Employee survey on the workplace: 25 questions you should ask

Most office projects start with a floor plan. That’s an expensive habit, because the floor plan tells you what fits — not what’s needed. You only notice the difference when the renovation is done and the new quiet space sits empty while people are still calling from the stairwell.

A survey costs you a week and prevents you from investing thousands of euros in the wrong space. Below are the 25 questions we ask before designing anything, plus how to turn the answers into decisions.

Why survey before design, not after

There are three reasons, and the third one delivers the most.

You measure the actual need instead of the assumed one. Management and facilities usually have a good idea of what isn’t working, but rarely how often. The difference between ‘people complain about noise’ and ‘fourteen people leave daily for the stairwell’ is the difference between a feeling and a business case.

You get a baseline measurement. Without pre-measurement data, you can’t prove that the investment delivered results afterward. This makes defending the next investment significantly harder.

You buy buy-in. This is the underestimated outcome. People who are asked accept an outcome that doesn’t fully align with their preferences. People who aren’t asked always have criticism — even if the design is objectively better. A survey is just as much a change management tool as a research instrument.

Before you start: four agreements

• Anonymous. Otherwise, you’ll get socially desirable answers, especially about your own manager and the executive team.
• Short. Five to seven minutes. At fifteen minutes, your response rate drops, and you’re left with those who were already the most vocal.
• Promise feedback — and deliver. One survey without follow-up ruins your response rate for all future surveys. Also communicate the things you *won’t* do, and why.
• Measure during a normal week. Not during holidays, not during a moving week, not during a reorganization.

Aim for at least 60% response rate. Below that, you don’t know if you’re measuring the organization or just the people with the strongest opinions.

The 25 questions

Use a scale of 1 (completely disagree) to 5 (completely agree) for the statements. The open-ended questions at the end often yield the most valuable insights — they reveal things you hadn’t considered asking about.

Block 1 — Concentration and Noise (Questions 1 to 5)

1. I can concentrate well at my workspace.
2. I’m frequently interrupted by conversations among colleagues.
3. How often per week do you leave your workspace to work concentratedly elsewhere? (never / 1-2× / 3-5× / daily)
4. How often per week do you leave your workspace to call or video call elsewhere? (never / 1-2× / 3-5× / daily)
5. Where would you go instead? (open)

What you do with this: Questions 3 and 4 are the most important on the entire list. They translate a feeling into a frequency, and thus into a number of spaces. Question 5 tells you where the current need is being met — and that is usually a place not intended for it.

Block 2 — The Physical Workspace (questions 6 to 10)

6. My workspace is comfortable for a full workday.
7. I have enough space to work.
8. I can adjust the height of my desk and chair properly.
9. I experience neck, back, or shoulder pain by the end of the day. (reverse scoring)
10. What would you change about your workspace if you could choose just one thing? (open)

What you do with this: questions 8 and 9 often reveal that furniture is adjustable, but no one knows how. This is an instruction issue, not a purchase issue—and one of the most cost-effective improvements you can make.

Block 3 — Climate, Light and Air (questions 11 to 14)

11. The temperature at my workspace is comfortable.
12. The air in the office feels fresh.
13. I have sufficient daylight at my workspace.
14. The lighting is pleasant to work in.

What you do with this: These four complaints are most frequently mentioned and most often ignored because they ‘don’t relate to design.’ Yet, they are strict standards. The Code requires that CO₂ concentration in workspaces typically remains below 900 ppm or that at least 40 m³ of fresh air per person per hour is supplied, and sets minimum lighting levels per task type — for office work and meeting rooms, that is 500 lux. If question 12 scores low, hang a CO₂ monitor. It costs forty euros and provides an objective answer.

Block 4 — Spaces and Facilities (Question 15 to 19)

15. There are enough quiet spots to make calls.
16. There are enough spaces to discuss with two or three people.
17. There are enough spaces to work concentratedly.
18. There’s a place where I can truly unwind.
19. What space do you miss at the office? (open)

What you do with this: pay attention to the difference between question 15 and 16. Many organizations address a shortage of phone calls by adding meeting rooms, which increases the shortage of consultation time. The two numbers side by side prevent you from shifting the problem.

Question 19 is the question where, in our experience, we most often encounter something unexpected: a place to recharge, a space for prayer or simply to be alone, or a decent spot for lunch that isn’t the meeting room.

Block 5 — Personal Needs (Question 20 to 22)

20. I have enough privacy for personal conversations or phone calls.
21. If I need a specific facility — such as a place to pump, pray, or recover — I know where to go.
22. Is there anything about the work environment that makes it harder for you to do your job well? (open)

What you do with this: Question 21 is intentionally broad and conditionally phrased. This way, no one has to identify themselves as someone who lounges or prays, yet you still measure whether the facilities are known and accessible. A low score often doesn’t mean the space is missing, but that no one knows it exists — and that’s a communication issue with a low-cost solution.

Block 6 — Experience and Engagement (Question 23 to 25)

23. I enjoy working in an office.
24. I would confidently show our office to a job candidate.
25. How many days per week do you work in the office, and how many would you like? (two numbers)

What you do with this: Question 24 is the employer-branding question. Whoever doesn’t dare show their own office won’t recommend the employer either. Question 25 exposes the gap between current and desired office presence — and that gap is usually directly traceable to the scores in Block 1.

From answers to decisions

A survey without action is a report no one reads. Four ways to turn it into decisions.

1. Convert frequency into numbers

Question 4 tells you how many people daily step out to call. Multiply that by the average call duration, and you have the daily call minutes that currently go unaccounted for. Divide that by a realistic occupancy rate — aim for around 60%, since spaces are never perfectly planned — and you have the number of phone booths you need. Not guesswork, but calculations.

2. Split by team and by floor

Averages hide exactly what you’re looking for. A sales team and a finance team have opposing needs; if you average them out, you end up with a solution that works for neither. Always split out at least by department and floor.

3. Compare scores against costs

Create a simple matrix: lowest scores on one axis, cost of the solution on the other. Start bottom-left — low score, low cost. These are often zoning, instructions on furniture adjustments, and better signage to existing spaces. That win can be achieved within a month, and you’ll need that credibility for the more expensive part.

4. Follow up and repeat

Communicate the results and your plans within two weeks. Repeat the survey six to twelve months after the changes, using the same questions. The difference between those two measurements is the only solid proof that the investment worked.

What you should definitely not do

• Ask about solutions instead of problems. Asking, ‘Would you like a ping-pong table?’ might result in a table no one uses. Ask what’s going wrong; designing the solution is your job.
• Let the survey run without a deadline. Two weeks, with one reminder. Longer does not increase response rates.
• Survey only office employees. Those who work partly from home have the sharpest insight into what the office does and doesn’t work for.
• Ignoring the result because it doesn’t align with expectations. If it turns out employees primarily need quiet while an open work café has just been designed, it’s inconvenient but useful. An ignored result costs you more than an uncomfortable one.

How we do this

We start every project here, not with a floor plan. The impact scan surveys employees, translates results into zones and numbers, and delivers a design that traces back to the survey outcomes. Then comes the setup: from acoustics and phone booths to lactation rooms and prayer spaces.

That last part isn’t a coincidence. The spaces that emerge from a survey are rarely the ones on a standard floor plan. What we see in our realizations is that it’s almost always about the same things: being able to call undisturbed somewhere, being able to be alone for a moment somewhere, and being able to go somewhere with a need you’d rather not voice aloud.

Want to get started? Take the free workplace well-being scan, or see what the full journey looks like from survey to delivery.

Frequently asked questions about an employee survey on the workplace

How many questions should a workplace survey contain?

Between 20 and 30 questions, ideal for five to seven minutes of completion time. Longer surveys reduce response rates, and you’ll mostly hear from those who already have the strongest opinions.

What kind of response do you need to draw conclusions?

Aim for at least 60% response rate. Below that, you won’t know if you’re measuring the organization or just the most vocal group. Always break down results by department and floor, as averages hide the differences you’re looking for.

Should a workplace survey be anonymous?

Yes. Without anonymity, you’ll get socially desirable answers, especially on questions about privacy, comfort, and personal work environments. Anonymity costs nothing and increases both honesty and response rates.

How do you translate the answers into the number of required spaces?

Convert frequency to volume: the number of people who daily step out to call, multiplied by the average call duration, divided by a realistic occupancy rate of about 60%. This way, you move from a feeling to a concrete number of phone booths or meeting spots.

When do you repeat the survey?

Six to twelve months after the interventions, using the same questions. The difference between the baseline and follow-up measurements is the only hard evidence that the investment has had an effect.

Last updated on 24 October 2026 by Stijn Belmans