The Silent Culture Killer in Modern Workplaces (And the Lever Most Leaders Ignore)

Most workplace culture isn’t built in meeting rooms anymore.

It’s built in Slack. Teams. Email. Shared documents. The fast, messy, half-thought interactions that happen between meetings and deadlines. And when teams start to struggle, it’s rarely because people aren’t capable. It’s because the tone collapses.

A short reply becomes a sharp one.

A request feels loaded.

Silence gets interpreted as judgement.

Before long, your so-called high performance team is burning energy managing friction instead of doing the work that actually matters. Digital behaviour is now one of the strongest predictors of team performance. Not strategy. Not talent. Not systems.

Behaviour.

And so, today I'm sharing some brand new research showing you can shift that behaviour quickly, at scale, without offsites, expensive programs, or months of culture work.

What actually makes teams better online?

A journal study titled What happened online when college students become more grateful? tested a structured intervention designed to change how people behave in digital spaces.

Not how they feel.

How they act.

And the results are exactly what performance-focused leaders care about:

• More cooperation and peer support

• Less toxic, inflammatory online behaviour

• Better self-control under pressure

• Behaviour change that lasted beyond the intervention

That matters because most organisations are trying to build high performance teams in a flexible workplace, where connection is thinner and misunderstanding travels faster.

Why this research is worth taking seriously

This wasn’t a vague “be nicer to each other” exercise. The researchers ran a randomised controlled trial with 289 participants, measured outcomes at baseline, immediately after a 10-day intervention, and again one month later.

The intervention followed a simple but deliberate sequence:

• Days 1–5: Gratitude journalling to train attention

• Days 6–8: Reflection to deepen meaning

• Days 9–10: Expression, including writing letters

That sequencing matters. Most workplace initiatives skip it. They jump straight to action without building the habit or the meaning first. This one didn’t.

What changed, and why leaders should care

Two shifts stood out.

First, people became more helpful online.

Participants were more likely to offer support, share knowledge, and step in voluntarily.

In workplace terms, this looks like better handovers, faster problem solving, and less “not my job” energy. This is the quiet engine room of sustainable high performance.

Second, people became less toxic online.

Aggression, inflammatory posting, and deceptive behaviour dropped.

That’s not about politeness. It’s about efficiency. Toxic digital behaviour creates drag. It slows decisions, drains energy, and quietly damages trust.

The mechanism underneath it all: relational energy

Here’s the concept leaders need to understand: relational energy.

Relational energy is what you gain or lose through interaction. Some conversations leave you clearer, calmer, and more capable. Others leave you depleted and defensive. The study showed that the intervention worked because it increased relational energy, and that extra “charge” helped people regulate impulses and choose better behaviour.

That’s the link to peak performance. Under pressure, teams don’t fall to their worst intentions. They fall to their lowest energy.

A real-world proof point leaders can’t ignore

If this still sounds theoretical, consider Doug Conant, former CEO of Campbell Soup Company. Conant famously wrote tens of thousands of handwritten letters to employees during a major organisational turnaround. Those letters were specific, personal, and relentless. They signalled effort mattered. That people were seen. That the organisation was worth investing in again.

The result was a measurable cultural reset, stronger engagement, and a workforce capable of lifting standards without burning out. This wasn’t about being nice. It was about rebuilding human connection so performance could follow.

So what was the lever?

The lever wasn’t a new policy, a training module, or a culture deck.

It was gratitude. Not the fluffy kind. The behavioural kind.

Gratitude forces attention onto value. Who helped. What worked. What contribution mattered. And that shift in attention changes behaviour fast. In today’s workplace experience, especially in flexible and hybrid environments, this becomes a practical way to strengthen leadership and teamwork without adding complexity.

Three ways to apply this without making it cringe

If you want the upside without eye-rolling, keep it grounded.

1. Build peer recognition into the workflow

Create a simple channel for specific, behaviour-based recognition. Not praise. Evidence.

2. Start meetings with momentum

Five minutes at the start for wins or support received. Energy before problem-solving.

3. Write short, specific notes as a leader

One a month is enough. Explain impact. Be concrete. These notes last longer than you think.

The bottom line

Culture isn’t what’s written on walls. It’s what happens in messages sent when people are busy, tired, under pressure, and slightly annoyed. This research shows you can shift that behaviour quickly, and the impact sticks. If you want sustainable high performance, don’t dismiss the small levers. They’re often the ones doing the heavy lifting.