Employee wellness survey for wellbeing at work
Sixteen questions on workload, control, support and change, fourteen of them from the HSE Management Standards. About five minutes.
- 16questions
- About 5 minto complete
The 16 employee wellbeing survey questions, by standard
An employee wellness survey, or wellbeing survey, asks staff how their work is set up: what it demands, how much say they have, who helps and how change reaches them. Fourteen of these sixteen questions come from the HSE Management Standards Indicator Tool,[1] which HSE publishes free to use.[2] They load in our survey form builder.
Role: whether the job is clear
The two easiest questions, so they open the survey.
- I am clear what my duties and responsibilities are
- I understand how my work fits into the overall aim of the organization
Demands: how much the job asks
All three are worded so Often or Always is the bad answer.
- I have unachievable deadlines
- I have to neglect some tasks because I have too much to do
- I am unable to take sufficient breaksBreaks can improve without cutting anyone's workload.
Control: how much say people have
Say over method, then over pace.
- I have a choice in deciding how I do my work
- I have a say in my own work speedLow here with high demands is the pairing to fix first.
Support: the line manager and colleagues
Two items on the manager, one on colleagues. For a full review of your managers, send the manager effectiveness survey.
- I can rely on my line manager to help me out with a work problem
- I am given supportive feedback on the work I do
- If work gets difficult, my colleagues will help me
Relationships: friction at work
One item per scale; on both, a high answer is the bad one.
- There is friction or anger between colleagues
- Relationships at work are strained
Change: whether people see it coming
Before a restructure is announced, a change readiness assessment tells you whether people are ready for it.
- Staff are always consulted about change at work
- When changes are made at work, I am clear how they will work out in practice
Your words, then the overall read
One optional open answer, then the overall rating.
- If you could change one thing about how your work is organized, what would it be?
- Overall, the way my job is set up is good for my wellbeing
Add-on: your wellness program
Put these three before question 15 if you run a wellness program. To rank benefits against each other, use the employee benefits survey.
- I know what our wellness program offers
- Using the wellness program fits into my working day
- What would make the wellness program more useful to you?
Send it twice a year, then fix the lowest standard
Send one link to everyone in the team or site. Nothing asks for a name, and reporting only groups of five or more keeps any one person from standing out.
HSE asks people to answer for their last six months,[1] so run it twice a year. Between rounds, a short employee pulse survey keeps the trend moving.
Score answers 1 to 5, and score questions 3, 4, 5, 11 and 12 as 6 minus the answer.[1] Average each standard by team, rank the six, and act first on the lowest item a manager can change. Report question 16 on its own as the headline to track.
If the change items sit lowest and the comments turn to job cuts, send the job security questionnaire next.
Employee wellness survey FAQ
Is an employee wellness survey the same as a wellbeing survey?
Yes. Employers use both names for the same survey, and some call it an employee welfare survey. This one asks about the working conditions behind wellbeing, then closes on one overall wellbeing rating you can track from round to round.
Should an employee wellness survey ask about health?
Keep it to the work. Every question here points at something a manager can change, such as deadlines, breaks or support. Name your employee assistance program in the invite so anyone who wants help with their health knows where to go.
What should a wellness program survey ask?
Whether people know what the program offers, whether it fits into their working day, and what would make it more useful. The three add-on questions above ask exactly that.
Michael Hodge, survey methodology · Updated 27 September 2026 · How templates are reviewed
Contains public sector information published by the Health and Safety Executive and licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Sources (2)
- Health and Safety Executive. HSE Management Standards Indicator Tool. hse.gov.uk (PDF)
- Health and Safety Executive. Management Standards: tools and templates. hse.gov.uk
Find the working condition to fix first
Sixteen questions, about five minutes, no names asked. Open it in the editor and add the wellness program questions if you run one.
Use this template