The annual Washington State Employee Engagement Survey (EES) provides a reliable source of feedback from executive branch employees in the areas of general engagement, communication, diversity, resources to carry-out the work, growth/ development, inclusion/ belonging, manager effectiveness, recognition, work-life balance, change management, and pro-equity anti-racism. All responses to this survey are voluntary and anonymous. The survey was conducted in October 2024 and was administered to all executive branch agencies and two higher education institutions. Participation in the survey decreased from 68% in 2023 to 62% in 2024: 47,174 employees.

This year’s survey consisted of the 42 questions:

• 27 of the questions were Likert type questions asking respondents to rate their agreement to the question statement on a five-point scale from “Strongly Disagree” to “Strongly Agree”.
• Three of the questions used set lists of options to collect information regarding employees’ intent to stay, equipment needs, and what would increase their engagement at work.
• The remaining 12 questions concerned employee demographics. 

What we found

Key Drivers of Engagement

Employees who are most engaged at work are those who felt as if they belonged at their agency or institution. Employees who felt valued and supported during organizational change were also some of the most engaged employees.

Our successes

• 86% of respondents felt their immediate supervisor treated them with respect.

• 79% of respondents felt their immediate supervisor created an environment of openness and trust.

• 78% of respondents agreed that their immediate supervisor is a good leader.

Areas for improvement

• 51% of respondents indicated they had opportunities for advancement.

• 47% of respondents indicated senior leadership at their agency did a good job of communicating the reasons behind important changes that are made.

• 47% of respondents felt supported during organizational change at their agency.

Demographic data

We collected demographic data for nearly all state agencies in the 2024 State Employee Engagement survey. While demographic data is voluntary for respondents, it helps us understand the experience of all employees. We also work to build trust in sharing this voluntary information to improve employee experience and foster a work environment where all employees feel heard and included. This data is important for agencies and the enterprise to ensure we gain insight about our diverse workforce. Some key data points include

• 14% of all survey respondents self-identified as having a disability. This is 8.6% higher than the 5.4% currently reported in the Human Resource Management System (HRMS).
• 10% of respondents identified as a Veteran. This is 4.5% more than what is currently reported in HRMS as the total percentage of veterans in the workforce.
• 1.3% of respondents identified as non-binary or gender X. This percentage is twice the current rate (0.6%) reported in HRMS.

Next steps

These survey results contain valuable information allowing us to better understand statewide and agency engagement levels. We strongly encourage agencies to act on these results specifically related to creating an environment of belonging where employees feel valued, supporting employees through organizational change, and continuing to demonstrate inclusion in all agency activities. We also encourage agencies to supplement this information with agency-specific action like additional limited scope surveys and focus groups targeting areas for growth or improvement. This can help agencies assess steps as they begin to act based on their 2024 Employee Engagement Survey results.

See our dashboard for more information on the 2024 State Employee Engagement Survey.