Employee survey
ETH Zurich would like to learn how its employees are doing. How satisfied are you with your situation at work? Share your thoughts!
The employee survey will be conducted online and takes around 20 minutes. The questions are available in German and English.
- On 11 March 2025 you’ll receive your personal survey link via email.
Please note: Each employee has their own personal link so that they can stop and restart the survey at their convenience. The survey is confidential – there’s no way to trace your responses back to you as an individual. Do not forward your survey link to anyone else. - Please submit your responses by 11 April 2025 at the latest.
- The data will then be compiled and evaluated.
- The Executive Board and managers at ETH Zurich will receive anonymised reports from which they can derive action areas and measures.
The employee survey is confidential.
The data is collected and analysed by the external consulting and research institute external page Empiricon AG, which guarantees complete confidentiality in handling your data.
ETH Zurich has no access to the individual questionnaires – your responses are recorded directly by Empiricon. Data transmission to Empiricon's external server (in Bern) is encrypted.
Use the opportunity ...
to give feedback to the Executive Board and your supervisor.
By participating in the employee survey, you can influence both your personal work situation and the further development of ETH Zurich as a whole. We encourage you to take the time to complete the survey. Your opinion matters!
Key points
To get insights into how its employees are doing, ETH conducts an employee survey every four years. Conducting the survey at regular intervals allows for a comparison over time. Additionally, the effectiveness of any implemented measures can be monitored.
Subjective input from employees helps identify important areas for action and provides valuable perspectives for the development of the university.
The survey aims to paint a picture of employee satisfaction in the following areas:
- Work content and freedom of action
- Working conditions/workplace
- Workload
- Work-life balance
- Cooperation and organisation
- Leadership and supervision
- Appraisal interviews and objective-setting/personal development meetings
- Personal development opportunities
- Remuneration
- Internal communication
- Attractiveness and image of ETH Zurich as an employer
- ...
At the end of the survey you’ll have the chance to share comments and suggestions for improvement.
Data analysis is performed by Empiricon and conducted for the smallest possible organisational units while ensuring confidentiality and anonymity.
This requires at least five completed questionnaires per team or research group. If fewer than five employees in a team participated in the survey, their data will be included in the analysis of the next largest organisational unit.
Empiricon summarises the results for the entire university and at the department and division/team level and provides them to ETH Zurich in anonymised form.
General report
Empiricon provides ETH Zurich with a comprehensive report that incorporates all responses from all participants. This report will be published in June 2025.
Individual reports for supervisors
Additionally, in June 2025, managers will receive an individual report for each team, provided at least five people from their organisational unit participated in the survey. Sample report to follow.
What comes next?
In summer 2025, the Executive Board will announce the action areas that have been pinpointed. In autumn 2025, the measures derived from these action areas will be announced.
- Project sponsor: ETH Zurich Executive Board
- Project oversight: Vice President for Personnel Development and Leadership (VPPL)
- Project management: HR Consulting and Development and Leadership (VPPL)
- Survey concept and design: The questionnaire was revised and refined in 2021 in collaboration with internal representatives from the Rectorate, the Prorectorate, the Lecturers’ Conference, the Staff Commission, AVETH, the Office of Faculty Affairs, the Office of Equal Opportunities, the University Assembly, the Office of Research, the Department Coordinators, Corporate Communications, VPPL and the external research and consulting firm Empiricon AG. To ensure comparability, the questionnaire – which has proven effective in the past – will remain largely unchanged for the 2025 survey.
- Survey conducted and analysed by: external page Empiricon AG
Frequently asked questions
Questions and answers to be made available shortly.