Evaluating the Validity of the GM@W Survey: A Psychometric Study Across Gender and Industry

The National Workplace Psychological Health and Safety Standard (The Standard) recommends the use of a survey developed by Guarding Minds at Work (GM@W). However, its validity remains underexplored. This study has two objectives: (1) to evaluate the psychometric properties of the survey in assessing the Standard dimensions and (2) to examine validity across gender and industry.

A Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) was conducted on data from the GM@W survey to evaluate the factor structure and validity of the 13 dimensions. Group comparisons by gender and occupational groups were assessed using t-tests and ANOVA tests.

Across the 13 dimensions, most items demonstrated strong internal consistency and discriminant validity, with physical safety (r = 0.71) and organizational culture (r = 0.68) showing the highest internal consistency. While psychological competencies and physical safety were linked to positive mental health outcomes, challenges with workload management and balance remain prominent, especially for workers in healthcare and education. Group differences were observed, with women and workers in business, trades, and manufacturing reporting better psychosocial outcomes.

While the GM@W tool demonstrated internal consistency and improved convergent validity compared to previous versions, significant model misfit was observed across all sectors. High latent correlations and frequent violations of the Fornell-Larcker criterion reveal substantial construct overlap and empirical redundancy. The findings suggest that while individual constructs are reliable, the 13-factor structure faces challenges in achieving empirical distinctiveness. Capturing the diverse psychosocial experiences of a national workforce within a single psychometric instrument remains a complex task.