NIOSH Worker Well-Being Questionnaire (WellBQ)

Overview

The NIOSH WellBQ measures "worker" well-being as a holistic construct rather than simply "workplace" or "work-related" well-being. The questionnaire intends to help researchers, employers, workers, practitioners, and policymakers. It will help users understand workers' well-being and target interventions to improve worker well-being, among other applications.

Worker well-being domains

The NIOSH WellBQ comprises the five domains of worker well-being identified by NIOSH and the RAND Corporation. The domains are described in Expanding the Paradigm of Occupational Safety and Health: A New Framework for Worker Well-Being:

1. Work Evaluation and Experience
2. Workplace Policies and Culture
3. Workplace Physical Environment and Safety Climate
4. Health Status
5. Home, Community, and Society

Administering the NIOSH WellBQ

This NIOSH WellBQ may be freely reproduced, reprinted, or distributed. Many of the items have been adopted, with permission when necessary, from existing questionnaires. Permissions to adopt some items for the questionnaire do not allow fees to be charged for their use. The questionnaire provides specific use stipulations for each item beginning on page 12. View the document for more information about the WellBQ, including:

• Uses
• Development
• Administration
• Coding and scoring
• Data interpretation
• Suggested citation

Privacy and Ethics Considerations

When using the NIOSH WellBQ within organizations, take steps to protect the anonymity of participants throughout the process. For example, do not collect names or other potentially identifying information with their NIOSH WellBQ responses.

When using the NIOSH WellBQ for more practical purposes, including the optional demographic or employment items can be a concern. Responses to these items could lead to participant identification. If the goal is to assess well-being overall, it may not be necessary to collect demographic, employment, or injury information. More information and recommendations are available in the NIOSH WellBQ.

Videos

Learn about the NIOSH WellBQ and practical applications in the recorded webinar shown below. Continuing education is available.

To learn more about using the questionnaire, including strategies to increase participation and potential benefits, watch the video Assessing Worker Well-Being. This video is from the Healthier Workforce Center of the Midwest, a NIOSH Center of Excellence for Total Worker Health^®.

Resources for action

Results from the NIOSH WellBQ can help inform efforts to improve working conditions and worker health. For guidance on developing interventions after using the NIOSH WellBQ, please see the workbook Fundamentals of Total Worker Health Approaches.

Additional resources listed below can help improve worker well-being following the results of the questionnaire:

• Tip sheets to encourage employee input
• Training for professionals and leaders
• Training toolkits for supervisors and teams

Contact

If you have questions about the NIOSH WellBQ, please email twh@cdc.gov.