The Complete Library

Pulse Question Bank

Pulses are micro-questions rated on a 1–5 scale, asked daily to track your team's wellness across 5 dimensions. One question per day, rotated across radars. Small signal, big insight.

Running Pulses with Your Team

Each morning, send your team one pulse question. Keep it lightweight: a single question in Slack, email, or your daily standup. Team members answer on a 1–5 scale (1 = strongly disagree, 5 = strongly agree). Track responses over time to spot trends before they become problems.

Recommended rotation: assign one radar per weekday so you cover all 5 dimensions each week. Rotate through questions within each radar over multiple weeks.

Monday
Burnout
Tuesday
Safety
Wednesday
Goals
Thursday
Productivity
Friday
Balance
Tip: With 8 questions per radar, you get a full cycle every 8 weeks. This prevents survey fatigue while building a rich dataset.
Showing 40 of 40 pulses

Burnout

8 pulses
"How energized do you feel about your work today?"
Burnout
Measures
Current energy and engagement level
Science
Maslach Burnout Inventory — emotional exhaustion dimension
Low scores suggest energy depletion and possible exhaustion.
"Were you able to disconnect from work yesterday?"
Burnout
Measures
Recovery quality
Science
Sonnentag psychological detachment research
Low scores indicate inadequate recovery and risk of chronic fatigue.
"Do you feel emotionally drained by your work?"
Burnout
Measures
Emotional exhaustion
Science
Maslach Burnout Inventory — core dimension
High scores (inverted) indicate active emotional exhaustion.
"Do you feel you're making a meaningful contribution?"
Burnout
Measures
Professional efficacy
Science
MBI — efficacy dimension
Low scores suggest a reduced sense of accomplishment.
"How would you rate your energy level right now?"
Burnout
Measures
Current state energy
Science
Conservation of Resources Theory (Hobfoll)
Low scores indicate resource depletion.
"Did you get enough rest last night?"
Burnout
Measures
Sleep and recovery
Science
Sonnentag Recovery Model
Low scores indicate inadequate daily recovery.
"Do you feel excited about the work ahead this week?"
Burnout
Measures
Anticipatory engagement
Science
Job Demands-Resources model (Bakker & Demerouti)
Low scores suggest dreading work and possible burnout onset.
"Have you felt overwhelmed by your workload recently?"
Burnout
Measures
Workload perception
Science
Demand-Control Model (Karasek)
High scores (inverted) indicate excessive demands.

Psychological Safety

8 pulses
"Could you share a concern with your team today without fear of judgment?"
Psych Safety
Measures
Interpersonal risk tolerance
Science
Edmondson (1999) — Psychological safety in teams
Low scores suggest fear of speaking up.
"Do you feel comfortable asking for help when you need it?"
Psych Safety
Measures
Help-seeking safety
Science
Google Project Aristotle
Low scores indicate vulnerability avoidance.
"Is it safe to take risks on this team?"
Psych Safety
Measures
Risk tolerance
Science
Edmondson Team Psychological Safety scale
Low scores indicate innovation-limiting fear.
"When you make a mistake, is it held against you?"
Psych Safety
Measures
Error tolerance (inverted)
Science
Edmondson (1999) — original scale item
High scores (inverted) indicate a blame culture.
"Do team members openly discuss problems and tough issues?"
Psych Safety
Measures
Open dialogue
Science
Detert & Edmondson — implicit voice theories
Low scores suggest information suppression.
"Do you feel your unique skills and talents are valued?"
Psych Safety
Measures
Inclusion safety
Science
Timothy Clark — 4 Stages of Psychological Safety model
Low scores suggest exclusion and undervaluing.
"Can you be yourself at work without pretending?"
Psych Safety
Measures
Authenticity
Science
Psychological safety inclusion dimension
Low scores indicate masking and performance anxiety.
"Would you feel safe giving honest feedback to your manager?"
Psych Safety
Measures
Upward voice
Science
Detert & Edmondson (2011)
Low scores indicate hierarchical fear.

Goals Clarity

8 pulses
"Is it clear to you what you need to accomplish this week?"
Goals
Measures
Short-term clarity
Science
Locke & Latham — goal specificity principle
Low scores suggest ambiguous expectations.
"Do you understand how your work contributes to the team's goals?"
Goals
Measures
Alignment and purpose
Science
Gallup Q12
Low scores indicate disconnection from mission.
"Are your priorities clearly defined?"
Goals
Measures
Priority clarity
Science
OKR methodology (Doerr)
Low scores indicate competing priorities and confusion.
"Do you know what success looks like for your current project?"
Goals
Measures
Outcome clarity
Science
SMART goal framework (Doran)
Low scores suggest unclear success criteria.
"Are team goals communicated regularly?"
Goals
Measures
Communication frequency
Science
Gallup engagement research
Low scores indicate information gaps.
"Do you feel your daily work aligns with the bigger picture?"
Goals
Measures
Strategic alignment
Science
Self-Concordance Theory (Sheldon & Elliot)
Low scores suggest misalignment and a busywork feeling.
"Have your goals changed in the last week without explanation?"
Goals
Measures
Goal stability (inverted)
Science
Goal disruption research
High scores (inverted) indicate chaotic reprioritization.
"Do you receive regular feedback on your progress?"
Goals
Measures
Feedback loop
Science
Locke & Latham — feedback principle
Low scores suggest working blind without guidance.

Work Productivity

8 pulses
"Did you feel productive and effective today?"
Productivity
Measures
Perceived effectiveness
Science
Self-Determination Theory — competence need (Deci & Ryan)
Low scores suggest inefficiency and frustration.
"Do you have the tools and resources to do your job well?"
Productivity
Measures
Resource adequacy
Science
Gallup Q12 — "materials and equipment" item
Low scores indicate tool and resource friction.
"Were you able to focus on meaningful work today?"
Productivity
Measures
Deep work time
Science
Csikszentmihalyi Flow Theory
Low scores suggest fragmented attention and interruptions.
"How often were you interrupted or had to context-switch?"
Productivity
Measures
Focus disruption (inverted)
Science
Attention residue research (Leroy, 2009)
High scores (inverted) indicate excessive context switching.
"Do you feel your skills are being well utilized?"
Productivity
Measures
Skill utilization
Science
SDT competence need, Csikszentmihalyi flow channel
Low scores suggest underutilization and boredom.
"Did you experience a state of flow or deep focus today?"
Productivity
Measures
Flow occurrence
Science
Csikszentmihalyi — optimal experience conditions
Low scores indicate no conditions for optimal experience.
"Are unnecessary meetings or processes slowing you down?"
Productivity
Measures
Process friction (inverted)
Science
Lean and agile principles
High scores (inverted) indicate organizational drag.
"Do you feel a sense of accomplishment at the end of today?"
Productivity
Measures
Daily closure
Science
Amabile — progress principle
Low scores suggest lack of progress visibility.

Work-Life Balance

8 pulses
"Are you able to maintain boundaries between work and personal time?"
Balance
Measures
Boundary management
Science
Border Theory (Clark, 2000)
Low scores indicate boundary erosion.
"Do you feel your workload is sustainable long-term?"
Balance
Measures
Sustainability perception
Science
WHO workload guidelines
Low scores suggest an unsustainable pace.
"Were you able to fully disconnect from work last evening?"
Balance
Measures
Psychological detachment
Science
Sonnentag Recovery Model
Low scores indicate rumination and inability to switch off.
"Do you have time for activities outside of work that you enjoy?"
Balance
Measures
Personal life quality
Science
Sonnentag — mastery experiences research
Low scores suggest work is consuming all available time.
"How would you rate the quality of your rest and recovery?"
Balance
Measures
Recovery quality
Science
Effort-Recovery Theory (Meijman & Mulder)
Low scores indicate inadequate recovery.
"Do you feel pressure to be available outside of work hours?"
Balance
Measures
Always-on culture (inverted)
Science
ICT-enabled presenteeism research
High scores (inverted) indicate boundary violations.
"Did you take proper breaks during work today?"
Balance
Measures
Micro-recovery
Science
Trougakos break research
Low scores indicate no recovery during work hours.
"Do you feel guilty when you stop working?"
Balance
Measures
Work guilt (inverted)
Science
Workaholism research (Schaufeli)
High scores (inverted) indicate unhealthy work attachment.

Tribu sends these pulses automatically via Slack, tracks responses over time, and surfaces trends before they become problems.

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