A case study on accelerating workforce productivity by developing relational capabilities

Executive summary

• Context: A highly stressed department operating under increasing performance pressure
• Challenge: Productivity was stalling despite high effort and strong individual capability
• Intervention: Relational OS™ embedded into everyday work over four weeks
• Outcome: increase 20%+ in perceived teamwork productivity, decrease 20%+ in frequent stress, increase 35%+ in peer support

The business challenge

As performance expectations increase and cost pressure tightens, many organisations find that workforce productivity becomes harder to sustain. Not because people are working less or care less, but because collaboration itself becomes increasingly strained. In fast-moving, hybrid and digitally mediated environments, work depends more than ever on coordination, shared understanding and aligned decision-making across teams. At the same time, the everyday conditions that support effective collaboration are quietly eroding.

These same dynamics become even more visible as organisations push to build AI readiness. Despite an estimated $30–40 billion invested globally in enterprise GenAI, MIT’s recent report shows that 95% of organisations are not yet seeing measurable returns. The research highlights a growing “GenAI Divide,” where only a small minority of initiatives create significant value. Crucially, this divide is not driven by model quality or talent, but by approach. Most initiatives fail to integrate AI into everyday workflows, decision-making, and coordination across teams, meaning technology adoption continues to outpace the organisational capacity required to make it productive at scale.

In this department, employees were visibly busy and committed. Workloads were high, calendars were full, and responsiveness was expected. Yet leaders observed rising stress levels, slower decision-making and diminishing returns on effort. Projects required more rework, misunderstandings escalated more quickly, and small frictions consumed disproportionate time and energy. Despite strong individual capability and clear strategic direction, productivity was being undermined by how work was happening between people, not by a lack of effort or expertise.

What diagnostics revealed

Relational diagnostics conducted at the start of the engagement revealed that the primary barriers to productivity were not a lack of effort or expertise, but how work was happening between people. Performance was being constrained by:

• Broken trust in day-to-day collaboration
• Recognition gaps that quietly drain motivation
• And a growing sense that challenges are something to endure, not solve

These relational dynamics consumed time, attention, and emotional energy, negatively impacting wellbeing and retention. Employees remained committed, but coordination costs were high and stress levels were rising, directly undermining productivity.

The intervention: embedding Relational OS™ into daily work

Rather than introducing one-off workshops or additional initiatives, Relational OS™ was embedded directly into how work already happened. Over a four-week period, employees worked with practical relational tools designed to:

• Build perspective taking and shared understanding in everyday collaboration and decision-making
• Enable small, everyday experiments in appreciation, feedback, and communication that strengthened ownership and motivation
• Reduce friction in moments of pressure, disagreement, or uncertainty by increasing relational awareness and choice

The focus was not on changing personalities or adding workload, but on creating the relational infrastructure that supports execution and day-to-day wellbeing. Tools were applied in everyday communication to practise new behaviours in real time and observe their impact on one another.

Outcomes: measurable shifts in productivity and wellbeing

Following the intervention, the organisation recorded clear improvements across key indicators:

• 20%+ increase in perceived teamwork productivity
• 20%+ decrease in employees frequently experiencing stress
• 35%+ increase in employees rating peer support as high or very high

These shifts reduced friction, improved focus, and increased teams’ capacity to deliver under pressure without additional cost or workload.

Key Takeaways

This case highlights a common productivity blind spot. When relational capacity erodes, performance slows even as effort increases. Employees work harder, but less effectively together. By strengthening relational capability, leaders were able to unlock productivity gains by restoring trust, agency, and collaboration, turning everyday interactions into enablers rather than obstacles to performance.

For organisations aiming to accelerate productivity without eroding wellbeing, relational dynamics are often the missing lever. Addressing them early enables stronger execution, greater resilience, and performance that can be sustained over time.

This case study is part of the Relational OS™ framework by Oneness UP, demonstrating how organisations can strengthen relational unity skills to drive measurable outcomes in performance, culture, and transformation in the age of AI.

This case study is the intellectual property of Oneness UP. All client data has been anonymised to ensure confidentiality.