More topics

Work Environment Survey

Last updated on November 8, 2023

The Work Environment Survey (WES) is conducted every second year across the BC Public Service. WES started in 2006.

WES is an important tool that measures job satisfaction, organizational satisfaction, employee engagement and BC Public Service commitment. The survey is an opportunity for employees to provide confidential feedback about their work environment. 

Employee engagement

Highly engaged employees are more committed to their work and create a higher performing and all-around better workplace.

Results from WES inform the Corporate Plan, Where Ideas Work (PDF, 1.3MB), as well as ministry or individual work-unit improvement plans.

BC Public Service employees can visit the WES pagesIDIR restricted on Compass to find:

  • The date of the next survey
  • Results from the last survey
  • WES resources for addressing results

How the survey works

BC Stats reviews the questionnaire each cycle to make sure questions are valid and reliable. BC Stats balances improvements with maintaining year over year comparability. The survey normally has about 75 questions.

WES questions cover topics such as day-to-day work, physical environment and resources, development and performance, your co-workers, your organization and your commitment level.

The written comments section at the end of the survey lets you add context to your responses. BC Stats aggregates all collected information and removes all potentially identifying information so the responses remain confidential.

For more information: