We love feeling excited and energized by our work. We are so lucky to have multiple roles where we get to do cool things and are constantly learning. In short, we thrive at work! Today, I want to share some pretty cool research on thriving at work and what that means for you!
What Does It Mean to Thrive at Work?
Thriving at work is all about vitality and learning. People who are thriving at work feel energized on the job. They also feel that they are constantly learning and applying their new knowledge. Thriving employees are motivated by their work and experience great personal growth on the job. Clearly, it feels great to be thriving.
So, who tends to thrive? How does the work environment and the people around you impact thriving? And, finally, besides sounding good, why is thriving important?
Who Tends to Thrive?
There are some individual differences in terms of who is likely to thrive at work. Across many studies, those that have more positive emotions and higher self-esteem are more likely to thrive. People with a proactive personality are also thrivers. Proactive people are those that will take action to change or influence their environment or situation when things aren’t what they want. However, these types of things aren’t always easy to change.
Luckily, there is good news! Psychological capital is also strongly related to thriving. In other words, you can develop these psychological resources to impact your wellness AND your thriving! Not only have we written about how to do this in the past but we are also launching our retreat to specifically focus on psychological capital! There’s already so many reasons to work on your psychological capital and thriving is another great one to add to the list. It’s very exciting that something you can actually develop can impact your thriving at work.
What Environment Helps You Thrive?
Obviously, your work environment is important for thriving. The people in the work environment are particularly important. Thriving employees have supportive coworkers that respect them and their ideas. They are able to have purposeful, considerate interactions with those around them. Think about how you can impact your environment as a team member. Can you be more supportive and respectful? Are you considerate of those around you? Model these behaviors so hopefully others follow. You can help build a respectful environment so others can thrive alongside you!
Leaders are also critical. Managers need to be supportive and empower their employees to promote thriving. They need to trust and respect people and show commitment to their teams. If you are a leader, listen up! Being a good leader can really improve your employees’ experiences in the workplace. Support your people. Give them opportunities to grow and develop. Empower them by giving them flexibility, autonomy, and new stretch assignments. You can help your team thrive!
Why Does Thriving Matter?
So, why does all of this matter? Why should you develop your psychological capital and support your team members? Thriving helps reduce burnout, increase job satisfaction, and improve performance. A win all around! Not only can you become a better employee but you can also be happier and less stressed on the job. Can you imagine?
So what can you do now? We recommend you review our psychological capital content to figure out how to make some positive changes for yourself. If you are not thriving, you can ask your employer to send you to the Workr Beeing Retreat! If you don’t have a supportive work environment, think about ways you can try to influence change. If you have the opportunity, apply to new jobs with better workplaces. Another idea would be to bring this content to your leadership and make the ask for a better workplace. Fingers crossed if you do! We hope you are able to thrive at work!
Source: https://workrbeeing.com/2019/09/30/thrive-at-work/
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