Table 2.
Summary of findings from research studies.
| Reference | Purpose/Aim | Method | Findings | Evidence | Quality |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Abid, G., Zahra, I., and Ahmed, A. (2016) [14]. Promoting thriving at work and waning turnover intention: A relational perspective. Future Business Journal, 2(2), 127–137. doi:10.1016/j.fbj.2016.08.001 |
What are the antecedents of thriving at work and turnover intention? What is the relationship between perceived organizational support and relational resources? |
Questionnaire. 128 software developers. | Heedful relating enhances thriving at work. Heedful relating minimizes intention to leave due to connectiveness among individuals. Perceived organizational support positively impacts heedful relating and thriving at work. |
3 | A |
| Bensemmane, S., Ohana, M., and Stinglhamber, F. (2018) [32]. Team justice and thriving: a dynamic approach. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 33(2), 229–242. doi:10.1108/JMP-07-2017-0223 | Perceived team justice is known to fluctuate within individuals over time, and in response to events at work Is transient team justice predictive of employees transient thriving at work? Is transient self-efficacy an underlying mechanism? |
Questionnaire in four waves. 395 individuals completed the first wave, and at least 2 of the 3 subsequent questionnaires. Total 1412 cases. Business master’s students. |
Transient overall team justice positively predicts self-efficacy, and therefore thriving at work. Team justice is related to thriving at work. Consideration of how team justice fluctuates is required. Self-efficacy is an important personal resource for team justice and thriving at work. Further mediators need identifying. |
3 | A |
| Brown, D., Arnold, R., Fletcher, D., and Standage, M. (2017) [33]. Human thriving. A conceptual Debate and Literature Review. European Psychologist. 22(3), 167–179. doi:10.1027/1016-9040/a000294 | To investigate key processes that underpin thriving at work. To propose a conceptualization of thriving applicable across different populations and domains. To identify personal and contextual enablers of thriving at work. |
Literature Review. | Thriving at work is seen as multifactorial. To achieve thriving at work, subjective individual high-levels of wellbeing and holistic functioning is important. Important to distinguish differences between thriving, prospering, flourishing, growth. Psychosocial variables-personal and contextual enablers. Personal enablers: positive perspective, spirituality, motivation, proactive personality, knowledge and learning, resilience, social competence. Contextual enablers: challenge environment, attachment, trust, family support, colleague and employer support. |
5 | B |
| Carmeli, A., and Spreitzer, G. (2009) [23]. Trust, connectivity, and thriving: Implications for innovative behaviors at work. The Journal of Creative Behavior, 43(3), 169–191. doi:10.1002/j.21626057.2009.tb01313.x | Investigating the relationship between trust, connectivity, thriving and innovative behaviors? | Survey completed 3 weeks apart (same survey). Response rate 74.78%. 172 participants from a variety of organizations and industries. |
Connectivity mediates the relationship between trust and thriving. Thriving mediates connectivity and innovative behaviors. Viewed as relational and psychological antecedents to how individuals engage in innovative work behaviors. Thriving increases individuals capability to demonstrate innovative, creative and momentum for ideas. Trust is viewed as a psychological contract that augments connectivity/collegial relationships. Results support the hypothesized theoretical model. |
3 | A |
| Fiabane, E., Giorgi, I., Sguazzin, C., and Argentero, P. (2013) [34]. Work engagement and occupational stress in nurses and other healthcare workers: the role of organisational and personal factors. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 22(17–18), 2614–2624. doi:10.1111/jocn.12084 |
To identify the role of organizational and personal factors in predicting work engagement in healthcare workers. Compare work engagement and occupational stress perceptions of healthcare workers. |
Cross-sectional survey. 110 hospital staff (registered nurses, nurse aides, physicians, physiotherapists). | Energy predicted by workload, mental health, job satisfaction. Professional efficacy predicted by values and job satisfaction. Physiotherapists had the highest levels of stress and disengagement. Improving psychological health requires a focus on workloads, personal expectations, and job satisfaction. |
3 | A |
| Kleine, A.K., Rudolph, C., and Zacher, H. (2019) [15]. Thriving at work: A meta-analysis. Journal of Organizational Behavior. 1–27. doi:10.1002/job.2375 |
Using Spretizer et al.’s (2005) model for thriving at work as a basis, the constructs were investigated and organized into antecedents and outcomes of thriving. | Meta-analysis. | Individual characteristics associated with thriving at work are (a) psychological capital, (b) proactive personality, (c) positive affect, (d) work engagement. Relational characteristics positively associated with thriving at work are (a) supportive co-worker behavior, (b) supportive leadership behavior, (c) perceived organizational support. Thriving at work related to positive employee outcomes e.g., burnout, commitment, and task performance. Analysis supports the Spreitzer et al (2005) model and importance of thriving at work. |
3 | A |
| Kowalczuk, K., Krajewska-Kułak, E., and Sobolewski, M. (2017) [35]. The Reciprocal Effect of Psychosocial Aspects on Nurses’ Working Conditions. Frontiers in Psychology, 8, 1386. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2017.01386 | Investigate the correlations between different aspects of nurses’ psychosocial working conditions and what factors affect well-being. Investigate what actions should be taken by management to ensure decent physical and mental conditions. | Questionnaire: Psychosocial aspects of work. 789 inpatient working nurses. | Well-being: Conflict and overload impact negatively. Control of work and cognitive control most strongly correlated. Social, supervisor, and collegial support are positively impacted. Physical well-being correlates with psychological well-being. Expectation of need for change: When work demands are perceived as being high. Low levels of social support were found. Psychosocial risk monitoring and stress prevention programs should be introduced. |
3 | B |
| Laschinger, H.K.S., and Finegan, J. (2005) [25]. Empowering nurses for work engagement and health in hospital settings. Journal of Nursing Administration, 35(10), 439–449. doi:10.1097/00005110-200510000-00005 |
Relationship between empowerment, employee engagement, and physical and mental health outcomes. | Predictive non-experimental design. Random sample of 285 nurses. Test a theoretical model. |
Empowerment strongly related to lower levels of burnout, greater work engagement and physical/mental health. Emotional exhaustion linked to overload, lack of reward/recognition, values congruence. |
3 | B |
| Li, M., Liu, W., Han, Y., and Zhang, P. (2016) [36]. Linking empowering leadership and change-oriented organizational citizenship behavior: The role of thriving at work and autonomy orientation. Journal of Organizational Change Management, 29(5), 732–750. doi:10.1108/JOCM-02-2015-0032 |
Based on the theory of thriving at work, what is the link between empowering leadership and change orientated organizational behavior (OCB). | Questionnaires, 2 stages—203 employees. Structured interviews—80 supervisors. Information technology company. |
Empowering leadership positively relates to thriving at work. Empowering leadership critically influences change-orientated OCBs. Employees with high autonomy direction were most positively stimulated by empowering leadership. Leaders need to adopt empowering behaviors, and provide suitable settings for thriving to occur. |
3 | A |
| Mortier, A.V., Vlerick, P., and Clays, E. 2016) [31]. Authentic leadership and thriving among nurses: the mediating role of empathy. Journal of Nursing Management, 24(3), 357–365. doi: 10.1111/jonm.12329 |
Examine the relationship between perceived authentic leadership and two dimensions of thriving (learning and vitality). | Questionnaire, cross-sectional design. 360 nurses. | Authentic and empathic leadership enhances both indicators (learning and vitality) of thriving at work. Leadership positively related to vitality. Empathy mediates vitality but not learning. |
3 | B |
| Mushtaq, M., Abid, G., Sarwar, K., and Ahmed, S. (2017) [37]. Forging Ahead: How to Thrive at the Modern Workplace. Iranian Journal of Management Studies, 10(4). doi: 10.220059/ijms.2017.2355409/672704 | Investigation of contextual factors including organizational support, fairness perception, supervisor support, and civility on employee’s thriving at work. Simultaneously, what is the impact of individual characteristics? | Survey questionnaire. Purposive sampling on variety of occupations in service sector organizations: 221 participants. | Proactive personality, civility, fairness perception, organizational support and supervisor support are all antecedents to thriving. | 3 | A |
| Nelson, K., Boudrias, J.-S., Brunet, L., Morin, D., Civita, M. De, Savoie, A., and Alderson, M. (2014) [5]. Authentic leadership and psychological well-being at work of nurses: The mediating role of work climate at the individual level of analysis. Burnout Research, 1(2), 90–101. doi:10.1016/j.burn.2014.08.001 | Further understand the role of authentic leadership and work climate and associated relationship with psychological well-being. | Time-lagged questionnaire. 406 nurses. | Work climate is an important mediator for the relationship between authentic leadership and psychological well-being. Authentic leadership positively impacts work climate and increases psychological well-being. |
3 | A |
| Paterson, T.A., Luthans, F., and Jeung, W. (2014) [38]. Thriving at work: Impact of psychological capital and supervisor support. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 35(3), 434–446. doi:10.1002/job.1907 | Is thriving at work linked to self-development? What is the relationship between thriving at work and agentic work behaviors (task focus and heedful relating)? The aim was to explore the relationship between psychological capital (PsyCap) and supervisor support climate, with the outcome of thriving at work. |
Online survey. 198 employee-supervisor dyads. Variety of part-time management students (full-time employed) and their direct supervisors. Employees completed the survey 1 month prior to supervisors. |
Supervisor-rated employee self-development/performance supports Thriving. Agentic behaviors are positively related to thriving. PsyCap and supervisor support positively relates to agentic behaviors. PsyCap supports thriving via task focus. Supervisor support climate and thriving are affected by task focus. |
3 | B |
| Porath, C., Spreitzer, G., Gibson, C., and Garnett, F.G. (2012) [39]. Thriving at work: Toward its measurement, construct validation, and theoretical refinement. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 33(2), 250–275. doi: 10.1002/job.756 | Study 1: Investigate the construct validity of thriving at work in relation to affect, career orientation, proactive personality, self-evaluations. Study 2: Relationship between thriving and career development initiative, performance, burnout vs. job satisfaction, health, commitment. Study 3: Understanding the contextual embeddedness of thriving. |
Study 1: Thriving survey. 175 undergraduates. 410 young professionals. Study 2: Thriving and Burnout Survey. Three samples: 1 = 276 respondents, 2 = 335 respondents, 3 = 136 respondents. Study 3: Thriving survey. 78 respondents (sample 3 in study 2: one month post university program completion). |
Study 1: Evidence of convergent and discriminant validity of thriving in relation to hypothesized constructs. Study 2: Thriving positively related to general health, career development initiative, job performance, and leadership effectiveness. Negatively relates to burnout. Study 3: Thriving varies as individuals work life changes. Thriving is related to and varies across work and non-work contexts. |
3 | A |
| Sharif, S.P., Ahadzadeh, A.S., and Nia, H.S. (2018) [17]. Mediating role of psychological well-being in the relationship between organizational support and nurses’ outcomes: A cross-sectional study. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 74(4), 887–899. doi: 10.1111/jan.13501 |
How does psychological well- being mediate the relationship between organizational support for nursing practice, quality of care, and, job satisfaction in the hospital setting? | Cross-sectional survey. 345 hospital-based nurses. | Psychological well-being and organizational support positively relate to quality of care and job satisfaction. Positive perceived organizational support generates favorable well-being, enhancing quality of care and individual outcomes. | 3 | A |
| Sia, S.K., and Duari, P. (2018) [40]. Agentic work behaviour and thriving at work: role of decision making authority. Benchmarking, 25(8), 3225-3237. doi:10.1108/BIJ-07-2017-0204 |
Examining the contribution of agentic work behaviors and decision-making authority (DMA) to thriving at work. Does DMA have a moderating role in the relationship between agentic work behaviors and thriving at work? | Randomized sample. 330 manufacturing companies’ employees. Below the supervisory level. | The three dimensions of agentic work behaviors (task focus, exploration, and heedful relation), positively and directly contribute to thriving at work. Thriving is higher for employees experiencing DMA. | 3 | A |
| Spreitzer, G., and Porath, C. (2014) [27]. Self-determination as nutriment for thriving: Building an integrative model of human growth at work. In M. Gagne (Ed.), The Oxford handbook of work engagement, motivation, and self-determination theory. doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199794911.016 | Discuss key outcomes and antecedents of thriving at work. Focus on self-determination theory and how thriving relates to autonomous motivation. | Book chapter | The three nutriments of autonomous motivation: (1) autonomy, (2) competence, and (3) relatedness, are powerful facilitators of thriving at work. Organizations wanting to promote thriving need to consider autonomy, competence, relatedness enhancement - starting with decision-making, sharing info, creating a culture of community/trust/respect, providing feedback, mitigating volatility to change, and providing flexible work hours. Individual and organizational outcomes of thriving are vast. |
5 | A |
| Spreitzer, G., Sutcliffe, K., Dutton, J., Sonenshein, S., and Grant, A.M. (2005) [13]. A socially embedded model of thriving at work. Organization Science, 16(5), 537–549. | Develop a model that explains the social embeddedness of thriving at work. How do work contexts affect individuals? | Model development. | Individuals who self-adapt to psychological states/internal feelings will thrive/undertake change. Organizations need to enable positive participation and well-being. Focus on producing and changing resources. Unit contextual features and resources created in ‘the doing of work’ cultivate agentic working behaviors. | 5 | A |
| Utriainen, K., Ala-Mursula, L., and Kyngäs, H. (2015) [18]. Hospital nurses’ wellbeing at work: a theoretical model. Journal of Nursing Management, 23(6), 736–743. doi: 10.1111/jonm.12203 | To develop a theoretical model of hospital nurses’ well-being at work. | Model development. Empirical data from 233 nurses. | Themes which support well-being: collegial relationships, enhancing high-quality patient care, supportive and fair leadership, challenging/meaningful and well organized work, opportunities for professional development. | 3 | A |
| Verhaeghe, R., Vlerick, P., Gemmel, P., Maele, G. Van, and Backer, G. De. (2006) [41]. Impact of recurrent changes in the work environment on nurses’ psychological well-being and sickness absence. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 56(6), 646–656. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2648.2006.04058.x | How is psychological well-being (job satisfaction, distress) and absence from work impacted by recurrent changes? | Cross-sectional questionnaire. 2094 hospital-based nurses. | Changes in the work environment negatively impact psychological well-being. Distress was high in nurses confronted with threatening changes—Job satisfaction was low, sickness rates were high. Challenging changes were positively related partially to wellbeing (job satisfaction, eustress) but did not change distress or sickness levels. |
3 | B |