Validation of the Healthy and Resilient Organization HEROCheck Questionnaire
Supporting Agencies
- Granted by Generalitat Valenciana. Consellería de Educación, Cultura, Universidades y Empleo (#CIAICO/2022/087)
Abstract
Background: This study aims to validate the factorial structure of a refined and shortened version of the HEalthy & Resilient Organization questionnaire called HEROCheck, across several occupational sectors in Spain. Method and Results: In two independent studies, the HEROCheck demonstrated robust psychometric properties. In Study 1, results confirmed the factorial structure of the HEROCheck with a sample of 11,082 workers from 27 companies from different sectors (secondary, tertiary and hospitals). Findings demonstrated high internal consistency and construct validity, with significant inter-scale correlations supporting coherent relationships among the dimensions. Study 2, with a sample of 1,139 workers from 24 companies from different sectors (secondary and tertiary), examined the predictive validity of the model, confirming significant associations between organizational resources and practices, healthy employees and healthy organizational outcomes. Conclusions: The HEROCheck provides a robust and practical framework for rapidly diagnosing core psychosocial factors and their impact on employee well-being, supporting healthy organizational development and the design of evidence-based interventions.
Downloads
-
Abstract46
-
pdf20
-
xml0
References
Acosta, H. A., Cruz-Ortiz, V., Salanova, M., & Llorens, S. (2015). Healthy organization: Analysing its meaning based on the HERO. International Journal of Social Psychology, 30(2), 323-350. https://doi.org/10.1080/21711976.2015.101675
Arbuckle, J.L. (1997). AMOS Users’ Guide. Version 3.6, Smallwaters Corporation.
Arhin, V., Ampofo, S. Y., & Minadzi, V. M. (2025). Happy-productive worker hypothesis in the context of education: the role of work engagement and its dimensions. Current Psychology, 44, 3940–3955. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-025-07399-6
Bakker, A. B., & Demerouti, E. (2014). Job demands–resources theory. In P. Y. Chen & C. L. Cooper (Eds.), Wellbeing: A complete reference guide (Vol. 3, pp. 37–64). Wiley-Blackwell https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118539415.wbwell019
Bakker, A. B., & Demerouti, E. (2024). Job demands–resources theory: Frequently asked questions. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 29(3), 188–200. https://doi.org/10.1037/ocp0000376
Bakker, A. B., Demerouti, E., & Ten Brummelhuis, L. L. (2012). Work engagement, performance, and active learning: The role of conscientiousness. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 80(2), 555–564. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2011.08.008
Bakker, A. B., Demerouti, E., & Sanz-Vergel, A. (2023). Job demands–resources theory: Ten years later. Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior, 10, 25–53. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-orgpsych-120920-053933
Bakker, A. B., & de Vries, J. D. (2021). Job demands–resources theory and self-regulation: new explanations and remedies for job burnout. Anxi-ety, Stress & Coping, 34(1), 1–21. https://doi.org/10.1080/10615806.2020.1797695
Bentler, P. M., & Bonett, D. G. (1980). Significance tests and goodness of fit in the analysis of covariance structures. Psychological Bulletin, 88(3), 588–606. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.88.3.588
Boateng, G. O., Neilands, T. B., Frongillo, E. A., Melgar-Quiñonez, H. R., & Young, S. L. (2018). Best practices for developing and validating scales for health, social, and behavioral research: A primer. Frontiers in Public Health, 6, Article 149. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2018.00149
Bollen, K. A., & Lennox, R. (1991). Conventional wisdom on measurement: A structural equation perspective. Psychological Bulletin, 110(2), 305–314. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.110.2.305
Browne, M. W., & Cudeck, R. (1993). Alternative ways of assessing model fit. In K. A. Bollen & J. S. Long (Eds.), Testing structural equation models (pp. 136–162). Sage.
Cooper, C. L., & Cartwright, S. (1994). Healthy mind; healthy organization: A proactive approach to occupational stress. Human Relations, 47(4), 455–471. https://doi.org/10.1177/001872679404700405
Christian, M. S., Garza, A. S., & Slaughter, J. E. (2011). Work engagement: A quantitative review and test of its relations with task and contextual performance. Personnel Psychology, 64(1), 89–136. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1744-6570.2010.01203.x
Cruz-Ortiz, V., Salanova, M., & Martínez, I. M. (2013). Liderazgo transformacional y desempeño grupal: unidos por el engagement grupal [Transformational leadership and team performance: Linked by teamwork engagement]. International Journal of Social Psychology, 28(2), 183–196. https://doi.org/10.1174/021347413806196762
DeJoy, D. M., Wilson, M. G., Vandenberg, R. J., McGrath-Higgins, A. L., & Griffin-Blake, C.S. (2010). Assessing the impact of healthy work organization intervention. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 83, 139-165. https://doi.org/10.1348/096317908X398773
Donaldson, S. I., Csikszentmihalyi, M., & Nakamura, J. (Eds.) (2020). Posi-tive psychological science: improving everyday life, well-being, work, education, and soci-eties across the globe. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203731833
Elliott, D., & Macpherson, A. (2010). Policy and practice: Recursive learning from crisis. Group and Organization Management, 35(5), 572–605. https://doi.org/10.1177/1059601110383406
Fleuren, B. P. I., van Amelsvoort, L. G. P. M., Zijlstra, F. R. H., de Grip, A., & Kant, I. (2018). Handling the reflective-formative measurement conundrum: A practical illustration based on sustainable employability. Journal of Clinical Epidemiology, 103, 71–81. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclinepi.2018.07.007
Fornell, C., & Larcker, D. F. (1981). Evaluating structural equation models with unobservable variables and measurement error. Journal of Marketing Research, 18(1), 39–50. https://doi.org/10.1177/002224378101800104
Gruman, J. A., & Saks, A. M. (2011). Performance management and employee engagement. Human Resource Management Review, 21, 123-136. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hrmr.2010.09.004
Guadagnoli, E., & Velicer, W. F. (1988). Relation of sample size to the stability of component patterns. Psychological Bulletin, 103(2), 265-275. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.103.2.265
Guest, D. E. (2017). Human resource management and employee well-being: Towards a new analytic framework. Human Resource Management Journal, 27, 22–38. https://doi.org/10.1111/1748-8583.12139
Hair, J. F., Hult, G. T. M., Ringle, C. M., & Sarstedt, M. (2017). A primer on partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) (2nd ed.). SAGE.
Halbesleben, J. R. B. (2010). A meta-analysis of work engagement: Relationships with burnout, demands, resources, and consequences. In A. B. Bakker & M. P. Leiter (Eds.), Work engagement: A handbook of essential theory and research (pp. 102–117). Psychology Press. ISBN 978-1-84169-736-9
Hobfoll, S. E., Johnson, R. J., Ennis, N., & Jackson, A. P. (2003). Resource loss, resource gain, and emotional outcomes among inner city women: Correction to Hobfoll et al. (2003). Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 85(2), Article 248. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.85.2.248
Hu, L. T., & Bentler, P. M. (1999). Cutoff criteria for fit indexes in covari-ance structure analysis: Conventional criteria versus new alternatives. Structural Equation Modeling: A Multidisciplinary Journal, 6(1), 1–55. https://doi.org/10.1080/10705519909540118
IBM Corp. (2023). IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows (Version 29.0) [Computer Software]. IBM Corp.
Junker, T. L., Bakker, A. B., & Derks, D. (2025). Toward a theory of team resource mobilization: A systematic review and model of sustained agile team effectiveness. Human Resource Management Review, 35, Article 101043. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hrmr.2024.101043
Kim, H., Shin, K., & Hwang, J. (2024). Too much may be a bad thing: the difference between challenge and hindrance job demands. Current Psychology, 43(7), 6180-6192. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-023-04790-z
Li, F., Jiang, L., Yao, X., & Li, Y. (2013). Job demands, job resources and safety outcomes: The roles of emotional exhaustion and safety compliance. Accident Analysis & Prevention, 51, 243-251. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aap.2012.11.029
Lerman, M. P., Munyon, T. P., & Williams, D. W. (2020). The (not so) dark side of entrepreneurship: A meta‐analysis of the well‐being and performance consequences of entrepreneurial stress. Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal, 15(3), 377- 402. https://doi.org/10.1002/sej.1370
Luthans, F., Youssef-Morgan, C. M. (2017). Psychological capital: An evidence-based positive approach. Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior, 4, 339–366. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-orgpsych-032516-113324
Luthans, F., & Youssef-Morgan, C. M. (2021). Positive workplaces. In C. R. Snyder, S. J. Lopez, L. M. Edwards, & S. C. Marques (Eds.), The Oxford handbook of positive psychology (3rd ed., pp. 820–831). Oxford University Press.
Lorente, L., Salanova, M., Martínez, I.M. & Vera, M. (2014). How personal resources predict work engagement and self-rated performance among construction workers: A social cognitive perspective. International Journal of Psychology 49(3) 200-207. https://doi.org/10.1002/ijop.12049
Martínez, I. M., Salanova, M., & Cruz-Ortiz, V. (2020). Our boss is a good boss! Cross-level effects of transformational leadership on work engagement in service jobs. Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 36(2), 87-94. https://doi.org/10.5093/jwop2020a10
Martínez-Martínez, K., Llorens, S., Cruz-Ortiz, V., Reyes-Luján, J., & Sala-nova, M. (2024). The main predictors of well-being and productivity from a gender perspective. Frontiers in Psychology, 15, Article 1478826. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1478826
Maydeu-Olivares, A. (2017). Maximum likelihood estimation of structural equation models for continuous data: Standard errors and goodness of fit. Structural Equation Modeling: A Multidisciplinary Journal, 24(3), 383–394. https://doi.org/10.1080/10705511.2016.1269606
McDonald, R. P. (1999). Test theory: A unified treatment. Psychology Press. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781410601087
Meneghel, I., Salanova, M., & Martínez, I. M. (2016a). Job-related antecedents of team resilience and improved team performance. Personnel Review, 45(3), 505-522. https://doi.org/10.1108/PR-04-2014-0094
Meneghel, I., Salanova, M., & Martínez, I. M. (2016b). Feeling good makes us stronger: How team resilience mediates the effect of positive emotions on team performance. Journal of Happiness Studies, 17, 239-255. http://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-014-9592-6
Nebot-Gresa, M. L., Llorens, S., Salanova, M., Coo, C., & Garcia-Campayo, J. (2021). Positive effects of a brief intervention program of Attachment-Based Compassion Therapy. Terapia Psicológica, 39(3), 427-444. https://doi.org/10.4067/S0718-48082021000300427
Nielsen, K., Nielsen, M. B., Ogbonnaya, C., Känsälä, M., Saari, E., & Isaks-son, K. (2017). Workplace resources to improve both employee well-being and performance: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Work & Stress, 31(2), 101–120. https://doi.org/10.1080/02678373.2017.1304463
Nielsen, K., Yarker, J., Munir, F., & Bültmann, U. (2018). IGLOO: An integrated framework for sustainable return to work in workers with common mental disorders. Work & Stress, 32(4), 400–417. https://doi.org/10.1080/02678373.2018.1438536
National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). (2002). The changing organization of work and the safety and health of working people. In: https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/6460/cdc_6460_DS1.pdf
Peláez-Zuberhuler, M. J., Salanova, M., & Martínez, I. M. (2020). Coach-ing-Based Leadership Intervention Program: A controlled trial study. Frontiers in Psychology, 10, Article 3066. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.03066
Peñalver J., Salanova, M., & Martínez I. M. (2020). Group positive affect and beyond: An integrative review and future research agenda. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(20), 7499. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17207499
Peñalver, J., Salanova, M., & Martínez, I.M. (2023). Desarrollando “Happy Teams”: Un estudio exploratorio sobre el impacto relativo de las prácticas organizacionales sobre el afecto positivo [Developing "Happy Teams": An exploratory study on the relative impact of organizational practices on positive affect]. Revista Prisma Social, 41, 235-252. https://revistaprismasocial.es/article/view/4930
Podsakoff, P. M., MacKenzie, S. B., Lee, J. Y., & Podsakoff, N. P. (2003). Common method biases in behavioral research: A critical review of the literature and recommended remedies. Journal of Applied Psychology, 88(5), 879-903. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.88.5.879
Reyes-Luján, J., Cruz-Ortiz, V., Antino, M., & Salanova, M. (2025). Burn-out in healthcare: can job autonomy heal, or does context hold the key? International Journal of Workplace Health Management, 18(1), 64-85. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJWHM-05-2024-0093
Salanova, M., Acosta-Antognoni, H. A., Llorens, S., & Le Blanc, P. (2021). We trust you! A multilevel-multireferent model based on organizational trust to explain performance. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(8), Article 4241. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18084241
Salanova, M., Llorens, S., & Martínez, I. (2019). Organizaciones saludables: Una mirada desde la Psicología Positiva [Healthy Organizations. A look from Positive Psychology] (1st ed.). España: Aranzadi Thomson Reuters.
Salanova, M., & Llorens, S. (Eds.). (2025). Positive psychological interventions to develop healthy and resilient organisations. Aranzadi.
Salanova, M., Llorens, S., Cifre, E., & Martínez, I. M. (2012). We need a HERO! Towards a validation of the Healthy & Resilient Organization (HERO) Model. Group & Organization Management, 37(6), 785-822. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1059601112470405
Salanova, M., Llorens, S., & Cruz, V. (2024). Work engagement. In Elgar Encyclopedia of Occupational Health Psychology (Entry 64). Edward Elgar Publishing. https://doi.org/10.4337/9781035313389.ch64
Salanova, M., Agut, S., & Peiró, J. M. (2005). Linking Organizational Re-sources and Work Engagement to Employee Performance and Customer Loyalty: The Mediation of Service Climate. Journal of Applied Psychology, 90(6), 1217–1227. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.90.6.1217
Sinisterra, L., Peñalver, J., & Salanova, M. (2024). Connecting the organizational incomes and outcomes: A systematic review of the relationship be-tween talent management, employee engagement, and turnover intention. Frontiers in Psychology, 15, Article 1439127. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1439127
Sonnentag, S., Tay, L., & Nesher Shoshan, H. (2023). A review on health and well‐being at work: More than stressors and strains. Personnel Psychology, 76(2), 473-510. https://doi.org/10.1111/peps.12572
Sparks, K., Faragher, B., & Cooper, C. L. (2001). Well-being and occupational health in the 21st century workplace. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 74, 489–509. https://doi.org/10.1348/096317901167497
Streiner, D. L. (2003). Starting at the beginning: An introduction to coefficient alpha and internal consistency. Journal of Personality Assessment, 80(1), 99–103. https://doi.org/10.1207/S15327752JPA8001_18
Torrente, P., Salanova, M., & Llorens, S. (2013). Spreading engagement: On the role of similarity in the positive contagion of team work engagement. Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 29(3), 153-159. https://doi.org/10.5093/tr2013a21
Umbert, I., Reyes-Luján, J. J., Llorens, S., & Salanova, M. (2024). Facing fear and embracing safety: Validation of the COVID-19 Psychosocial Scales in essential frontline workers during the pandemic. Psicothema, 36(3), 287-296. https://doi.org/10.7334/psicothema2023.334
Van den Broeck, A., Vander Elst, T., Baillien, E., Sercu, M., Schouteden, M., De Witte, H., & Godderis, L. (2017). Job demands, job resources, burnout, work engagement, and their relationships: An analysis across sectors. Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 59(4), 369-376. https://doi.org/10.1097/JOM.0000000000000964
Vander Elst, T., Cavents, C., Daneels, K., Johannik, K., Baillien, E., Van den Broeck, A., & Godderis, L. (2016). Job demands-resources predicting burnout and work engagement among Belgian home health care nurses: A cross-sectional study. Nursing Outlook, 64(6), 542-556. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.outlook.2016.06.004
van Zyl, L. E., Dik, B. J., Donaldson, S. I., Klibert, J. J., di Blasi, Z., van Wingerden, J., & Salanova, M. (2024). Positive organisational psychology 2.0: Embracing the technological revolution. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 19(4), 699–711. https://doi.org/10.1080/17439760.2023.2257640
Villarroel-Núñez, D., Acosta-Antognoni, H., Salanova, M., & Villacura-Herrera, C. (2024). The Chilean public sector: A healthy and resilient organization. Adaptation and validation of the HEROCheck public instrument with a gender perspective. TPM: Testing, Psychometrics, Methodology in Applied Psychology, 31(4), 501-520. https://doi.org/10.4473/TPM31.4.5
Wilson, M. G., DeJoy, D. M., Vandenberg, R. J., Richardson, H., & McGrath, A. L. (2004). Work characteristics and employee health and well-being: Test of a model of healthy work organization. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 77, 565–588. https://doi.org/10.1348/0963179042596522
Wright, T. A., Cropanzano, R., & Bonett, D. G. (2007). The moderating role of employee positive well-being on the relation between job satisfaction and job performance. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 12(2), 93–104. https://doi.org/10.1037/1076-8998.12.2.93
Copyright (c) 2026 The authors

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
About Copyright and Licensing, more details here.



