Low capacity costs 71 working days a year.

The finding in plain numbers.

Employees were asked how many days in the past year they were unable to work effectively because of exhaustion or stress. Grouped by capacity score, the answers split sharply. The lowest quarter reported about 85 days, the highest about 14. Most of that gap is not sick leave. It is days at work when people are present but cannot do their best work, often called presenteeism.

What the gap costs an employer.

Valued at an average labor cost of €279 a day, 71 days comes to about €19,800 a year for each employee in the lowest capacity quarter. For a team of 20 people running low, that is close to €400,000 a year in working time. You can run your own numbers with the cost of burnout calculator.

Why engagement misses it.

Engagement surveys such as those described in Gallup State of the Global Workplace show how people feel about their work. They do not show whether people have the energy and recovery to keep going. In the thrive data, capacity explains about 2.5 times more of this lost working time than engagement alone. The WHO definition of burnout describes burnout as the result of chronic workplace stress that has not been managed, which is exactly what this lost time reflects.

What leaders can do.

Steps in order of impact.

1. 1
   Measure capacity by team. Read capacity next to engagement for every team, not just the company total.
2. 2
   Focus on the lowest quarter. Start with the teams in the lowest capacity quarter, where the lost days are concentrated.
3. 3
   Fix workload and support. Fix workload and manager support first: both are in the employer's hands.
4. 4
   Re-measure each quarter. Measure again after one quarter and compare the days lost.

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.