thrive at work/Research findings
Research · Findings
thrive at work research: the numbers.
Eight findings from the thrive at work white paper on employee capacity and engagement, each with its own page, the numbers behind it and what leaders can do.
By Jerry Fiser, Founder & CEO · Reviewed by Marcin Bulik, Research Director · Updated November 8, 2026
What does thrive at work research show?
thrive research (2026) shows that employee capacity, the energy, recovery, focus and resilience a person has available to sustain performance, explains far more lost working time than engagement alone. The lowest capacity quarter loses about 71 more working days a year than the highest, delivers 56% of priority work on time against 86%, and 76% of employees have less capacity than their engagement suggests.
- Low capacity costs about 71 working days a year per person.
- 56% vs 86% of priority work on time.
- One working day in five lost to exhaustion or stress.
- Engaged but burning out: three times the lost days.
- 76% of employees have capacity below engagement.
Eight findings, one page each.
Each page gives the number, what it means, how it fits other research and what leaders can do.
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The white paper behind them.
All findings come from the thrive at work white paper, first edition, September 2026. It sets out the framework, how the assessment was tested and where the evidence is still provisional. For context on engagement worldwide see Gallup State of the Global Workplace; for the definition of burnout see the WHO definition of burnout.
Using these findings.
Journalists, researchers and HR teams may quote these findings with a link to the page and the citation below.
What the numbers do and do not show.
These are associations between groups of employees, not proof of cause. Days of not working effectively are reported by employees themselves. The next studies test whether raising capacity changes outcomes and how scores line up with an employer's own absence and turnover records. Full methods are in the thrive at work white paper.
How to cite this finding.
thrive at work Research Division (2026). The Scientific Foundations of the thrive at work Framework: Methodology & Validation White Paper, first edition. Available at thriveatwork.ai/research/scientific-foundations.
thrive at work measures engagement (purpose, leadership, connection, growth) and capacity (energy, recovery, focus, resilience) in one anonymous assessment: see how the assessment works.
Most engagement problems show up first as falling energy, recovery and focus. thrive at work is a workforce performance platform: an employee engagement platform that also measures capacity to perform, so you can see strain by team before it turns into absence or resignations. Read more about employee capacity.
Sources.
- Gallup State of the Global Workplace. www.gallup.com
- WHO definition of burnout. www.who.int
- thrive index validation study. thrive at work, 2025–26. Methodology.
Common questions
Where do these findings come from?
Can I quote these findings?
What is employee capacity?
See these numbers for your own teams.
A 30-minute call shows what a first engagement and capacity assessment would reveal.