Reference: Engagement Question Library and Theory References

Peakon

For customers who had their Workday Peakon instance created from the 31st March 2026 onwards, unless you opted out, you will be using the Concept: Flexible Listening Question Model and Score. In this question model, we have updated the question library which you can read more about here: Reference: 2026 Question Library Updates.

For customers who had their Workday Peakon instance created before 31st March 2026, you will continue to use the existing Workday Peakon Question model until we make it possible for you to upgrade to the flexible listening question model in the 26R2 and 27R1 release cycles. The question library remains the same for you.

The Workday Peakon Employee Voice (WPEV) engagement question library covers different element of organizational psychology. This topic lists the engagement questions and provides a summary of the theory and research behind the questions.

Standard Questions

The WPEV standard engagement question library includes:

1 main engagement question.

3 engagement outcome questions.

14 driver questions.

27 subdriver questions.

Question Library

Category	Name	Question	Consideration
Main question	Engagement	How likely is it you would recommend [Company] as a place to work?	Measures how engaged and committed employees are to the organization.
Outcome question	Belief	How likely is it you would recommend [Company] products or services to friends and family?	You can activate this additional question. Measures whether employees are willing to advocate for the organization’s products or services.
Outcome question	Loyalty	How likely is it that you would stay with [Company], if you were offered the same job at another organization?	You can activate this additional question. Measures employee commitment to stay with the organization.
Outcome question	Satisfaction	Overall, how satisfied are you working at [Company]?	You can activate this additional question. Measures whether employees enjoy coming to work and positively evaluate their employee experiences.
Driver	Accomplishment	I regularly feel a sense of accomplishment from what I do.	Measures whether employees feel a sense of accomplishment day-to-day.
Subdriver	Challenging	I regularly have the opportunity to do challenging things at work.	Measures whether employees feel like they get do challenging work.
Driver	Autonomy	I have enough freedom to decide how to do my work.	Measures if employees feel like they can complete their work as they see fit, unhindered by micro-management.
Subdriver	Flexibility	I'm satisfied with the amount of flexibility I have in my work schedule.	Measures whether employees feel that their work schedule is flexible enough.
Subdriver	Remote Work	I am satisfied with the opportunities I have to work remotely.	Indicates whether employees feel that they can decide when to work remotely.
Driver	Environment	I am satisfied with the physical surroundings where I do my work.	Measures whether employees believe that their physical work environment has a positive effect on their work.
Subdriver	Collaboration Space	There are suitable spaces at work for conversations and collaboration with others.	Measures whether employees feel that their work environment has sufficient space for collaborating with others.
Subdriver	Equipment	I have the right materials and tools to complete my work.	Measures if employees feel that the organization provides them with the equipment they need to do their job.
Subdriver	Informal Space	There are places at my work where colleagues can meet informally and relax.	Measures whether employees feel that their work environment provides informal spaces where they can relax and connect with others.
Driver	Freedom of Opinions	I feel that my opinions are taken into account at work.	Measures if employees feel comfortable sharing their opinions, and like others value and respect their opinions.
Subdriver	Manager	My manager encourages me to express my opinions.	Measures if employees feel that they can share their opinions with their manager.
Subdriver	Team	My coworkers welcome opinions different from their own.	Measures if employees feel that they can share their opinions with their team.
Driver	Goal-Setting	At work I know what I am expected to contribute.	Measures whether employees have a clear sense of expectations in their role.
Subdriver	Alignment	I understand how my work supports the goals of my team.	Measures if employees feel that their work aligns with team goals.
Driver	Growth	I feel that I’m growing professionally.	Measures if employees feel that their role enables them to grow professionally.
Subdriver	Career Path	I see a path for me to advance my career in our organization.	Measures employee perceptions of the career advancement opportunities available to them at their organization.
Subdriver	Learning	My job enables me to learn and develop new skills.	Measures if employees feel that their role presents opportunities for them to learn and develop new skills.
Subdriver	Mentoring	Either my manager or a mentor actively supports my development.	Measures whether employees feel supported in their career development goals from managers or mentors.
Driver	Management Support	My manager provides me with the support I need to complete my work.	Measures if employees feel they receive sufficient support from their managers to do their job.
Subdriver	Caring	My manager cares about me as an individual.	Measures the quality of the relationships that employees have with their managers.
Subdriver	Openness	My manager communicates openly and honestly with me.	Indicates whether employees feel that their managers are open and honest with them.
Driver	Meaningful Work	The work I do is meaningful to me.	Measures whether employees consider their work to be valuable.
Subdriver	Fit	My current work makes the best use of my strengths.	Measures whether employees feel that their skills are a good fit in their role.
Subdriver	Significance	I see how my work contributes to positive outcomes for others (e.g. customers or colleagues).	Measures whether employees observe that their work is valuable and significant for others.
Driver	Organizational Fit	[Company]'s values are personally relevant to me.	Measures whether employees feel that the organization's values align with their own.
Subdriver	Equality	People from all backgrounds are treated fairly at [Company].	Measures whether employees feel that the organization treats everyone with equality.
Subdriver	Health	Working here, I feel that I can live a physically healthy lifestyle.	Measures whether employees feel that the organization enables them to maintain a physically healthy lifestyle.
Subdriver	Response	If I experienced serious misconduct at work, I’m confident appropriate action would be taken.	Measures how much confidence employees have in the organization to handle serious misconduct appropriately.
Subdriver	Support	[Company] really cares about my mental well-being.	Measures employee perceptions of the organization's efforts to support mental wellbeing.
Driver	Peer Relationships	My colleagues are willing to help each other with work if needed.	Indicates whether employees have strong, supportive relationships with their coworkers.
Subdriver	Friends	I see [Company] as the kind of place where I could make friends.	Measures whether employees feel that they share values with other people in the organization and see themselves developing friendships.
Subdriver	Quality	My colleagues collaborate well to deliver quality outcomes.	Measures whether employees feel that their coworkers care about doing quality work.
Driver	Recognition	If I do great work, I know that it will be recognized.	Measures whether employees feel that the organization values their work based on the feedback and praise they receive.
Subdriver	Performance	I get enough feedback to understand if I’m doing my job well.	Measures whether employees feel that they receive enough feedback to understand if they’re being effective at their job.
Driver	Reward	I am rewarded fairly (e.g. pay, promotion, benefits) for my contributions to [Company].	Measures how satisfied employees are with their total compensation.
Subdriver	Discussion	I can have constructive conversations with my manager about pay.	Measures how comfortable and confident employees feel discussing pay with their manager.
Subdriver	Process	The processes for determining pay in our organization seem fair and unbiased.	Measures whether employees think that the organization's processes for setting financial compensation are fair and unbiased.
Driver	Strategy	The overall business goals and strategies set by senior leadership are taking [Company] in the right direction.	Measures whether employees agree with the organization's overall strategy.
Subdriver	Communication	Our organization does a good job of communicating the goals and strategies set by senior leadership.	Measures employee perceptions of the organization's effort to communicate goals and strategies.
Subdriver	Mission	I’m inspired by the purpose and mission of our organization.	Measures how much employees believe in and relate to the organization's purpose and mission.
Driver	Workload	The demands of my workload are manageable.	Measures whether employees feel that they're responsible for a reasonable amount of work.

Theory Library

Name	Theory
Engagement	Employee engagement is an outcome of the relationship between an organization and its employees. An engaged employee is fully absorbed in and enthusiastic about their work. They're highly committed to the company and its goals. The engagement question follows the methodology of eNPS (employee Net Promoter Score). It prompts employees to consider factors that influence engagement like satisfaction with the organization’s culture, work environment, career prospects, and brand, and apply them to a simple decision-making process.
Engagement outcome Loyalty Satisfaction Belief	The engagement outcome questions highlight the behaviors that employees are likely to demonstrate if they’re engaged. These can serve as powerful motivators for leaders and managers on the road to building highly engaged teams. Data shows that disengaged employees (detractors on the eNPS scale) are 6 times more likely to leave their organization than engaged employees (promoters on the eNPS scale). Disengaged employees are more likely to be actively thinking about or looking for other jobs before they resign. Engaged employees are more likely to recommend the organizations products and are less likely to complain about the organization to their friends, family, network, or coworkers.
Accomplishment Challenging	These questions indicate if employees feel a daily sense of accomplishment in their work. Accomplishment, also known as competence, is a main motivational need for employees. According to Self Determination Theory (Ryan & Deci), the 3 motivational needs are: competence, relatedness, and autonomy. Perceiving themselves as incompetent at an activity undermines an employee's intrinsic motivation. Ryan & Deci found that giving people unexpected positive feedback on a task increases their intrinsic motivation to do it. Positive feedback fulfills people's need for competence.
Autonomy Flexibility Remote Work	Autonomy relates to employees' ability to complete their work as they see fit, unhindered by micro-management. Autonomy is central to many theories on motivation and engagement, including Self Determination Theory (Ryan & Deci), Job Characteristics Model (Hackman & Oldham), and Employee Engagement (Kahn). Self Determination Theory shows that controlling behavior can undermine intrinsic motivation, resulting in either extrinsic motivation (the activity might continue based on rewards and coercion) or amotivation.
Environment Collaboration Space Informal Space Equipment	These questions indicate whether employees believe that their physical environment has a positive effect on their work. A British government study (Cabe, 2005) describes the profound link between office design and employee performance, highlighting the need for unstructured, informal spaces to facilitate the collaboration. Rashid (2015) also emphasizes informal spaces as a key factor in improving teamwork and enabling employees to benefit from colocation.
Freedom of opinions Manager Team	These questions indicate if employees feel that they can express opinions without fear of retribution. To feel like they have freedom of opinion, employees need to feel psychologically safe. Example: You feel comfortable being yourself at work without fear of mental or emotional bullying. Freedom of opinion is conceptually similar to autonomy and relatedness: employees need to feel connected to others and have a sense of belonging. People don’t feel like they belong to a group if they can’t be themselves.
Goal setting Alignment	Employees can fully apply themselves at work when they feel capable of meeting current and future needs and understand expectations. When employees lack ways to understand their performance, they feel anxious about how managers and peers perceive them, eroding their capability for self-expression (Brown & Leigh, 1996). Well formulated goals help fulfill employee needs for competence and relatedness. Goals should cultivate shared purpose on a team, as opposed to creating competition between peers.
Growth Career Path Learning Mentoring	The growth questions are about the personal and career development opportunities that employees perceive that they have at your organization. Growth features in almost every theory on motivation and engagement, including Two Factor Theory (Herzberg), ERG Theory (Alderfer), and Employee Engagement (Kahn). Growth need describes the degree to which a person has higher order needs, such as self-esteem and self-actualization. This includes desires to be creative and productive, and to complete meaningful tasks. According to ERG Theory, growth need can fluctuate depending on career stage or individual preferences. Example: Some employees see their job as just a way to pay their bills.
Management Support Caring Openness	While manager relationships can play a major role in how employees respond to all WPEV questions, the management support questions focus specifically on the quality of the relationships that employees have with their direct managers. Manager or supervisor support features in almost every theory on engagement and motivation from Herzberg onwards. Employees view manager relationships as indicative of organizational support (Rhoades & Eisenberger 2002). The cognitive and emotional support employees receive from managers is connected to how much energy and commitment employees are willing to invest in their role (Saks 2006).
Meaningful work Fit Significance	Work is meaningful to employees when they consider it valuable to themselves, the company, and potentially society. Job Characteristics Theory (Hackman & Oldham) explores meaningfulness, but Kahn’s Employee Engagement Theory formally conceptualizes meaningfulness as the feeling that one’s work is worthwhile, useful, and valuable, and the sense that employees make a difference and aren't taken for granted. People feel meaningful when they feel that they both give and receive at work.
Organizational Fit Support Health Equality Response	Organizational fit refers to whether employees feel that the organization's culture and values align with their own. The idea of organizational fit became popular in the 1980s as part of Person Environment Fit Theory (French, Caplan, & Harrison). Person–organization fit (PO fit) is the most widely studied area of person–environment fit. Kristof (1996) defines it as the compatibility between people and organizations that occurs when at least 1 entity provides what the other needs, they share similar fundamental characteristics, or both. High value congruence is a large facet of person–organization fit, which implies a strong culture and shared values among coworkers.
Peer relationships Friends Quality	These questions relate to the health of employees' relationships with others in the organization. Strong peer relationships foster an environment of trust. Employees who care about each other personally tend to share values and watch out for each other. They’re more inclined to go the extra mile and work as a team. Teams with strong relationships communicate more openly. Often, strong peer relationships result in increased productivity because employees are less afraid of taking risks and making decisions.
Recognition Performance	These questions assess whether employees feel that the organization values their work, which is closely linked to the feedback and praise they receive. Recognition, or feedback, is a main component of both Self Determination Theory (Ryan & Deci) and the Job Characteristics Model (Hackman & Oldham). Feedback refers to how much people learn about how effective they are at work. Feedback at work can come from other people, such as supervisors, peers, subordinates, and customers, or from the job itself. Example: When a salesperson presents to potential clients but doesn't learn what the client's final purchasing decision is, they have a low degree of feedback. When a salesperson knows what the client decides, they have a high degree of feedback from the job itself.
Reward Process Discussion	The reward questions relate to how satisfied employees are with their total compensation. Equity theory states that employees are motivated when their input (effort, knowledge, skill, loyalty) and the outcomes (pay, bonuses, benefits, recognition) match. The alignment between input and outcomes creates a sense of equity or fairness. When employees feel under-rewarded, they might restore perceived equity by reducing their input (putting in less effort), attempting to reduce their coworkers' input (convincing others to do less work), seeking increased outcomes (requesting higher compensation), or aiming to reduce coworkers' outcomes (requesting salaries to be standardized).
Strategy Communication Mission	The strategy questions assess whether employees agree with the organization's overall strategy. Many theories from Herzberg onwards consider how employees perceive senior management's efficacy, with strategy being the largest component. A strategy that considers employees' needs, values, and skills builds relatedness (Deci & Ryan 1985) and increases employees' sense of purpose (Kahn 1990).
Workload	Unmanageable workloads can lead to burnout. This question assesses if employees feel that they're responsible for a reasonable amount of work or if their workload is a source of stress. As defined by psychologists Leiter, Schaufeli, and Maslach (2001), burnout is a prolonged response to chronic emotional and interpersonal stressors on the job, characterized by exhaustion, cynicism, and inefficacy. They cite engagement as the positive antithesis of burnout.

FAQ: Why Didn’t an Employee Receive the Main Engagement Question?