In short
When you choose to use GAIS’ frameworks for engagement surveys, factor surveys and workplace assessments, you can be sure that you are sending out a survey that is validated, well-tested and built on research.
In this article, you’ll learn:
– what GAIS’ engagement survey, workplace assessment survey and factor surveys are based on
– how the seven factors behind workplace well-being have been selected and validated
– the benefits of using a fixed, validated question framework
Key takeaway:
GAIS makes well-being measurable by combining research, fixed questions and prioritisation, giving organisations a more solid foundation for dialogue and action.
When you need to send out an employee survey from the GAIS platform, you can choose from a wide range of question frameworks, whether you want to measure general well-being, the working environment or specific areas of employee well-being and engagement.
The question frameworks have been developed based on research and in collaboration with partners who have specialist knowledge within the different areas.
GAIS engagement surveys – a validated foundation
GAIS’ engagement surveys have a fixed question framework based on a Danish, research-based and validated model for what affects workplace well-being. The model was developed by the Centre for Good Working Life and has been internationally recognised in the academic journal Labour.
The engagement survey is used internationally by companies and employees around the world.
Let’s explain that in a little more detail:
Validated model: GAIS’ engagement survey has a fixed question framework because we know that these specific questions together cover a very large part of what influences Danes’ workplace well-being.
Research-based model: When we say that the engagement survey model is research-based, it means that it is based on the factors, questions and analyses developed by the Centre for Good Working Life in the Good Working Life Index.
Explains the majority of Danes’ workplace well-being
The seven factors measured in the engagement survey have not been picked out of thin air. Based on thorough research into Danish and international studies, the Centre for Good Working Life and the Happiness Research Institute initially identified 72 factors that influence workplace well-being.
These were later condensed into the seven factors we know from the GAIS engagement survey.
A fixed questionnaire – for a reason
In many engagement surveys, you can put together your own question framework. GAIS has a fixed, defined question framework because:
- We know from the Good Working Life Index that these exact factors and questions are, on average, important for workplace well-being.
- A fixed question framework creates a basis for a shared language and frame of reference.
- A fixed question framework makes it possible to track development over time.
- A fixed question framework makes it possible to benchmark against, for example, your industry. Read more here.
As a supplement to the GAIS question framework, organisations can add extra questions that they define themselves.
These can be based on a specific or current issue, or on the question catalogue provided by GAIS.
The structure of the model
The model for measuring workplace well-being, which GAIS’ engagement survey is based on, shows the relationship between a dependent variable — workplace well-being — and a number of independent variables — the seven factors.
Or put more simply: it shows how seven factors influence one overall factor: workplace well-being.
The engagement survey measures two things related to workplace well-being and the seven factors: score and importance.
Scores – how are things going?
The score shows how satisfied the respondent is with their workplace well-being and the seven factors.
When participants answer the engagement survey, they choose a value for each question on a scale from 0–10, where 0 means “not at all” and 10 means “to a very high degree”. Scale-based answers are widely used to measure attitudes and opinions that cannot simply be answered with a yes or no.
A factor’s score indicates how satisfied the respondent is with that factor overall. The factor score is calculated as the average score across the individual questions that make up the factor.
For example, the score for the Meaning factor is calculated as the average score across the set of questions that together make up the Meaning factor.
Read more about the choice of a 0–10 scale and how the numbers are calculated.
Workplace well-being is not an average of the seven factors
The overall workplace well-being score is not an average of the scores for the seven factors. Since workplace well-being is an independent variable, the workplace well-being score is calculated as an average of the scores for five questions asked directly about overall workplace well-being.
This means you could have a case where the overall workplace well-being score is higher or lower than the average score across the seven factors. In that case, there are elements outside the seven factors that either significantly lift or lower the respondent’s overall score.
Prioritisation – what matters most?
At the end of the engagement survey, respondents are asked to prioritise the importance of the seven factors for their well-being. This prioritisation is used in the Focus Map, where the importance and scores of the factors are shown in a graphical view.
This makes it visually clear which factors it makes most sense to focus on improving.
GAIS workplace assessment survey: Cover the working environment thoroughly
The GAIS workplace assessment survey question framework has been developed based on the Danish Working Environment Authority’s recommendations and guidelines, and therefore meets the legal requirements for workplace environment assessments.
The questions cover the physical and psychological working environment, as well as stress and sickness absence. In addition, you can add an unlimited number of your own questions.
Factor surveys: deep dive options
With a factor survey, you can examine and map one workplace well-being factor in depth. A factor will typically be divided into different dimensions, giving a detailed picture of how things stand within a specific factor.
One example is the Meaning factor survey. The Meaning factor examines four dimensions, which the questions are distributed across.
Factor surveys are based on the research, experience and work of the Centre for Good Working Life, which has examined the individual workplace well-being factors in depth across the Danish population on several occasions.
Read more about the Purpose factor survey
Read more about the Leadership factor survey
Read more about the Balance factor survey
