Surveys in TIRVU+: workplace climate and the NR-01 questionnaire

In operations with teams spread across sites, such as security, cleaning, reception and facilities, HR rarely gets to talk to everyone. Knowing what teams think about their schedules, their leaders and day-to-day pressure takes a channel that reaches them. Since May 26, 2026, listening to workers has also carried legal weight: the new text of NR-01, Brazil's general occupational health and safety standard, states that occupational risk management covers work-related psychosocial risk factors (item 1.5.3.1.4) and requires employers to consult workers on how they perceive risks (item 1.5.3.3).

The Surveys module in TIRVU+ takes care of this listening: climate and satisfaction surveys with employees and clients, and the NR-01 psychosocial risk questionnaire, which comes with the Copenhagen Psychosocial Questionnaire (COPSOQ) model as the default. Employees answer in the app, responses can be anonymous and results appear in real time. Here is how to use it and what Brazil's Ministry of Labor and Employment (MTE) advises on questionnaires.

This article reflects the legislation and the official information available on its publication date.

What the Surveys module does

• Climate surveys with employees, to measure how teams feel at work;
• Satisfaction surveys with employees and with contract clients;
• NR-01 psychosocial risk questionnaire, with the COPSOQ model as the default, to support the assessment carried out by the occupational safety and health (OSH) team;
• Quick surveys, with opinions collected and results tracked in real time;
• Answers in the app: employees respond on their phones, without going to the office or needing a computer at the site;
• Anonymous responses: answers can be anonymous, as the MTE recommends for psychosocial questionnaires.

In the plan simulator, the NR-01 profile combines Surveys with two modules that round out the work: the anonymous Whistleblower channel, with a tracking protocol and confidential review, and Training, with certifications, refreshers and expiry alerts.

Fines related to psychosocial risks have been suspended by Brazil's Supreme Federal Court (STF) since June, and in September the suspension was extended for another 90 days. The obligation to manage these risks, however, still applies, as we explain in NR-01 and psychosocial risks: what applies while Brazil's STF holds fines.

What the MTE says about questionnaires

The MTE has published a guide on psychosocial risk factors (2025) and a round of questions and answers on NR-01's risk management chapter (April 2026). These are the points that matter if you are going to run a survey:

• Not mandatory. NR-01 does not set an official tool. The company chooses the method with its OSH professionals: questionnaires, observation of the activity combined with dialogue, workshops or a combination of these.
• Not enough on its own. A questionnaire is one option, but used in isolation it does not amount to managing psychosocial risks. The results must be analyzed and incorporated into the AEP (preliminary ergonomic assessment) and the risk inventory, and they do not replace the action plan.
• Anonymity. According to the guide, if there is a questionnaire, "it is very important to maintain anonymity, giving workers that guarantee."
• Advance notice. The guide recommends talking to teams beforehand to explain that there will be a questionnaire, what it is for and what is expected from it.
• Very small groups. With one or two people, observation and dialogue work better than a questionnaire, always taking care to protect confidentiality.
• The right tool. NR-01 calls for assessment tools suited to the risk (item 1.5.4.4.2.1), and the guide points out that they must reflect the company's actual working conditions.

The default model: COPSOQ

In TIRVU+, the psychosocial risk questionnaire comes with the Copenhagen Psychosocial Questionnaire (COPSOQ) model. Its first two versions were developed by Denmark's National Research Centre for the Working Environment, and the third by an international network of researchers, the International COPSOQ Network. Before the third version, the questionnaire was already used in 40 countries and translated into 18 languages, according to the 2019 article that introduced it.

In the international middle version of COPSOQ III, the questions are grouped into areas such as:

• demands at work: workload, work pace and emotional demands;
• work organization and job content: influence at work, possibilities for development and control over working time;
• relations and leadership: recognition, role clarity and role conflicts, quality of leadership and support from supervisors and colleagues;
• work and the individual: job insecurity, job satisfaction and work-life conflict;
• social capital: trust and organizational justice;
• health and well-being.

The long version also covers offensive behaviors, such as harassment and violence. The short and middle versions are the ones intended for use in companies. Several of these areas match factors in the MTE guide, such as overload, lack of autonomy, low role clarity, lack of support, recognition and organizational justice.

In Brazil, the short version of COPSOQ II has been adapted and validated (COPSOQ II-Br), with 40 questions in 23 dimensions and answers on a five-point scale. A 2026 article in the Revista Brasileira de Saúde Ocupacional notes that the new NR-1 encourages valid and reliable instruments, but warns that applying the questionnaire just to comply with the standard, without changing how work is organized, does not improve the situation.

The model is a solid starting point, and the MTE rule still applies: the OSH team confirms that the instrument suits the company's risks and completes the assessment with observation and dialogue.

Where Surveys fit into NR-01

What NR-01 requires	How TIRVU+ helps	What stays with the OSH team
Consult workers on how they perceive risks (1.5.3.3, "b")	Anonymous questionnaire in the app, by site or role	Talk to teams and observe the real work
Identify hazards, including psychosocial ones (1.5.3.1.4)	COPSOQ model, covering demands, autonomy, support, recognition and justice	Analyze work organization in the AEP
Classify risks using documented criteria (1.5.4.4.2.2)	Real-time results to compare groups	Define severity, probability and risk level
Inform workers of the risks and the measures (1.5.3.3, "c")	Notices in the Employee portal	Keep the inventory and the action plan up to date
Review the assessment after the measures (1.5.4.4.6)	Repeat the survey and compare the results	Review every two years or when the standard requires it

How to build the psychosocial questionnaire

1. Define the assessment units. The MTE suggests units such as the workstation, the role, the department or a similar exposure group, consistent with those in the PGR (Programa de Gerenciamento de Riscos, the occupational risk management program) and the AEP. In outsourcing, each contract's site is usually the natural unit.
2. Start from the default model. In TIRVU+, the questionnaire comes with COPSOQ, a validated instrument (the MTE guide notes there are many, both Brazilian and international). With the OSH team, check that it fits the reality at your sites.
3. Check coverage of the factors in the guide. Compare the questionnaire's areas with the MTE list, which has 13 examples: harassment of any kind, poor change management, low role clarity, low rewards and recognition, lack of support, low control or lack of autonomy, low organizational justice, violent or traumatic events, underload, overload, poor relationships at work, conditions that make communication difficult, and remote and isolated work. Whatever is left out goes into observation, conversations with teams or a short complementary survey.
4. If you add questions, keep them simple. Short sentences, one idea per question and the same answer scale from start to finish. Do not ask for diagnoses or health data.
5. Give advance notice and guarantee anonymity. Explain the purpose, who will see the results and what happens next. In Surveys, use anonymous responses and say so in the invitation. Since employees answer in the app, agree with managers on time to answer during working hours.
6. Read the results by group. Compare sites and contracts, and avoid exposing groups so small that respondents could be identified. Cross-check with absences, medical notes, overtime and turnover: in TIRVU+, the Absenteeism, Turnover and KPIs & analytics modules show this data by contract, site or team.
7. Bring the results into the inventory and the action plan. The OSH team analyzes them, classifies the risks and defines the measures. For overload, the guide cites examples such as prioritizing tasks, regular breaks, realistic targets and adding staff to teams.
8. Give feedback and repeat. Show teams what was found and what will change. Once the measures are in place, NR-01 requires the risks to be reassessed, and repeating the survey helps measure the effect.

Sample complementary questions about site routines (for illustration, not part of COPSOQ):

Factor in the MTE guide	Sample question for site teams
Overload	How often do you have to extend your shift to cover absences?
Lack of support	When a problem comes up at your site, can you reach your supervisor?
Low role clarity	Do you know exactly what you are responsible for at your site?
Poor relationships	Has anyone at your workplace ever treated you disrespectfully?
Difficult communication	Do you get enough advance notice of schedule changes?
Isolated work	Do you work alone for long periods, with no one to turn to?

Well beyond NR-01

• Climate: a regular survey shows how teams are doing over time and where leadership needs support.
• Clients: satisfaction surveys with the companies that hire you surface problems before the contract comes up for renewal.
• Quick polls: rating a training session, a schedule change or a new uniform takes minutes, and the results appear in real time.

Harassment: a survey does not replace the whistleblower channel

A survey shows the group's perception, but a specific case of harassment needs a different route. Under Brazil's Lei 14.457/2022, companies with a CIPA (internal committee for the prevention of accidents and harassment) must have conduct rules, procedures to receive and follow up on complaints while protecting the whistleblower's anonymity, the topic included in CIPA activities, and training at least every 12 months (art. 23).

That is why the NR-01 profile in TIRVU+ combines Surveys with the Whistleblower channel and Training: the survey shows where to look, the channel receives the reports and the Training module keeps a record of the sessions.

What to do now

• Agree with the OSH team on the psychosocial assessment method and where the questionnaire fits in
• Choose assessment units consistent with the PGR and the AEP
• Build the questionnaire to cover the factors in the MTE guide
• Tell teams about the purpose, anonymity and deadline before opening the survey
• Agree with managers on time to answer during working hours
• Analyze the results by group and bring them into the inventory and the action plan
• Give teams feedback and repeat the survey once the measures are in place

Frequently asked questions

Does NR-01 require a questionnaire?

No. The MTE states that questionnaires are not mandatory and that NR-01 does not set an official tool. Companies can use questionnaires, qualitative methods, participatory approaches or a combination of these. If you choose a questionnaire in TIRVU+, COPSOQ is already there as the default model.

Do the survey results count as the psychosocial risk assessment?

No. On its own, a questionnaire does not prove that these risks are being managed. The results must be analyzed and incorporated into the AEP and the risk inventory, and they do not replace the action plan.

Does the survey have to be anonymous?

The MTE guide considers it very important to maintain anonymity when there is a questionnaire, and in TIRVU+ Surveys responses can be anonymous. In very small groups, observation and dialogue usually work better, always taking care to protect confidentiality.

Conclusion

A well-run survey is the fastest way to hear from the people at your sites, but it is the start of the work, not the end. Under NR-01, the answers become input for the OSH team's assessment, for the action plan and for feedback to teams. To see why this issue weighs on operations, read Mental health leave hits a record in Brazil: what HR can do.

Want to run climate surveys and the NR-01 questionnaire in the app, with the COPSOQ model ready to use, anonymous responses and real-time results? Talk to the Tirvu team and see the Surveys module in TIRVU+ working in your own operation, together with the Whistleblower channel and Training.

Sources

• MTE, Brazil's Ministry of Labor and Employment: Q&A on chapter 1.5 of NR-1, first round (Apr 30, 2026)
• MTE, Brazil's Ministry of Labor and Employment: information guide on work-related psychosocial risk factors (2025)
• MTE, Brazil's Ministry of Labor and Employment: NR-01, updated text
• Agência Brasil, the public news agency: Mendonça again suspends fines related to mental health at work (Sep 25, 2026)
• Planalto, Brazil's Presidency: Lei 14.457/2022, art. 23
• Safety and Health at Work: Burr et al., the third version of COPSOQ (2019)
• Revista Brasileira de Saúde Ocupacional, a Brazilian occupational health journal: COPSOQ II-Br, the Brazilian short version, and NR-1 (2026)

This content is for informational purposes only and does not replace specialized legal advice.