About the Thrive Series
The Thrive Series is a four-part series investigating the Thrive construct in the workplace. The series is written by Aaron Quinn, Ph.D., who is the CEO of AlbumHealth. The series answers four basic questions: What does Thrive mean? How can you measure Thrive? What outcomes does Thrive impact? How can you (and I) develop and maintain Thrive in the workplace?
This four-part series will answer these questions based on existing literature and conclude with evidence-based recommendations to Drive Thrive in your workplace.
Thrive Review and 7 Recommendations to Develop and Maintain Thrive in Your Workplace
In Part 1, Thrive in the workplace was defined by this author as “A positive state influenced by the workplace that drives feeling good about your abilities, your life, and your development. Thrive leads to mastery and a sense reaching your full potential at work and in your personal life.”
In Part 2, I reviewed Thrive measures and highlighted Harvard’s Thriving from Work Questionnaire as a favored measure.
In Part 3, Thrive’s impact on workplace outcomes was reviewed.
Part 4 of the Thrive Series synthesizes the Thrive evidence into:
5 Steps to Develop and Maintain Thrive in Your Workplace:
- Create an Operational Definition (i.e., one that can be measured and tracked) for your workplace using Part 1 information as a guide
- Measure Thrive. There are multiple existing tools…pick one and use it. Remember, your measure should mirror or be close to your operational definition.
- Connect Thrive to Your KPIs. Now that you are measuring Thrive develop a simple practice of correlating Thrive with your workplace’s KPIs to reinforce Thrive’s meaning and value. This is a key step in creating a culture of Thrive.
- Develop Strategies each quarter to improve Thrive. Since you are measuring Thrive and you’ve proven impact, it’s time to shift to deploying strategies to impact Thrive. Make sure to involve the ELT, managers, and representatives from all stakeholders and make the results/input a public and fluid process.
- Publicize Thrive. Thrive is your calling card to workplace health, culture, and productivity. Let all stakeholders know about your investment in Thrive each quarter and make Thrive a cornerstone of your marketing strategy.