Employee Wellness Surveys
Employee wellness surveys are integral tools for employers to understand, gauge, and improve happiness in the workplace. They are essential for both the productivity and retention of top employees. In fact, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine, poor employee health costs US employers up to $530 billion each year.
The True Cost of Employee Health
Employee wellness is a crucial element of any successful business. When employees don’t feel supported in the workplace, the price that businesses pay goes beyond health insurance.
Engagement
Studies show that when employees feel that their workplace cares about their health and wellbeing, they exhibit 38% higher levels of engagement when compared to their counterparts. Higher engagement means higher productivity and a stronger effort to go above and beyond when completing work-related assignments.
Participation
According to the Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM), stress and personal illness account for 47% of all work-related absenteeism. When employees miss work, it’s up to the business to account for lost resources – often adding stress to the rest of the team.
Productivity
Even when employees continue coming to work, feeling unsupported by their workplace can have a massive impact on their productivity during business hours. According to SHRM, more than 90% of business leaders say that employee wellness is directly linked to productivity, with 62% of those leaders prioritizing productivity in their workplaces.
Read more: Companies With Excellent Employee Retention Strategies
Top 20 Employee Wellness Survey Questions
It’s clear that business potential peaks with the right approach to employee wellness – but how do you know your wellness initiatives are working?
Here’s our comprehensive list of Employee Wellness Survey Questions to guide your next check-in:
1. Is employee wellness important to you?
This question gives employers a general idea of how many employees consider wellness resources an essential part of their job. Businesses can better assess what type of wellness program is right for their team by taking the average scores of the responses.
2. Have you invested in a health insurance plan through your employer, a parent's, or a partner's plan?
When employees actively participate in benefit packages, they are more likely to use preventive care and maintain a healthier lifestyle. Understanding how many employees choose employer-provided insurance plans will also help a business select the best insurance provider to match employee needs.
3. What gender do you identify with?
This demographic question helps categorize responses for analysis. The remaining answers can be further examined to understand how needs differ between various groups.
4. What is your ethnicity?
Another demographic question that helps shed light on the various cultures embodied in an organization. Understanding your business’ ethnic diversity will help establish awareness, respect, and understanding of different individuals' needs.
5. Do you follow a fitness routine?
This question aims to gain an understanding of what benefits employees would leverage. For example, employees that regularly workout already may prefer discounted memberships at a local gym, while those who find it difficult to make time for fitness may prefer an in-office fitness area.
6. What fitness activities do you enjoy the most?
Companies can use these interests to host company events and extend beyond basic gym memberships to cover other specialty clubs. Employees can even work together on fitness-related fundraising events for important causes and promote their company through positive interactions.
7. Do you snack often while at work?
This can help improve company-provided snack options. When a company provides an assortment of healthy snack options, it encourages healthier choices – keeping energy levels high throughout the day and nourishing those who might have forgotten to pack snacks for their shift.
8. Does stress from work affect your personal life?
A crucial question that, when appropriately addressed, can stop an employee from quitting, relieve stressful situations at home, or create healthier relationships. It’s impossible for an employer to remove all stress from a job entirely, but steps can be taken to help employees reduce the stress that goes home with them.
9. Are you interested in a wellness program at work?
Measuring interest in an employee wellness program can help employers determine the right wellness program for their team, or gauge how well employees understand existing benefits they have access to. Rather than only a simple yes or no answer, there may be additional space to write in what kind of activities or services employees are interested in specifically or if there are questions about the program.
10. Do you use apps or smartwatch features to support your mental health?
If there’s a common use of technology, businesses could contact an app for an enterprise account that supports multiple users, discount or offer free accounts for those interested, or reimburse apps that require a paid subscription.
11. Would you participate in a paid employee wellness program?
Not all wellness programs come at a cost, but some programs may require upfront payments to establish a partnership with specific providers. Depending on those costs, it might be worthwhile to see if your employees are interested in this type of program, or if there’s a better alternative for your team.
12. Would you use an employee wellness program if it were free?
Just because a program is free does not mean employees will participate. Employees can better gauge their interest if you can offer a sample of what exactly is included in your wellness program.
13. Are you satisfied with the company's current wellness offerings?
If there is already an employee wellness program, this is the space to gauge if it is working or needs adjusting, and gather comments on areas to improve.
14. Do you believe our company is committed to employee wellness?
This question will help employers understand how employees currently view their company, and where wellness practices can be improved.
15. Do you feel our company encourages employee wellness?
Like the last question, this open-ended question leaves room for additional comments on what the company achieves or could improve in employee wellness practices.
16. Are water stations and cups easily accessible at work?
Hydration is vital to employee wellness. Accessibility to water fountains encourages proper wellness practices throughout the workday.
17. Do you feel comfortable discussing your mental health with your manager?
In order for employees to feel supported at work, their managers must be approachable. Mental health is a difficult topic to bring up during the workday, but it’s important that employees feel comfortable addressing concerns that may impact their productivity with an appropriate manager. This question will provide insight on whether or not managers require more training to properly support their teams.
18. Do you often feel burnt out? If so, how often?
Employee burnout is real. When tasks become overwhelming, deadlines are quickly approaching, morale is low, or outside stressors distract an employee from their job responsibilities, they can quickly decrease in overall productivity at work.
19. Does your financial situation affect your work?
Finances are a primary part of adult life. When income does not sufficiently support employees, it can cause mental and emotional anguish that subsequently impacts productivity. Depending on the answers to this question, companies can use these results to re-evaluate their existing compensation structures.
20. How likely are you to recommend a friend to apply for a role at this company?
This question helps employers gauge retention. If an employee is likely to recommend the employer as a favorable business to work for, the employee is more likely to remain employed.
Open Response
A final section on the survey should be left open for additional comments, questions, or recommendations for future surveys.
Creating Your Employee Wellness Survey
Ready to create an employee wellness survey and start improving your business’ approach to employee satisfaction?
Contact Ignition Coaching for expert assistance in kickstarting or improving an existing wellness program.