Wellbeing and measurement
What is a wellbeing survey — and what does it not show?
14 January 2026 · 7 min read
Short answer
A wellbeing survey is a recurring questionnaire measuring employees' experienced state: motivation, workload, management quality and psychosocial work environment. It describes a level, not a priority. It can show that something hurts, but not which value gets deprioritised when two values cannot both be honoured.
What a wellbeing survey actually contains
Most wellbeing surveys share the same basic recipe: a set of statements answered on a scale, grouped into dimensions such as workload, influence, meaning, management, collaboration and offensive behaviour. The result is a set of averages, usually compared with last year and with an industry norm.
That is a sound construction for its purpose. Workplace legislation requires psychosocial strain to be mapped, and a survey provides shared language and a documented baseline. The problem only arises when the survey is used as a culture measurement.
Level is not hierarchy
A wellbeing survey asks questions where every answer can be true at once. You can score high on both "we have time to do the work properly" and "we act fast". In everyday work you cannot always have both. There are situations where thoroughness and speed exclude each other, and one has to give way. That choice is culture. And it is exactly what a scale cannot capture.
| Wellbeing survey | Values measurement (KulturEKG) |
|---|---|
| Measures a level: how good or bad is it? | Measures a hierarchy: what wins when a choice must be made? |
| Scale answers; all statements can be true at once. | Forced choices between values that cannot both be honoured. |
| Compared with last year and an industry norm. | Compared with leadership's locked guess at the same hierarchy. |
| Points at symptoms: stress, low meaning, poor collaboration. | Points at mechanics: which value systematically loses. |
| Action: initiatives against whatever scores low. | Action: a decision on which priority should apply. |
Three things a wellbeing survey cannot answer
- Which of our five values is actually sacrificed first when the calendar is on fire?
- Is leadership's perception of that priority close to or far from the employees'?
- Does the priority flip as pressure rises — and where is the breaking point?
This is not a criticism of the instrument. A wellbeing survey is built to detect strain, and it does. But when an organisation has five values on the wall and finds they do not take hold, the answer is rarely another wellbeing survey. The answer is to measure the hierarchy between the values.
Should we drop our wellbeing survey?
No. It covers a legal requirement and detects strain. A values measurement does not replace it — it answers a different question and is typically used annually or around a change.
Can we just add value questions to the wellbeing survey?
You can ask "do we live our values?" on a scale, but the answer is an attitude, not a hierarchy. A hierarchy requires forced choices between two values, and those do not belong in the middle of a statutory survey.
Sources
- Edgar H. Schein, Organizational Culture and Leadership
- Danish Working Environment Authority on psychosocial APV
Read on
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