Although it may come as little surprise that happy employees are more productive, a high-performing workforce needs more than just a feeling of contentment. Workers need to thrive, says a researcher at the University of Michigan.

“We think of a thriving workforce as one in which employees are not just satisfied and productive but also engaged in creating the future—the company’s and their own,” says Gretchen Spreitzer, professor of management and organizations at the Michigan Ross School of Business. “Thriving employees have a bit of an edge—they are highly energized—but they know how to avoid burnout.”

During the past seven years, Spreitzer and Christine Porath, assistant professor at Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business, have researched the nature of thriving in the workplace and the factors that enhance or inhibit it. They, along with colleagues Cristina Gibson of the University of Western Australia and Flannery Garnett of the University of Utah, have surveyed more than 1,200 white- and blue-collar workers in various industries about learning, growth, personal energy, retention rates, health, overall job performance, and organizational citizenship behaviors.

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