The instrument · Capacity survey

The Employee Capacity Survey.

A structured, statement-level instrument — not a wellness check-in or a single self-rated score. It scores four capacity domains (Energy, Recovery, Focus, Resilience) from 55 validated statements, anonymously, in about 12 minutes per employee.

Last reviewed August 2026
55
statements, scored at the statement level
Thrive Index
12 min
average completion time per employee
thrive at work
4
capacity domains, each scored 0–100
Thrive Index
Quarterly
typical measurement cadence, so scores can move
thrive at work

Why a survey.

Capacity could, in principle, be inferred from wearables or biometric data — and thrive at work runs development-stage research pairing survey responses with recovery markers. But at organisation scale, a validated statement-level survey remains the only practical way to measure capacity consistently, anonymously and across every role, without new hardware or consent friction. The statements are research-grounded, not ad hoc — drawn from an underlying evidence base of peer-reviewed literature per domain.

The method behind it

Statement design, cadence and reporting thresholds: how to measure employee capacity.

The measurement cycle.

Measuring capacity isn’t a one-off survey — it’s a repeating cycle: employees are invited, they answer anonymously, responses are scored into domain and index results, and those results route into action — for managers, for HR, and for the employee’s own learning.

See the full cycle

Invite, answer, score, act — walked through step by step in How it works.

How it’s scored.

Each statement response rolls up into one of four capacity domains, each scored 0–100. The four domain scores combine into a single Capacity Index, which is then measured alongside the Engagement Index to place each result on the Thrive Matrix.

Statement
A single response to one of the 55 validated items, anonymous and Likert-scored.
Domain
Statements roll up into one of four domain scores: Energy, Recovery, Focus, Resilience — each 0–100.
Index
The four domain scores combine into a single Capacity Index, alongside a parallel Engagement Index.

Cadence & tracking.

Capacity is measured on a recurring cycle — typically quarterly — specifically because it is designed to move. Employees and organisations see their scores change survey after survey, which is what makes capacity an actionable metric rather than a one-time snapshot.

The platform

The instrument described here runs inside the wider employee survey platform, which routes results into action plans and matched learning.

Method & sources.

This page describes the measurement method behind the Capacity Index: 55 statement-level items across four domains, anonymous, roughly 12 minutes to complete, scored 0–100 per domain and combined into an index.

Statements are grounded in peer-reviewed literature per domain; the underlying evidence base and validation study are documented separately.

  1. The Thrive Index methodology. Statement-level psychometric testing on one harmonised instrument; 55 statements across eight domains.
  2. thrive at work — validation study, n=10,000+, 2025–26. Validation of the Capacity Index against workforce outcomes.

Common questions

What does the Employee Capacity Survey measure?
With a structured, statement-level survey — not a single self-rated question. Thrive uses 55 validated statements across four capacity domains (Energy, Recovery, Focus, Resilience), completed anonymously in about 12 minutes, scored 0–100 per domain.
How long does the capacity survey take?
About 12 minutes on average, covering both the capacity and engagement statements in one sitting.
How often should capacity be measured?
Typically quarterly. Capacity is designed to move in response to workload, recovery and support — measuring it on a cycle is what lets an organisation see and act on that change.

Run the capacity survey.

One instrument, 55 statements, about 12 minutes — capacity and engagement measured together, every cycle.