An engaged workforce is not necessarily a thriving workforce. Employees can be highly engaged in their work while still experiencing low wellbeing. And Gallup research shows that when wellbeing is low, engagement can become more difficult to sustain. Employees who are thriving in their lives are 2.2 times as likely to be engaged at work. Compared with employees who are both engaged and thriving, those who are engaged but not thriving face significantly greater risks of burnout, stress, worry and negative daily emotions. Engagement improves employees’ day-to-day work experiences, while wellbeing strengthens their capacity to sustain engagement over time. For leaders, the challenge is to strengthen both, creating the conditions for performance that lasts. Explore the connection between employee engagement and wellbeing: https://lnkd.in/gi3ug8CH
Tanja Dahl
5h
Sustainable performance requires both engagement in what we do and the ability to thrive while doing it. Creating working conditions that support both is not only a matter of wellbeing — it is a matter of health. When sustained performance comes at the cost of health, the consequences are ultimately carried by both the individual and the organization.
Couldn't agree more! True success comes when we take care of our wellbeing, not just our performance. Bahram Aghajanian
High engagement can sometimes hide an unsustainable experience of work. The most committed employees may continue delivering long after their wellbeing begins to decline. Their performance can make the system appear healthier than it really is, until exhaustion becomes visible through burnout or departure. Wellbeing is therefore not an additional benefit alongside performance. It is one of the conditions that makes performance sustainable.
Hey-Junior
1d
The distinction between engagement and thriving, and the idea that one enables the sustainability of the other, is a valuable framing for talent discussions. It highlights that the goal isn't just activity, but an environment that allows for sustained, meaningful contributions.
One point here really stands out: wellbeing isn’t just an HR initiative—it shows up in the everyday experience employees have with their leaders. Organizations can invest in programs, resources, and benefits, but much of the employee experience still comes down to what happens between a manager and their team: Are expectations clear? Is feedback useful? Is good work recognized? Do employees feel supported when priorities change or performance slips? That’s why developing managers matters so much. When leaders are equipped for those everyday moments, we aren’t just improving the employee experience—we’re creating the conditions for more sustainable performance.
This distinction between engagement and wellbeing is an important one. An employee can be deeply committed to the work, the team, and the organization while still operating at an unsustainable level. In fact, highly engaged people can sometimes be the easiest to overlook because their performance continues to signal that everything is fine. That places a different responsibility on leadership. We cannot measure the health of a culture solely by productivity, enthusiasm, or engagement scores. We also have to pay attention to workload, recovery, psychological safety, meaningful connection, and whether people can sustain the level at which they are contributing. High performance and human wellbeing should not be competing objectives. The strongest cultures understand that one helps make the other sustainable. Engagement tells us people care about the work. Thriving helps ensure they can continue to care. Anthony
Joe Brown
3d
Thank you for sharing this insightful post! The distinction between engagement and true thriving is crucial for fostering a healthy workplace. It’s a powerful reminder that while employees may be engaged, their overall well-being is paramount. Building human connections and trust is vital in this context. 1:1 interactions allow us to understand employees’ individual needs and challenges, creating a supportive environment where they can thrive. When leaders, managers prioritize these personal connections, we not only boost engagement but also cultivate resilience against burnout and stress. Not THE only way, but a way for sure. Thx again for sharing this research. #staycurious
Alisia Gill
3d
Being engaged and thriving requires an alignment between what employees need & want and what they’re getting from their employer. As a former Chief People Officer I learned that the company can (and should) only address part of that. The employees themselves need to be clear on what they need & want… or being engaged & thriving will remain elusive to them.
This research really resonates with me. I’ve realised that some of the times I’ve struggled most at work weren’t because I was disengaged quite the opposite. I was deeply invested in the work, sometimes to the point where work became too important to my sense of wellbeing. Looking back, that distinction between being engaged and actually thriving is significant. It has also played a part in why I’ve ultimately left roles in the past. You can care enormously, work hard and genuinely believe in what you’re doing, while stress, worry and burnout are quietly accumulating underneath. The Gallup figures are striking, but for me the bigger lesson is personal: engagement without wellbeing isn’t sustainable performance. Perhaps we need to stop asking only, “Are our people engaged?” and start asking, “Are they able to stay engaged here without sacrificing their wellbeing?” That’s a much harder question for leaders and, increasingly, one I think employees need to ask themselves too.
Easy to ignore until it shows up as a confrontation, a series of sick days, or a breakdown on the team. Then you have direct business performance issues. Creating and maintaining a work environment for sustained high engagement and wellbeing is daily work.