Employee engagement questions: 70+ examples & how to use them effectively

Employee engagement survey questions help you uncover how people feel about their work, team, leadership, and growth opportunities. When well-designed, they’ll tell you what’s working in your company and what’s holding people back.

This matters more than ever. While People leaders identify trust, autonomy, and development as the biggest drivers of productivity, research shows that, increasingly, cultural divisions within organizations are impacting performance.* Yet, without clear data, it’s nearly impossible to understand what’s causing disengagement or how to fix it.

The key is asking the right questions and having a system in place to interpret the responses. That means grouping your questions by theme, tying them to core engagement drivers, and avoiding vague or generic phrasing. A thoughtful structure makes it easier to analyze results and act on them effectively — instead of just collecting noise.

In this guide, you’ll find 70+ example engagement questions, organized by topic, along with guidance on how to run, analyze, and act on surveys so you can have a measurable impact on employee engagement.
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‍*Leapsome’s HR Insights Report, 2025
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70+ employee engagement questions by theme

To run a successful employment engagement survey, you need more than just a long list of random questions. A thoughtful structure — grouped by themes that directly affect engagement — helps uncover where employees are thriving and where blockers exist.

Below, we’ve grouped 70+ employee engagement survey items into key themes like leadership, growth, purpose, and peer connection. These categories align with common engagement models and allow for cleaner analysis once results come in. Each statement is phrased for rating on a simple scale (for example, strongly agree to strongly disagree).

Use these as a starting point to build your own survey or to audit and refine an existing one.
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Leadership & trust in management

1. I trust the senior leadership team to make decisions in the best interest of [company]
   
   
2. Leadership communicates a clear vision for the future
   
   
3. I feel informed about important company updates and decisions
   
   
4. My manager leads with transparency and integrity
   
   
5. I believe leadership genuinely cares about employees’ well-being
   
   
6. I feel comfortable raising concerns with management
   
   
7. Leadership follows through on commitments
   
   
8. There is alignment between what leadership says and what it does
   
   
9. I feel confident in the company’s leadership during times of change
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Growth, learning & career development

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10. I have clear opportunities for professional growth here
    
    
11. My manager supports my learning and development
    
    
12. I know what skills I need to develop to advance in my role
    
    
13. I receive useful feedback that helps me improve
    
    
14. I have access to the training or resources I need
    
    
15. I feel challenged in a way that supports my growth
    
    
16. Career progression paths are clear at [company]
    
    
17. I’m encouraged to take on new responsibilities or stretch projects
    
    
18. I have regular conversations with my manager about my career goals
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Company purpose & alignment

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19. I understand the mission and purpose of the company

20. My work contributes meaningfully to [company]’s goals

21. I feel aligned with the [company]’s values

22. I believe in the direction [company] is heading

23. I’m proud to work here

24. I feel a sense of purpose in my day-to-day work

25. Leadership actions reflect [company]’s stated purpose
    
    
26. I see how my team’s work connects to [Company]’s broader mission
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Team relationships & peer connections

27. I feel connected to my team

28. My colleagues treat each other with respect

29. Team members are willing to help each other

30. I feel like I belong here

31. Collaboration within my team is strong

32. I feel comfortable sharing ideas or asking for help

33. Conflicts are handled constructively

34. I have strong working relationships with my peers
    
    
35. I feel valued by the people I work with
    
    

Workplace culture & values

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36. [Company]’s values are reflected in everyday behavior
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37. The workplace culture supports inclusion and belonging

38. I can be myself at work

39. Different backgrounds and perspectives are respected here

40. I feel safe to speak up when something isn’t right

41. People across the company treat each other with respect

42. The company culture promotes both high performance and well-being
    
    
43. The company culture motivates me to do my best work
    
    

Work-life balance & employee well-being

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44. I’m able to maintain a healthy balance between work and personal life

45. I feel supported when I need to take time off

46. My workload is manageable

47. [Company] cares about employee well-being

48. I can take breaks or time away without guilt

49. I rarely feel burned out from work

50. I feel safe and supported in my work environment
    
    
51. I feel the company supports flexible work arrangements when needed
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Recognition, rewards & performance feedback

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52. I receive regular recognition for my work

53. Recognition is tied to meaningful contributions, not just outcomes
    
    
54. I feel recognized in ways that are meaningful to me

55. My compensation reflects the work I do

56. I understand how performance is measured here

57. I receive timely and constructive feedback

58. Performance reviews are fair and useful

59. I know how to improve or grow in my role

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Enablement & tools for success

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60. I have the tools and technology I need to do my job well

61. I rarely face blockers that slow down my work
    
    
62. When problems arise, I know where to go to get them resolved quickly
    
    
63. Internal processes are efficient and clear

64. I have access to the information I need when I need it

65. My workspace (remote or in-office) supports my productivity

66. The systems we use help, rather than hinder, my performance

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Remote or hybrid experience 

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67. I feel included in company culture regardless of location

68. I have the flexibility I need to manage work and life

69. I’m able to stay connected with my team while working remotely

70. [Company] communicates effectively across time zones and locations

71. My remote setup supports my ability to do great work

72. I’m confident I won’t be overlooked for opportunities because I work remotely
    
    
73. I have equal access to opportunities regardless of where I work from
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How to structure an employee engagement survey

A well-structured engagement survey gives you reliable, actionable data. The most effective approach is thematic survey design, where questions are grouped under categories that reflect the drivers of engagement. 

This helps employees respond more thoughtfully, and makes it easier to identify strengths, pain points, and focus areas in your results.

By structuring your engagement survey around the following five core dimensions, you can get a well-rounded view of engagement across roles, teams, and departments, and interpret results in a way that points directly to next steps:

• Leadership — Learn how employees view the leadership team in terms of transparency, communication, and decision-making.

• Growth and development — Gauge whether employees feel supported in learning, feedback, and career progression.

• Purpose and meaning — Understand whether employees feel connected to the company mission and see value in their day-to-day work.

• Peer relationships and culture — Measure the strength of team dynamics, inclusion, and collaboration across the organization.

• Work-life and well-being — Identify whether workloads are sustainable and if the company supports healthy balance and psychological safety.

Stick to a cadence that allows for an effective response — quarterly or biannual surveys are common — and keep the experience simple and accessible to employees. Anonymity is key to getting honest feedback, and psychological safety matters just as much as the questions themselves.
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How to interpret employee engagement survey results

Running a great survey is only half the work — the real value comes from knowing how to interpret the results. As Crystal Williams, Chief Human Resources Officer at Corpay, says: “Understanding and acting on employee feedback is critical to fostering a thriving company culture.”

With the right analysis, engagement data can highlight strengths, reveal issues, and guide strategic decisions at every level of the business.
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Quantitative benchmarks (e.g., eNPS, satisfaction, enablement)

Benchmarks help you contextualize your scores, whether against internal targets or industry standards. For example, an eNPS (employee Net Promoter Score) of +30 might seem strong, but if your last employee satisfaction survey had a score of +45, there may be issues worth unpacking.

The most common benchmark metrics include:

• eNPS — How likely employees are to recommend your company as a place to work

• Satisfaction — Overall sentiment about working at the company

• Enablement — Whether employees feel they have the tools and support needed to succeed in their roles

These high-level scores give you a starting point — but they should always be interpreted in context and tracked over time. To make this easier, use a survey platform with built-in analytics and trend reporting, so you can quickly spot patterns and shifts without manual data wrangling.

For example, Leapsome Surveys visualize engagement data in dynamic heatmaps — making it easy to compare results by team, location, or department at a glance.

Framework for analysis

To make sense of the data, segment it. Use filters like team, department, or tenure to reveal distribution patterns and not just broad averages. Pay attention to:

• Score distribution — Are responses tightly clustered or highly polarized?

• Trends — How have scores changed since your last survey?

• Outliers — Where is experience drastically better or worse than the average?

Automatically visualizing this is a crucial first step in turning data into action, but you still need to interpret the “why” behind the numbers, which is where qualitative data can play a key role.
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Qualitative signals

Open-ended responses are where you can find nuance and the kind of context that quantitative scores can’t capture.

Look for patterns in what people are saying across themes like leadership, workload, or belonging. However, doing this manually is extremely time-intensive and prone to error — imagine trying to categorize hundreds of comments from multiple teams by hand. 

So, use AI-powered sentiment analysis to automatically detect tone and emotion across comments, surfacing hidden signals that a manual process may miss.

For example, with Leapsome Surveys’ AI sentiment analysis, you can instantly turn employee feedback into clear insights with actionable recommendations. This not only saves your HR team valuable time, but also enables a more regular survey cadence that doesn’t sacrifice depth or quality.
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Common red flags & how to prioritize issues

While not every low score warrants immediate action, some signals can point to deeper engagement risks. Instead of reacting to every concern or negative trend, focus on patterns that indicate systemic problems or growing discontent.

Key red flags to watch for:

• Consistently low scores — Repeated underperformance in areas like trust, feedback, or workload points to entrenched issues.

• Significant declines over time — A sharp drop since the last survey can reveal growing dissatisfaction, even in previously stable areas.

• Wide gaps between teams or locations — Disparities in scores suggest an uneven employee experience across the organization.

• Low ratings on core engagement drivers — Poor scores in areas like enablement, belonging, or manager support tend to have the biggest impact on performance and retention.

To prioritize, look for overlap between what’s performing poorly and what matters most to retention, morale, or performance. Then focus your next steps on those high-impact areas with a target strategy that deepens your insights and monitors progress as you implement your response.
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Turning insights into actions

Once you’ve prioritized which engagement issues to focus on, move quickly to validate findings and address them in a structured way. Depending on the issue, your follow-up might include:

• Targeted pulse surveys — Dig deeper into specific topics to understand root causes before committing to major changes.

• Team workshops — Create space for open discussion and collective problem-solving around the results.

• Leadership alignment — Ensure executives and managers are on the same page about what’s surfaced and what to do about it.

Tracking and communicating progress is just as important as the initial response. Let employees know what’s changing and why, and make it clear their feedback drove those decisions.
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How Leapsome helps run & act on engagement surveys

Effective engagement surveys don’t end with a score — they lead to action. To do that well, you need a platform that supports every step: from thoughtful survey design to clear reporting and targeted follow-up.

Leapsome Surveys makes it easy to run anonymous, customizable surveys tied to proven engagement drivers. Built-in people analytics, including sentiment analysis and heatmaps, help you quickly interpret feedback and identify what matters most.

To ensure you can turn survey data into action, connect feedback to performance, development, and enablement. With tools like the Leapsome Learning and Leapsome AI, you can minimize manual tasks as you address challenges, support team and individual growth, and build a culture that retains and motivates your people.

Leapsome gives you the clarity and tools to move forward with confidence, from your first survey to a fully realized engagement strategy.
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FAQs about employee engagement questions 

How long should an engagement survey be?

The right length depends on your goals, the number of themes you want to cover, and how frequently you survey employees. A comprehensive survey covering all core engagement drivers might include 40–50 questions. If you’re focusing on just one or two areas, 15–25 may be enough. Keep it concise, relevant, and manageable — aim for a 10–15 minute completion time to avoid fatigue.
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How often should you run employee engagement surveys?

For a full engagement survey, once or twice a year is ideal. This gives you time to act on feedback and track change over time. In between, pulse surveys can help you stay responsive. The key is consistency: regular feedback builds trust and gives you a clearer view of what’s working and where to improve.
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Should engagement surveys be anonymous?

Yes, anonymity is key to getting honest, useful feedback — especially around sensitive topics like leadership skills, culture, or workload. Make it clear that responses can’t be traced back to individuals, and use tools that protect respondent privacy by default. With Leapsome’s Anonymous Survey Conversations feature, you can follow up on issues by initiating conversation with respondents without compromising their anonymity.
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What’s the best way to follow up after an engagement survey?

The best way to respond to an engagement survey is to close the loop quickly. Share high-level findings with your team, highlight what you heard, and explain what actions you’re taking (or exploring). Follow up with targeted workshops, manager discussions, or pulse surveys as needed. Even if change takes time, showing that feedback drives decisions builds trust and keeps employees engaged in the process.
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Can small teams or startups use engagement surveys?

Yes, small teams can see huge benefits with regular engagement surveys. By surfacing issues before a small operation scales, leadership can stay connected to what people need and avoid larger challenges across a more complex organization. Even with a team of 10, a simple, focused survey can reveal insights you might not hear in informal conversations. Start small, use a few key themes, and be transparent about what you plan to do with the feedback.