What do your people say when you ask them to describe their best experience at work?
Over the past decade, we’ve listened to hundreds of those stories — and the patterns are undeniable. While each person’s “best experience” is unique, certain themes show up time and again. And they’ve helped us build a new way of understanding what matters most at work.
That’s why we created The EX Lens (Emma Bridger) — to help organisations make sense of experience in a more human, intentional, and evidence-based way.
What is the EX Lens?
The EX Lens is built on qualitative research gathered from thousands of employee stories, shaped into nine universal themes that consistently appear in people’s most positive work experiences. These themes fall into nine core areas:
- Trust
- Growth
- Meaning
- Challenge
- Impact
- Autonomy
- Belonging
- Connection
- Appreciation
Together, they form a practical blueprint for designing employee experience with both rigour and empathy.
But the EX Lens goes beyond just a model. It’s also a mindset. Like the lens of a camera, it prompts you to focus intentionally: what needs to be in the frame, what sits in the background, and most importantly — who’s at the centre.
From Insight to Action
At People Lab, we use the EX Lens in everything from strategy development to experience audits and leadership workshops. It’s also a core part of how we help organisations measure and monitor their EX maturity through the EX Lens Diagnostic — a validated tool designed to benchmark performance against each of the universal themes.
And because no two people are the same, we also work with teams to capture individual differences — the personal needs, values and experiences that make EX unique to each person.
Want to know more?
We spoke about this and more in our latest EX & Engagement Benchmarking Report, and we recently hosted a webinar to talk about how the EX Lens can be applied in practice.
🔗 Download the 2025 Benchmarking Report
🎥 Watch the webinar: “Beyond Benchmarking”
Whether you’re starting your EX journey or looking to take things to the next level, the EX Lens can give you clarity, structure, and a much-needed dose of human-centred design.
📩 How we can help
If you’re looking to bring your EX strategy to life — or want to better understand what your people need to thrive — we’d love to help. From diagnostics to design sprints, we work as your partners to build engaging, meaningful employee experiences.
