Key Takeaways
iWorkHealth is a free, confidential online survey tool for employers, with a Full version of 89 questions and a Lite version of 20 questions, and the WSH Council recommends that companies alternate between the two.
- iWorkHealth is free for all employers and was developed by MOM’s Workplace Safety and Health (WSH) Institute with Changi General Hospital, the Health Promotion Board, the Institute of Mental Health and the WSH Council.
- The Full version has 89 questions and takes 15 to 20 minutes. The Lite version has 20 questions and takes 5 minutes.
- An organisation needs a minimum of 8 employee respondents to generate its aggregated report, and employers cannot see individual responses.
- The WSH Council recommends alternating the Lite and Full versions rather than relying on one, and continued use of Lite depends on completing a Full survey (first-time users can start with Lite).
In Detail
The Tripartite Advisory on Mental Health and Well-being at Workplaces asks employers to review the state of employees’ mental well-being regularly as part of risk assessment for workplace health, and names iWorkHealth as one tool they can use (MOM, Tripartite Advisory). The WSH Council describes iWorkHealth as a free online, company-administered psychosocial health assessment tool that covers work-related stress and burnout and the key workplace stressors employees face (WSH Council, iWorkHealth).
Full and Lite versions
The two versions differ in length and in what they report. The Full version has 89 questions, covers individual resilience, workplace stressors such as job demands, job recognition and organisation culture, and well-being at work, takes 15 to 20 minutes, and gives each participating employee a personalised confidential report as well as a company-wide report. The Lite version has 20 questions, focuses on work-related stress, burnout and depression symptoms, takes 5 minutes, and gives a company-wide report only (WSH Council, iWorkHealth). The WSH Council suggests Lite for a quick, more frequent check as a pulse survey, or to assess improvements between Full surveys.
Minimum respondents and privacy
An organisation needs a minimum of 8 employee respondents to generate its aggregated report. Employers cannot view individual responses or individual reports. They receive anonymised, aggregated reports, and where fewer than 8 people respond in the organisation or in a category, the aggregate data is suppressed (WSH Council, iWorkHealth FAQ). Small teams may therefore need to run the survey at organisation level rather than team level.
How often to use iWorkHealth
The WSH Council does not set a fixed calendar interval. Its guidance is to alternate between the Lite and Full versions to get a more comprehensive understanding of employees’ mental well-being and workplace stressors (WSH Council, iWorkHealth). The Lite version is available to first-time users of Lite, and continued use requires a non-trial Full survey, after which Lite is available over the next 1.5 years (WSH Council, iWorkHealth FAQ). A practical pattern is to run a Full survey as a baseline, act on the stressors it finds, use Lite to check progress, and return to the Full version to look at the stressors again. The advisory adds that employers should track whether their measures work through periodic surveys and administrative data such as absenteeism (MOM, Tripartite Advisory).
Surveys only help if employees see action follow. Tell staff why you are running iWorkHealth, share what you found at a level that protects anonymity, and say what will change.
Putting This Into Practice
Here is a practical way to turn this into action.
Key Questions Answered
What is iWorkHealth?
iWorkHealth is a free online psychosocial health assessment tool that employers administer to staff. It covers work-related stress, burnout and the key workplace stressors employees face.
What is the difference between the Full and Lite versions?
The Full version has 89 questions, takes 15 to 20 minutes and gives employees an individual report. The Lite version has 20 questions, takes 5 minutes and focuses on work stress and symptoms of burnout and depression.
How many employees must respond?
An organisation needs a minimum of 8 employee respondents to generate its aggregated report. If fewer than 8 people respond in the organisation or in a category, the data for that group is suppressed.
Does it cost anything?
No. The WSH Council states that iWorkHealth is available to all employers at no cost.
How often should we run it?
The WSH Council recommends alternating between the Lite and Full versions. It does not give a fixed number of months, so set your own cycle and leave time to act on results between surveys.
Can an employer see an individual employee’s answers?
No. Employers receive anonymised, aggregated reports only and cannot access individual responses or individual reports.
Sources
- Workplace Safety and Health Council, iWorkHealth
- Workplace Safety and Health Council, iWorkHealth frequently asked questions
- Ministry of Manpower, Tripartite advisory on mental health and well-being at workplaces