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Side and top silicon nitride stressors were proposed and shown to be effective in reducing the threshold current I_th and in improving the wall-plug efficiency η_wp of Ge-on-Si lasers. Side stressors only turned out to be a more efficient way to increase η_wp than using the top and side stressors together. With the side stressors and geometry optimizations, a η_wp of 34.8% and an I_th of 36 mA (J_th of 27 kA/cm²) can be achieved with a defect limited carrier lifetime (τ_p,n) of 1 ns. With τ_p,n = 10 ns, an I th of 4 mA (J_th of 3 kA/cm²) and a η_wp of 43.8% can be achieved. These are tremendous improvements from the case with no stressors. These results give strong support to the Ge-on-Si laser technology and provide an effective way to improve the Ge laser performance.