thrive at work/The evidence base
PROOF
See what engagement alone cannot.
Four layers of evidence, from 140+ peer-reviewed papers to a benchmark in every market, show what’s sustainable, where people are depleted and what to address next.
Four layers of evidence, one measurement.
Each layer answers a different question. Together they are why every score in the Thrive Index means something.
Read everything.
140+ papers on what makes people thrive.
Ask the experts.
HR leaders, CEOs, scientists, doctors and psychologists.
Learn from the body.
Biomarker and physiological research informed the capacity statements.
Measure everywhere.
55 statements in every market we operate in.
We read everything. Then we asked what makes a person thrive.
More than 140 peer-reviewed papers across physiology, psychology, occupational health and longevity science. The same eight things kept coming up.
Physical energy is the fuel. Everything else costs less to do when it is there.
The body restores itself overnight. Recovery is how yesterday stops following you.
A rested brain filters noise and holds attention on what matters.
A well-regulated nervous system returns to calm after pressure.
People sustain effort for work that matters to them.
Trust lowers the sense of threat and frees people to contribute.
Humans are social. Feeling part of a team protects wellbeing.
Learning and the right support turn effort into achievement.
Then we tested it with the people who use it.
Focus groups and studies with HR leaders, CEOs, scientists, doctors and psychologists. Each was asked the question that matters to them.
Then we looked at the body. Capacity questions follow physiology.
The capacity statements are informed by biomarker and physiological research. It is development-stage work, and the assessment itself collects no biomarker, wearable or other biometric data.
Development-stage research. The assessment collects no biomarker, wearable or other biometric data.
Then we ran the final 55 statements in every market we operate in.
One assessment, about 12 minutes, the same statements everywhere. The answers build a database every organization is measured against.
Every score sits next to the market benchmark. Illustrative.
The results are hard to ignore.
Unless a cell says otherwise, each figure compares the bottom decile of the Thrive Index with the top decile — validation study, n=10,000+.
Source: thrive at work validation study · bottom vs. top decile of the Thrive Index
The numbers, opened up.
The engagement–burnout paradox
Engagement scores keep rising while burnout rises with them. What the capacity data says is actually happening underneath.
Employee burnout statistics 2026
Where burnout risk concentrates by sector, seniority and market — and which capacity domains move first.
The cost of disengagement
Turnover, absence and lost throughput, priced against the decile spread in the Thrive Index.
How the Thrive Index is built
The eight domains, the statement selection, and how the two indices are measured together.
Calibrated per sector
How the Index is calibrated across twelve sectors, with sub-sector groupings beneath each one.
Cost of burnout calculator
Put your own headcount and turnover against the benchmark to size the opportunity.
The scientists who define these fields.
Every statement maps to published research from named scientists working at the frontier of sleep, stress physiology, exercise science, attention, and the psychology of workplace demands. This is the shortlist — the full reference list runs to 140+ papers.
Center for Human Sleep Science
Sleep & Circadian Institute
Division of Sleep Medicine
Regulatory Biology
Burnout research lead
Nobel Laureate, telomere biology
Stress physiology
Allostatic load
Psychological safety
Organizational psychology
Progress principle
Meaning & identity
Attention networks
Neuroscape
Attention & working memory
Attention & interruption
Exercise & the brain
Activity & cognition
Evolutionary biology of exercise
Cardiorespiratory fitness
Growth mindset
Grit & perseverance
Self-determination theory
Intrinsic motivation
The evidence, answered.
Is the Thrive Index evidence-based?
How do you know the questions actually work?
Are capacity and engagement really distinct?
Every figure on this page traces back to a paper or a dataset. Those sources, the cited data sets and the practical guides built on them are collected in our research and guides.
Ready to unlock your people’s
capacity to perform?
Start the change today.