62 Employee Wellbeing Survey Questions You Need To Be Asking
Employee surveys are an essential tool in assessing employee satisfaction, engagement, and general wellbeing in the workplace. They provide a structured way for employees to contribute their perspectives on several aspects of the organisation such as work-life balance, workloads, environment, mental health, etc.
The information collected during these surveys is a powerful way to gain insight into how you can best support your employees. Ensuring you ask the right questions and keep the survey concise and anonymous, gives employees the best opportunity to provide their perspectives on their individual experiences within the organisation.
Why is it important
Currently, the statistics around employee engagement and satisfaction are as follows:
- Companies that regularly seek employee feedback have 14.9% lower turnover than those businesses that don't.
- Businesses with great employee experiences have 25% higher profitability.
It’s all good and well to have employee engagement activities and mental health initiatives etc, however, if these aren’t targeted to your team’s wants and needs, are you getting the most out of these efforts?
It’s worth taking the extra step and actually talking to your team to find out what matters to them and how you can best support what’s most important to them. The benefit of an employee survey means you can ‘talk’ to your employees on a larger scale with ease and also provides the employee the anonymity to be honest with their feedback. Having an understanding of your employees’ needs, concerns and perspectives allows you to identify areas for improvement and implement targeted interventions. You are then able to build an engaging team environment that promotes employee satisfaction, retention, and productivity.
Best Practices/What to Include
The best way to get buy-in to a survey is to communicate the purpose, the importance of the survey in shaping the team environment, and the timeframe in which to expect the survey to be sent.
Keep the survey short and relevant to what you want to know right now. This may mean you target it to a specific theme i.e. mental health or work-life balance, in order to keep engagement throughout the survey.
Finally, you could also incentivise completing the survey with a coffee voucher or an entry into a raffle for a prize, etc. Ensure this is clear in the initial communication so your employees know there is an immediate benefit to them in completing the survey.
Survey Questions
As previously mentioned, it helps to break your survey down into specific themes or categories. It is also recommended to have a mix of questions, closed questions (Yes or No answers) for ease of completion, as well as open questions (short answers) giving the opportunity for more detailed feedback.
Overall Health & Wellness
Closed Questions
1. Do you believe your job supports your overall health? (Y or N)
2. Do you think the breaks provided are sufficiently long enough? (Y or N)
3. Do you skip meals while at work? (Y or N)
4. Have you experienced any eyesight problems because of your screen time? (Y or N)
5. Do you experience any neck, upper back, lower back, shoulder, or elbow pain while you work? (Y or N)
6. Do you experience any physical distress because of work (ie. headaches, dizziness, high blood pressure)? (Y or N)
7. Do you think the physical space of the work environment is adequately maintained? (Y or N)
8. Do you feel supported by [Your Company] when it comes to maintaining your mental health? (Y or N)
9. I feel encouraged to take my breaks. (Y or N)
10. I feel comfortable taking sick or personal leave. (Y or N)
Open Questions
11. How does your job affect your overall health?
12. What are ways [Company Name] could improve your overall health?
13. What factors negatively affect your wellbeing in the workplace?
14. What is your commute to the workplace like? Does this negatively or positively impact your wellbeing?
15. How would you describe your ideal work environment?
16. How would you describe your current work environment?
Closed Questions
17. My manager gives me a reasonable workload. (Y or N)
18. I feel burnt out. (Y or N)
19. Most days I look forward to coming to work. (Y or N)
20. I feel like I am getting what I want out of my job. (Y or N)
21. I often feel emotionally drained. (Y or N)
22. I’m comfortable talking to my manager about my workload. (Y or N)
23. Do you believe your current workload is commensurate with your current salary/compensation? (Y or N)
24. Do you feel adequately supported by your manager and wider team to handle your workload? (Y or N)
Open Questions
25. Who do you speak to when you are feeling stressed at work?
26. How do you cope with stressful situations when at work?
27. How would you describe your current workload?
28. What parts of your job excite you the most?
Closed Questions
29. Do you think [Your Company] has a positive and engaging culture? (Y or N)
30. Would you be interested in a management position? (Y or N)
31. Do you feel connected to the work you do? (Y or N)
32. Do you feel a sense of belonging at work? (Y or N)
33. Do you feel recognised and appreciated for your contributions at work? (Y or N)
34. Do you feel [Your Company] prioritises diversity, equality, and inclusion? (Y or N)
35. Do you feel motivated by current workplace incentives? (Y or N)
36. Do you feel supported in your professional development? (Y or N)
Open Questions
37. What team events would you be interested in participating in?
38. What are ways [Your Company] could improve culture?
39. What does a good company culture mean to you?
40. How would you describe your relationships with your direct team?
41. Are you satisfied working under your immediate supervisor? And Why/Why Not?
42. What are ways in which management can improve in the following areas: leadership, collaboration, communication, delegation, and professional support?
43. How would you like to celebrate employee success?
44. How often do you feel socially connected with your coworkers?
Closed Questions
45. Please rate your work-life balance in this job (scale of 1-10)
46. How often do your tasks drag into post-work hours? (Very often, sometimes, never)
47. Do you feel like there are enough flexible work arrangements in this job? (Y or N)
48. Are you satisfied with your current work hours? (Y or N)
49. Do you need extra help to complete your work tasks? (Y or N)
50. Can you set strict boundaries between work and life? (Y or N)
51. Have often have you sacrificed a personal event or family time to complete a work task? (Very often, sometimes, never)
Open Questions
52. What flexible work arrangements would you like to see implemented in [Company Name]?
53. What does work-life balance mean to you?
54. How do you switch off after work?
55. How often do you take breaks during the day to move, get fresh air, or exercise?
56. How often have you had to work on days off/holidays?
57. In what ways could your manager or team support you in achieving work-life balance?
General
58. What makes you proud to be a part of [Your Company]?
59. What changes would you like to see at [Your Company]?
60. How would you describe your experience working within [Your Company] to a friend?
61. Do you think you can reach your full potential at [Your Company]?
61. Do you still see yourself working at [Your Company] in one year?
Final Tips
Now the results are in, it’s time to analyse this valuable information for any patterns and trends. This will provide you with a deeper understanding of the factors directly impacting and affecting your team’s experience and engagement. Utilise these trends to develop action plans, implement change and address specific concerns that have been identified by your team.
Finally, maintaining this engagement relies heavily on effective communication. It’s crucial to follow up post-survey with a thank you message, key findings from the results, and the action steps that are to be put in place as a result. This approach fosters transparency, highlighting the value placed on the feedback, and cultivates a culture that continually strives to improve.
To read further about the benefits of developing company culture and action steps you can take, read our previous article on this topic here.
Emily has a background in corporate sales and recruitment. Experience, that allows her to understand businesses and people, and to create compelling copy and content that showcases just that.
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