RTO strategies are failing not because people won’t return, but because trust is missing. Learn how to rebuild trust, culture, and performance through a better return-to-office approach.
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The Real Fix: Rebuild Workplace Culture by Returning to Organic Relationships
The failure of return-to-office (RTO) mandates isn’t about desks—it’s about disconnection. What organizations truly need isn’t more policy—it’s more humanity.
The GENUINE™ Framework is a people-first model designed to restore trust, connection, and psychological safety in today’s hybrid and in-person workplaces. It empowers leaders at every level to rebuild culture through intentional, organic relationship habits—not top-down mandates.
Each of the seven GENUINE traits drives relational health across three levels of influence:
Leader to Leader
Leader to Employee
Employee to Employee
Here’s how each trait strengthens culture:
Generous – Share time, mentorship, and recognition to make work feel human again.
Engaged – Lead with presence and attention, not just availability.
Nice – Build micro-moments of kindness that signal safety and belonging.
Unafraid – Encourage truth-telling and create space for hard conversations.
Integrity – Model consistent, trust-filled behavior across every channel.
Non-Judgmental – Embrace diverse work styles without bias.
Empathetic – Notice how people feel, and take action to show you care.
This Is the New Culture Playbook
GENUINE helps organizations stop outsourcing culture to policies and start embedding it in everyday behavior:
It transforms hallway silence into meaningful connection.
It replaces suspicion and judgment with curiosity and care.
It builds workplaces where people show up because they want to, not because they have to.
Call to Action: Start Building Organic Culture Today
Ready to move from performative culture to a truly relational one?
Explore these next steps:
You get the relationships you build—not just the ones you wish for.
Let’s return to the office—and return to organic.
From “Return to Office” to “Return to Relationships”
The real workplace challenge isn’t whether employees come back to the office—it’s whether they come back to relationships. Research confirms it: a 2024 McKinsey study found that the strongest predictor of post-pandemic retention wasn’t compensation or flexibility, but a sense of belonging and purpose at work. Similarly, Harvard Business Review reports that teams grounded in relational trust outperform others by 30–50%, even in hybrid environments.
True workplace culture isn’t built by attendance policies—it’s built by connection. Leaders who shift from RTO (Return to Office) to RTR (Return to Relationships) unlock stronger engagement, retention, and performance.
5 Relational Actions Leaders Can Take Today
Audit presence, not just attendance. Engagement matters more than occupancy.
Host listening sessions about connection. Ask where people feel relationally disconnected.
Personalize connection. Move beyond one-size-fits-all culture events to make people feel seen.
Equip managers with relational leadership. Build GENUINE behaviors into training, feedback, and expectations.
Celebrate relational wins. Recognize trust, collaboration, and humanity—not just results.
The New Leadership Opportunity
If your workplace feels fragile post-RTO, you’re not falling behind—you’re discovering what truly matters. The path forward isn’t stricter mandates, but deeper human connection. The GENUINE™ framework from ARCH Impacts helps leaders build cultures of generosity, engagement, integrity, and empathy that drive real belonging and performance.
Shift the conversation: from return to office → to return to relationships.
👉 Learn more at www.genuinerelationships.com .
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The intent of engagement is to make people feel seen and instill confidence that you care enough to prioritize them over anything else you could be doing at that moment. The outcome of making people feel seen is deeper connections. Deeper connections lead to trust and trust is a foundational element for achieving lots of other shared goals professionally or personally. Become someone others can trust. Here are 10 things you can do today to be more engaged and three challenges you will face in that engagement.
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On a recent trip, my wife and I visited Phoenix, Arizona, and Denver, Colorado—two cities with mountains yet vastly different experiences. Phoenix’s mountains are harsh, rugged, and exposed; they demand endurance in a challenging, dry heat. Denver’s Rockies, however, are lush, inviting, and revitalizing, offering cool air, shaded paths, and breathtaking vistas.
Leadership mirrors this duality. The basic definition of leadership is guiding a group to achieve a goal, but the lived experience can vary dramatically. Some leaders create harsh environments where team members merely endure, much like a scorching hike up Phoenix’s mountains. Others foster nurturing environments reminiscent of Denver’s Rockies, challenging yet supportive, driving growth and collective achievement.
The critical difference between these leadership experiences hinges on two beliefs:
Job Purpose: Effective leaders view their role as serving and empowering others.
Success Definition: They measure success through collective growth and team achievements.
To consistently foster this empowering environment, adopt the GENUINE Leadership Model, embracing principles of Generosity, Engagement, Niceness, Unafraid action, Integrity, Non-Judgmental attitudes, and Empathy. Leaders embodying these traits build teams that thrive, creating energizing and productive workplaces.
Ultimately, just as mountains offer profoundly different experiences despite similar definitions, leadership's impact depends heavily on the beliefs and actions of the leader. Choose intentionally, and you’ll create an environment that empowers and inspires your team to reach new heights.
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Discover how to build authentic relationships by embracing who you truly are. This article explores why meaningful emotional connection starts with courage, humility, and integrity. Learn how being your true self—not just what you do for others—leads to deeper love, stronger connections, and lasting personal growth. If you're tired of people-pleasing and ready to be seen and loved for who you are, this guide offers practical steps, powerful insights, and biblical encouragement to help you build genuine relationships that last.
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What is the secret to great relationships? It requires people to gaze into three different items. Taking a look at all three is what separates people who are good from those who are great. Learn more at genuinerelationships.net or by reading this article.
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Bureaucracy alone isn’t the enemy of innovation—a lack of psychological safety is. Organizations that balance structured processes with an open, trusting culture are the ones that unlock true creativity and agility. By reducing unnecessary bureaucratic hurdles and fostering an environment where employees feel safe to innovate, companies can turn their bureaucratic systems from roadblocks into launchpads for transformation. 5 tips towards an innovative culture.
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What habits should you build to have a healthy relationship with work? This article covers the two views of work that are unhealthy and unhelpful but common to fall into. It provides seven habits you can build to avoid failing into either of the unhealthy extremes
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So, how can you tell if you are becoming the kind of person who, given the chance to speak freely, would naturally build others up?
A simple but powerful filter is to ask: Are my words rooted in qualities such as love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, and faithfulness?
When leaders operate from these principles, their words—whether spoken in a high-stakes meeting or a casual conversation—will create trust, inspire action, and leave a lasting positive impact.
If that’s what fills your heart, then when the moment comes to speak, do so proudly, loudly, and consistently. Because the real test of your heart and beliefs isn’t what you say when you have time to plan it, its what you say when you just say it.
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You may never be remembered as the richest, the most famous, or the most successful in your field. But by focusing on relationships and living as a Top #10 Person, you can create a legacy that truly matters—one built on love, connection, and positive impact.
As Confucius said (we think it was him), the impact you make on others is the one that lasts. So start your journey of joining someone else’s top ten list today. visit genuinerelationships.net to learn more.
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Quitting Friday, or Quitters Day, marks when many abandon New Year’s resolutions. Daniel Pink’s Drive offers insights to stay motivated through autonomy, mastery, and purpose. Own your goals by aligning them with personal values, focus on progress over perfection, and reconnect with the deeper "why." Build supportive habits and lean on accountability partners. Motivation isn’t about never faltering but persevering. On Quitters Day, choose to recommit, rekindle your fire, and keep moving forward.
Read MoreLiving authentically as someone made in God’s image provides a stability and depth that no self-made version of authenticity can match. It’s a path that leads to purpose, fulfillment, and relationships that stand the test of time. Any other version will ultimately lead to disappointment.
Start your journey today. Begin with humility, self-awareness, and a commitment to grow into the person God created you to be. True authenticity isn’t about living your truth; it’s about living His truth.
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The "everybody knows" mindset can hinder learning by assuming that everyone shares the same knowledge. Breaking this habit means fostering openness, encouraging questions, and embracing humility. Leaders can prevent misunderstandings by over-communicating and using teach-back. Let’s make it safe to ask questions and welcome learning at all levels.
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In our busy lives, it’s essential to remember that every small act of kindness contributes to a larger tapestry of community and connection. By making the conscious choice to be kind, we can create a culture where empathy and understanding thrive.
Let’s strive to be the drivers who, even when faced with the chaos of life, choose to pause, reflect, and act with kindness. After all, the benefits of a compassionate approach extend far beyond a single moment; they can transform our days and, ultimately, our communities.
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You are consuming more information than ever before. Still, you are learning less than ever before because unless you intentionally make an effort, almost all the content is content you are already agreeable to.
Only consuming agreeable content, especially in short form, prevents you from learning.
To relearn the art of learning, you need to be intentional about applying the steps in this article.
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If you move through life at the pace of everyone else, you will experience life like everyone else. If you experience life like everybody else, you should expect to get the same results as everyone else.
So, if your goal is to get better results than everyone else, you must experience life differently.
Here are some examples of the fruits of living differently from a recent trip to Colorado.
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We are always told not to make assumptions, but should we never assume anything? What are some good assumptions to make? Here are 7 assumptions you should make if you want to live a better life. #bestlife #winning #bestself
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What is the goal of parenting?
To raise children who become self-sufficient adults who are decent human beings. Self-sufficient meaning they can manage their own emotions, provide for their own needs, and live in mutually beneficial relationships with others.
This article covers 10 things you are doing that are hurting your ability to lead your kids to success.
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You have probably heard the advice to control what you can control.
The advice might be followed with a suggestion, which is to write down the list of things on your mind and then to identify the subset of that list that you can control.
The list of things you can control is always considerably smaller than the totality of everything on your mind. But there is a higher form of control that you should be striving for.
It’s as if to say if you can’t control it, you shouldn’t worry about it. A renewed mind paired with self-control habits leads to success in more circumstances and the ability to truly control what you can control, which is yourself. #self-control #selfcontrol #mindset #habits
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