Evaluating Workforce Mental Health and Well-Being: A Review of Assessments

Abstract

Objective: Given the importance of mental health and well-being assessments to employers' efforts to optimize employee health and well-being, this paper reviews mental health assessments that have utility in the workplace.

Data source: A review of publicly available mental health and well-being assessments was conducted with a primary focus on burnout, general mental health and well-being, loneliness, psychological safety, resilience, and stress.

Inclusion criteria: Assessments had to be validated for adult populations; available in English as a stand-alone tool; have utility in an employer setting; and not have a primary purpose of diagnosing a mental health condition.

Data extraction: All assessments were reviewed by a minimum of two expert reviewers to document number of questions, subscales, fee structure, international use, translations available, scoring/reporting, respondent (ie, employee or organization), and the target of the assessment (ie, mental health domain and organizational or individual level assessments.

Data synthesis & results: Sixty-six assessments across the six focus areas met inclusion criteria, enabling employers to select assessments that meet their self-identified measurement needs.

Conclusion: This review provides employers with resources that can help them understand their workforce's mental health and well-being status across multiple domains, which can serve as a needs assessment, facilitate strategic planning of mental health and well-being initiatives, and optimize evaluation efforts.

Keywords: Assessment; burnout; loneliness; measurement; mental health; psychosocial risk; resilience; specific settings; stress; workplace.