership (predictability, role clarity, role conflicts, quality of leadership, social support, social community)
04 Work-individual interface (job insecurity, satisfaction with work)
05 Values at workplace (trust, fairness, social capital)
06 Health + well-being (general health, mental health, burnout, stress, sleep)
07 Offensive behaviors (bullying, threats, violence, sexual harassment)
08 Off-work (work-family conflict)
License: Free for non-commercial research + clinical use; commercial use requires COPSOQ Network agreement
Workplace violence prevention
State-specificNIOSH publishes federal workplace-violence prevention guidance, and OSHA can cite violence as a recognized hazard under the General Duty Clause 5(a)(1). At state level, California SB-553 (effective 2024) mandates a written Workplace Violence Prevention Plan for most employers — the first broad state mandate. Requirements vary by state; confirm the applicable state law.
Workplace bullying
State-specificThere is no federal protection against workplace bullying per se (only conduct tied to a protected class falls under federal anti-discrimination law). Several states have introduced Healthy Workplace Act bills, but adoption and scope vary widely. Confirm the applicable state law.
Individual screening — distinct purpose
For individual mental-health screening (PHQ-9 depression, GAD-7 anxiety, AUDIT alcohol, etc.), see the Questionnaires hub. Organizational tools (WellBQ, COPSOQ) and individual instruments answer different questions — use both deliberately.
Under the physician's clinical judgement
- Surveys feed organizational risk assessment, not individual capability or employment decisions.
- Individual results are confidential — only aggregate data is shared with management (ACOEM Code of Ethical Conduct; HIPAA).
- Action plans are management responsibility; OH and HR advise.
- Where individual distress emerges, signpost to OH / Employee Assistance Program / clinician — not to discipline.