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Basic Needs Satisfaction at Work Scale3

Basic Needs Satisfaction at Work Scale Test

Understand how free, capable, and connected you feel at work in just 4 minutes. Get clear, actionable insight to boost engagement, improve culture, and help prevent burnout.

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Questions: 214 minutes

08:30

October 2, 2025

October 2, 2025
Material has been updated

October 2, 2025
Material has been published

22,981 view

1,799 completions

1,577 likes

Verified by Daniel Hall

Psychologist with 25 years of experience

Scale Explorer

How the Scales are Structured

example score

3/7

Relatedness Need Satisfaction (RNS)

Measures how supported, accepted, and socially connected a person feels at work.

Low connectedness

Moderate connectedness

High connectedness

1 – 4.2: Low connectedness | 4.3 – 6: Moderate connectedness | 6.1 – 7: High connectedness

A score of 3 indicates low perceived connectedness at work, suggesting limited feelings of support or belonging with others.

example score

3/7

Competence Need (CN)

Measures how effective and capable a person feels in handling their work tasks and challenges.

Low competence satisfaction

Moderate competence satisfaction

High competence satisfaction

1 – 4.2: Low competence satisfaction | 4.3 – 5.9: Moderate competence satisfaction | 6 – 7: High competence satisfaction

A score of 3 suggests lower satisfaction of the need for competence, indicating you may often feel less effective or confident in completing work tasks.

example score

5/7

Autonomy Need (AN)

Measures how much a person feels choice, self-direction, and alignment with their own values in their work activities.

Low autonomy

Moderate autonomy

High autonomy

1 – 3.9: Low autonomy | 4 – 5.6: Moderate autonomy | 5.7 – 7: High autonomy

A score of 5 indicates a moderate sense of autonomy at work, with some personal choice and self-direction but also notable constraints or external direction.

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DATA-BASED USER COHORTS

Who Usually Takes This Test?

Employees Checking Well-Being

44%OF USERS

People take it to understand whether they feel free to make choices, capable in their role, and connected to coworkers.

Managers and Team Leads

31%OF USERS

Leaders use it to spot motivation blockers in their team and adjust how work is structured, supported, and communicated.

HR and People Ops

25%OF USERS

HR teams use it to measure morale and evaluate the impact of changes like reorganizations, new policies, or training.

BASED ON AGGREGATED, ANONYMIZED DATA FROM TENS OF THOUSANDS OF FREUDLY USERS.

Benchmarking

See How You Compare

Once you complete the test, your results are compared with real-world data from people in your country.
Below is a preview of how scores are typically distributed across each scale.

The Need for Connectedness (TNfC)

Average

4.9

Normal range

3.8 — 5.9

min.

max.

This curve shows how scores are typically distributed.
Once you complete the test, your result will appear on the scale so you can see how you compare.

The Need for Competence (TNfC)

Average

3.5

Normal range

2.6 — 4.3

min.

max.

This curve shows how scores are typically distributed.
Once you complete the test, your result will appear on the scale so you can see how you compare.

The Need for Autonomy (TNfA)

Average

3.5

Normal range

2.4 — 4.5

min.

max.

This curve shows how scores are typically distributed.
Once you complete the test, your result will appear on the scale so you can see how you compare.

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SAMPLE QUESTIONS

Example Questions From the Test

The following statements describe your experiences at work over the past year (if you have been in this position for less than one year, they refer to your entire period of employment). Please rate how true each statement is in relation to your experiences at work.

- Completely untrue
- Untrue
- Mostly untrue
- Somewhat true
- Mostly true
- True
- Completely true
- Completely untrue
- Untrue
- Mostly untrue
- Somewhat true
- Mostly true
- True
- Completely true
- Completely untrue
- Untrue
- Mostly untrue
- Partly true
- Mostly true
- True
- Completely true

These are 3 of the 21 real questions — the rest appear in the test. No sign-up needed to start.

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WHAT THE TEST MEASURES

About This Assessment

Basic Needs Satisfaction Scale at Work Test

Basic Needs Satisfaction at Work Scale Test - Symptoms and Signs

arrange

self-determination

job satisfaction

This self-report measure assesses perceived satisfaction of core psychological needs in the workplace. The Basic Needs Satisfaction at Work Scale is used to evaluate employees’ experiences of autonomy, competence, and relatedness in their work setting.

The instrument includes 21 items and typically takes about 4 minutes to complete. Results can support organizational assessment and research by characterizing the extent to which the work environment is experienced as self-directed, effective, and socially connected, which may inform hypotheses about motivation and well-being.

Scores from the Basic Needs Satisfaction at Work Scale are generally interpreted at the subscale level (autonomy, competence, relatedness) and may be used to monitor change over time (e.g., following organizational interventions) when administered under consistent conditions.

Author: Edward L. Deci, Richard M. Ryan

Literature: Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. The “what” and “why” of goal pursuits: Human needs and the self-determination of behavior. Psychological Inquiry. 2000.; Deci, E. L., Ryan, R. M., Gagné, M., Leone, D. R., Usunov, J., & Kornazheva, B. Need satisfaction, motivation, and well-being in the work organizations of a former Eastern bloc country: A cross-cultural study of self-determination. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin. 2001.