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Wellbeing at Work: How to Build Resilient and Thriving Teams
What if the next global crisis is a mental health pandemic?
It is here now.
One-third of Americans have shown signs of clinical anxiety or depression, and the current state of suffering globally has risen significantly.
The mental health pandemic manifests everywhere, not least in your workplace. As organizations around the world face health and social crises, as well as economic uncertainty, acknowledging and improving wellbeing in your workplace is more critical than ever.
Increasingly, leaders and managers must support mental health and cultivate resilience in employees — not just increase engagement and performance. Based on more than 100 million Gallup global interviews, Wellbeing at Work shows you how to do just that.
Coauthored by Gallup’s CEO and its Chief Workplace Scientist, Wellbeing at Work explores the five key elements of wellbeing — career, social, financial, physical and community — and how organizations can help employees and teams thrive in those elements. The book also gives leaders ideas and action items to help employees use their innate talents and strengths to thrive in each of the wellbeing elements. And Wellbeing at Work introduces a metric to report a person’s best possible life : Gallup Net Thriving, which will become the “other stock price” for organizations.
In a world where work and life are more blended than ever, maximizing employee wellbeing takes on greater urgency.
Wellbeing at Work shows leaders how to create a thriving and resilient culture. If you and your leaders don’t change the world, who will?
Wellbeing at Work includes a unique code to take the CliftonStrengths assessment, which reveals your top five strengths.
It is here now.
One-third of Americans have shown signs of clinical anxiety or depression, and the current state of suffering globally has risen significantly.
The mental health pandemic manifests everywhere, not least in your workplace. As organizations around the world face health and social crises, as well as economic uncertainty, acknowledging and improving wellbeing in your workplace is more critical than ever.
Increasingly, leaders and managers must support mental health and cultivate resilience in employees — not just increase engagement and performance. Based on more than 100 million Gallup global interviews, Wellbeing at Work shows you how to do just that.
Coauthored by Gallup’s CEO and its Chief Workplace Scientist, Wellbeing at Work explores the five key elements of wellbeing — career, social, financial, physical and community — and how organizations can help employees and teams thrive in those elements. The book also gives leaders ideas and action items to help employees use their innate talents and strengths to thrive in each of the wellbeing elements. And Wellbeing at Work introduces a metric to report a person’s best possible life : Gallup Net Thriving, which will become the “other stock price” for organizations.
In a world where work and life are more blended than ever, maximizing employee wellbeing takes on greater urgency.
Wellbeing at Work shows leaders how to create a thriving and resilient culture. If you and your leaders don’t change the world, who will?
Wellbeing at Work includes a unique code to take the CliftonStrengths assessment, which reveals your top five strengths.
336 pages, Hardcover
Published May 4, 2021
47 people are currently reading
510 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews
October 21, 2021
I thought there were a lot of decent quotes, but really no "secret" to figuring it out.
How I can best describe this book, is... it is a paraphrase from a scientific paper. It is an easier way to read a scientific paper- which can be difficult!
TL;DR
The five key elements of wellbeing are career, social, financial, physical, and community (in that order). As long as you (as a leader) can provide, hope, stability, trust, and compassion, things will work out well for you, your subordinates, and your organization.
How I can best describe this book, is... it is a paraphrase from a scientific paper. It is an easier way to read a scientific paper- which can be difficult!
TL;DR
The five key elements of wellbeing are career, social, financial, physical, and community (in that order). As long as you (as a leader) can provide, hope, stability, trust, and compassion, things will work out well for you, your subordinates, and your organization.
March 31, 2024
Could've been an article.
July 5, 2023
Interesting to read a post pandemic perspective on the workplace. Data heavy.
May 3, 2022
A quick read for those who want to better coach their employees.
September 7, 2021
Another helpful text from Gallup! We're using this to create conversation among administrators and for a book club between schools (for even more conversation). I have pages of notes to help me stay focused on important issues as I'm working with others on teams. There are many implications for these findings and good advice on where to get started.
Read
October 26, 2021Employees don’t work in a vacuum. When they show up at the office, they bring the rest of their lives along with them. When life is going well, they’re more engaged and productive; on the other hand, a stressful personal life can mean their work performance also suffers. That’s why it's so important for leaders to build a culture of well-being in the workplace: when your people are thriving, your business will, too.
Actionable advice:
Tap into your employees’ strengths.
Globally, just 33 percent of employees say their jobs give them the opportunity to use their unique strengths each day. This poses a challenge to employee well-being: people whose strengths aren’t used are more likely to suffer from boredom and low energy. So it's imperative that managers identify and tap into each of their employees’ unique skill sets. Research finds that strengths tend to stay the same for ten years or more, so developing the great qualities that your employees already have will help them thrive in the long term.
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Senior leaders can accelerate a culture of well-being, but bad managers will slow down progress.
When it comes to your employees’ well-being, your company culture can either make or break your efforts. As you’ll discover, there are several things you can do to accelerate a well-being culture in your organization. On the other hand, there’s one big risk factor that threatens this well-being culture.
Let’s start by looking at how you can accelerate a well-being culture.
The first factor involves your organization’s rules: Do your company policies encourage or discourage different aspects of well-being? The next accelerator is communication, which entails the messaging put out by your leadership team. These messages need to be consistent with a culture of well-being.
The key message here is: Senior leaders can accelerate a culture of well-being, but bad managers will slow down progress.
Other accelerators include incentives and recognition. Do you have an incentive system that inspires employees to take part in well-being initiatives, and do you recognize and celebrate the employees who get involved? Finally, you can also use your employee development schemes as an accelerator for well-being culture. So when you put together an employee’s development plan, ensure that it also includes personal well-being goals.
But there’s one big obstacle to building a culture of well-being: incompetent managers. An organization’s managers are the most important factor in the performance and overall engagement of employees. When well-being is threatened in times of stress and uncertainty, like during the COVID-19 pandemic, employees look to their managers for guidance.
Specifically, employees need four things from their managers – and whether or not they receive them can strongly impact their sense of well-being. First, employees look to their leaders for a sense of hope. They want to know whether there’s a plan for the future to ensure things will get better. They also want a sense of stability from their leaders; they need to know that they will be provided with the right resources to carry on with their jobs.
Employees also need to be able to trust their managers. They need to feel they’re getting relevant information at the right time – even if that information is negative. Finally, when their well-being is threatened, employees need compassion from their leaders. Research suggests that employees worry less and feel more confident in their roles when they believe that their leaders have their best interests at heart.
Actionable advice:
Tap into your employees’ strengths.
Globally, just 33 percent of employees say their jobs give them the opportunity to use their unique strengths each day. This poses a challenge to employee well-being: people whose strengths aren’t used are more likely to suffer from boredom and low energy. So it's imperative that managers identify and tap into each of their employees’ unique skill sets. Research finds that strengths tend to stay the same for ten years or more, so developing the great qualities that your employees already have will help them thrive in the long term.
---
Senior leaders can accelerate a culture of well-being, but bad managers will slow down progress.
When it comes to your employees’ well-being, your company culture can either make or break your efforts. As you’ll discover, there are several things you can do to accelerate a well-being culture in your organization. On the other hand, there’s one big risk factor that threatens this well-being culture.
Let’s start by looking at how you can accelerate a well-being culture.
The first factor involves your organization’s rules: Do your company policies encourage or discourage different aspects of well-being? The next accelerator is communication, which entails the messaging put out by your leadership team. These messages need to be consistent with a culture of well-being.
The key message here is: Senior leaders can accelerate a culture of well-being, but bad managers will slow down progress.
Other accelerators include incentives and recognition. Do you have an incentive system that inspires employees to take part in well-being initiatives, and do you recognize and celebrate the employees who get involved? Finally, you can also use your employee development schemes as an accelerator for well-being culture. So when you put together an employee’s development plan, ensure that it also includes personal well-being goals.
But there’s one big obstacle to building a culture of well-being: incompetent managers. An organization’s managers are the most important factor in the performance and overall engagement of employees. When well-being is threatened in times of stress and uncertainty, like during the COVID-19 pandemic, employees look to their managers for guidance.
Specifically, employees need four things from their managers – and whether or not they receive them can strongly impact their sense of well-being. First, employees look to their leaders for a sense of hope. They want to know whether there’s a plan for the future to ensure things will get better. They also want a sense of stability from their leaders; they need to know that they will be provided with the right resources to carry on with their jobs.
Employees also need to be able to trust their managers. They need to feel they’re getting relevant information at the right time – even if that information is negative. Finally, when their well-being is threatened, employees need compassion from their leaders. Research suggests that employees worry less and feel more confident in their roles when they believe that their leaders have their best interests at heart.
November 3, 2022
Book Review - Wellbeing at Work: How to Build Resilient and Thriving Teams by Jim Clifton & Jim Harter
Why I picked up the book: This was a theme of a work conference I attended and I was inspired by the Gallup Speaker we had to take a deeper dive!
What is the book about: The five elements of wellbeing with statistics on work places that are thriving.
Key Take Aways: The five elements (in order) of wellbeing are; Career, Social, Financial, Physical, and Community. I've also done the Strength Finder assessment and appreciated the deeper insights on these items for my specific strengths!
Lessons Applied: I've realized I have read a lot of books on Careers and growth in that area but have neglected some of the other areas of wellbeing. So I have targeted additional books and growth resources in each of these areas to make sure that I am growing in all of the elements needed to thrive!
Who I would recommend to read this book: This book was definitely targeted towards managers in my opinion, but I believe in 360 leadership and leading up. So, I would recommend this book for anyone looking to thrive.
Rating: 5/5*
Theme Song: Taking Care of Business by Bachma-Turner Overdrive
Why I picked up the book: This was a theme of a work conference I attended and I was inspired by the Gallup Speaker we had to take a deeper dive!
What is the book about: The five elements of wellbeing with statistics on work places that are thriving.
Key Take Aways: The five elements (in order) of wellbeing are; Career, Social, Financial, Physical, and Community. I've also done the Strength Finder assessment and appreciated the deeper insights on these items for my specific strengths!
Lessons Applied: I've realized I have read a lot of books on Careers and growth in that area but have neglected some of the other areas of wellbeing. So I have targeted additional books and growth resources in each of these areas to make sure that I am growing in all of the elements needed to thrive!
Who I would recommend to read this book: This book was definitely targeted towards managers in my opinion, but I believe in 360 leadership and leading up. So, I would recommend this book for anyone looking to thrive.
Rating: 5/5*
Theme Song: Taking Care of Business by Bachma-Turner Overdrive
May 1, 2023
This book was good and helpful; it has a lot of great ideas in it and a lot of good information. I would recommend getting familiar with Gallup Strengths Finder and Q12 first - this book does reference and tie in with those, so I felt having prior knowledge to both of those was extremely helpful. The book mentions the role of the manager a lot and I know Gallup has a book called "It's the Manager" but I haven't read that one yet but I'd imagine it would be helpful as well! Overall, there were some great takeaways that I plan to present to my workplace after reading this. It isn't a simple solution or a quick answer so if you are expecting that, you might be a bit disappointed. I would recommend this one but probably only after getting familiar with Strengths Finder and Q12 and it's definitely more of a book for supervisors, managers and higher positions to read. It isn't really written for an employee.
June 22, 2022
Written by Gallup, it mostly takes survey results and regurgitates as text, so the writing was pretty poor, and the story-telling and context left much to be desired. A lot of the takeaways were "common sense", but good to have a reminder of. It was interesting how Gallup put metrics around soft concepts. They created this "net thriving score", which is a combination of how people feel about their current life situation, and how they expect their life situation to be 5 years from now. Five elements of wellbeing:
1. Career - you like what you do everyday; this is the most important element
2. Social - you have meaningful friendships in your life
3. Financial - you manage your money well
4. Physical - you have energy to get things done
5. Community - you like where you live
1. Career - you like what you do everyday; this is the most important element
2. Social - you have meaningful friendships in your life
3. Financial - you manage your money well
4. Physical - you have energy to get things done
5. Community - you like where you live
July 20, 2021
When we think of well-being, we think of fitness and maybe mental (especially after the year we’ve had). Gallup says there are 5 elements to well-being: physical, social, financial, community, and career.
Also dives into risks to a net thriving culture. Covers employees mental health but also what happens with poor clarity and purpose. With poor management. With poor policies and procedures.
Most important is the chapter on Resilient Cultures in Crisis. What do people need during a crisis? Hope, stability, trust and compassion.
Nailed it.
Sincerely
Futurist, ideation, connector, learner and restorative (5 strengths- that have changed this year).
Also dives into risks to a net thriving culture. Covers employees mental health but also what happens with poor clarity and purpose. With poor management. With poor policies and procedures.
Most important is the chapter on Resilient Cultures in Crisis. What do people need during a crisis? Hope, stability, trust and compassion.
Nailed it.
Sincerely
Futurist, ideation, connector, learner and restorative (5 strengths- that have changed this year).
February 6, 2022
There definitely is a link between employee well-being and organizational success.
When employees like their work everybody wins !
Satisfying work can protect your well-being.
Even more so, enjoying your job is the key to a long and happy life.
So, leaders, become a coach, set proactive goals and give regular feedback.
Enabling vital elements like: hope, stability, trust, compassion.
For employees: Not only pay is important. Make sure your manager is a multiplier. (!)
Having a best friend at work will boost your well-being and productivity.
When people are thriving, business will, too.
Tony Vynckier
When employees like their work everybody wins !
Satisfying work can protect your well-being.
Even more so, enjoying your job is the key to a long and happy life.
So, leaders, become a coach, set proactive goals and give regular feedback.
Enabling vital elements like: hope, stability, trust, compassion.
For employees: Not only pay is important. Make sure your manager is a multiplier. (!)
Having a best friend at work will boost your well-being and productivity.
When people are thriving, business will, too.
Tony Vynckier
July 30, 2022
It’s fine. I like the things they recommend, and at a tactical level the advice is fine. At times their arguments about profitability ring false - two of the most profitable companies in the world (Walmart and Amazon) treat their employees like garbage. The book is also very high on Gallup products that will help a company implement the findings of the study.
A lot of numbers and data get thrown around, though fundamentally this does feel like a balanced and nuanced way to work with employees regardless of how plastic the data appears to be.
A lot of numbers and data get thrown around, though fundamentally this does feel like a balanced and nuanced way to work with employees regardless of how plastic the data appears to be.
April 13, 2022
This is a great book, so much so I use it to teach my Organizational Behavior class. I wish everyone knew the content and statistics in here. We are under a mental health crisis and few people are engaged and motivated at work. This book helps solve that. Learning about our unique strengths and talents and how to improve wellbeing is so important. I wish that every organization read and thought about this book more - the world would be a better place.
January 15, 2026
A clear and concise explanation of the Clifton Strengths and how to incorporate them into the workplace and in ones greater life. It can be a great tool to challenging and building stronger teams in the work place. Identifying strengths and applying them across teams and tasks for more efficiency and greater job satisfaction. The first part of the book explains the uses and benefits and the second part is definitions and descriptions of the strengths themselves.
July 21, 2021
Succinct and to the point. Not much is wasted here, and it's set up to be very easily applied. I don't know that I agree with the premise that professional wellbeing is more important/impactful than other areas, but I don't need to agree with that part to see the utility in the resources. Definitely worth reading.
March 3, 2022
A short and fantastic and practical guide to building resilient and thriving teams. We read it as part of a team book group at work and the conversations were deep. Never a more important time than today to focus on wellbeing at work.
Packed with statistics and facts, which helped make the topic relevant and real.
Packed with statistics and facts, which helped make the topic relevant and real.
August 18, 2021
Best guide to well being!
This book uses data combined with relevant current trends to create a clear path for leaders to DO something to improve the lives of those we lead! Thank you Gallup for blazing this trail.
This book uses data combined with relevant current trends to create a clear path for leaders to DO something to improve the lives of those we lead! Thank you Gallup for blazing this trail.
March 23, 2022
I enjoyed the book quite a lot. It builds on a lot of other Gallup books and concepts and studies, so it may not be as easy to read for other people. That being said, I think the information flowed relatively smoothly and I appreciate the insights from the book.
August 20, 2022
This is not just a primer on how to build, achieve, and maintain Net Thriving in the workplace, it is also an activity book that one can use to coach future leaders. I use it now in conjunction with BMA materials.
June 28, 2021
This book offers a condensed foundation on which all companies can build - providing empirical insight that can push us to a better working world.
August 18, 2021
Very useful appendices!
October 25, 2021
Nothing Special!
May 30, 2022
About half of the book is appendixes, but the actual text is helpful and well written. Easy and accessible read with tangible action steps!
July 16, 2022
Livro tão secante. Com todo o respeito aos autores do estudos que baseiam este livro, mas isto está tão cheio de clichés e lugares comuns que não recomendo mesmo. Custou-me imenso ler isto.
August 15, 2022
(For work) - 4. Solid, approachable read (quick!) I made SO many notes. I love the wellbeing-focused Strengths appendix. Admittedly I didn’t read ALL of appendix 4 (the study.) I recommend this one.
November 18, 2022
Brilliant, eye-opening, transformative
July 28, 2023
Contains very practical findings and hands-on action items for anyone managing people and teams. I will keep coming back to it to improve on my people management methods.
November 20, 2024
Read for Builders
February 27, 2025
It was fine
July 29, 2025
I had to read this for class, but it was a good, easy read.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews