Person:

Peters, Susan

The Thriving from Work Questionnaire (TfWQ) was developed by the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health Center for Work, Health, and Well-being to measure the positive contribution work can play on a worker’s overall well-being. It is a 30-item long survey instrument covering six domains and an 8-item short form drawn from those same items.

This guide describes how to produce a translated version that is defensible, publishable, and — critically — comparable to the existing English, Spanish, and German versions. It draws on our experiences of translating and validating two published TfWQ translation/validation studies (Spanish for Peru/Mexico; German), the Questionnaire’s User Manual, and best practice cross-cultural adaptation methodology.

The central principle: translation is the less time-consuming part of the job. The more demanding part is demonstrating that the translated items still measure the same latent construct in your population. A linguistically flawless translation with no content validation may not be a valid instrument.

This study examined whether vicarious trauma, the emotional and psychological effects of repeated exposure to others’ traumatic experiences, may affect hospital workers’ physical health. Focusing on nurses and patient care associates at two large hospitals, researchers linked workers’ vicarious trauma symptoms to subsequent health insurance claims for stress-sensitive gastrointestinal conditions. The research suggests that the effects of caring for traumatized patients may extend beyond emotional distress to become a broader occupational health risk.

This study examined how working conditions shaped the safety, health, and well-being of professional drivers in a Chilean transportation company. Researchers used interviews and focus groups with drivers, supervisors, union representatives, safety staff, and company leaders to understand how scheduling, communication, and work organization affected drivers’ health and safety. The study showed how structured input from workers and managers can reveal specific pathways linking working conditions to health and safety risks in a particular workplace. These insights informed the design of a targeted organizational intervention to improve worker safety, health, and well-being, guided by information from workers and managers about their working conditions.

This study examined whether a hospital safe patient-handling intervention worked equally well for nurses and patient care associates, two groups with different roles, job demands and exposures. The intervention itself went beyond equipment installation to include training, coaching, and organizational supports to help workers actually use the installed equipment. Although the intervention successfully reduced injuries overall, those reductions were concentrated among nurses rather than shared equally across worker groups. The study shows why workplace safety interventions should be judged not only by their overall impact, but also by whether they protect the workers facing the greatest risks.

This study examined the feasibility of implementing an organizational intervention to improve worker safety, health, and well-being in a Chilean transportation company. The project brought workers, supervisors, and leaders together to identify concerns and develop sustainable solutions to improve working conditions. Rather than relying exclusively on outside consultants, the intervention provided guidance to the company as it developed the internal skills, teams, and processes needed to develop a sustained capacity to improve working conditions. Because this intervention was implemented during social and political unrest in Chile and the COVID-19 pandemic, the researchers also noted how capacity-building approaches can help companies become more adaptable and responsive to worker and productivity concerns during periods of disruption.