You’ve seen it: the employee who used to go above and beyond now does just enough. The team member who was once eager in meetings now stays quiet. The excitement that once filled your workplace has quietly faded into silence.

This isn’t about laziness. It’s not about entitlement either. It’s about disconnection.

Right now, more professionals are disengaging—not because they don’t want to work, but because something deeper is missing in their work environments. And the source of that shift often comes down to one thing: culture.

Culture Is More Than Office Perks

Company culture used to be summed up by fun Fridays, snack walls, and team-building retreats. But that version of culture is outdated.

Today, employees are asking better questions:

• Do I feel respected here?

• Can I speak up without fear?

• Does my work have purpose—or is it just output?

• Do I trust my leadership—or am I just surviving the week?

If the answer to those questions is “no,” it doesn’t matter how fancy the breakroom is—people will disengage. Or worse, they’ll quietly leave without ever resigning.

The Cost of a Disconnected Culture

Disengagement doesn’t always look dramatic. It often shows up in subtle ways:

• Missed deadlines

• Low participation

• A drop in collaboration

• Increased passive resistance

• Mental check-outs during meetings

And when this becomes the norm, organizations start feeling the impact—reduced innovation, higher turnover, and low morale across departments.

Even the best onboarding program can’t fix a workplace culture where people feel unseen or undervalued.

The Leadership Gap

One of the biggest contributors to culture breakdowns is inconsistent leadership. Not bad leadership—inconsistent leadership.

This happens when:

• Expectations shift weekly with no explanation

• Feedback is vague, delayed, or reactive

• Decisions are made without transparency

• Leaders say “we’re a team” but operate top-down

Employees crave clarity. They don’t need perfection, but they do need alignment. When leaders fail to model the culture they promote, trust erodes quickly.

Culture isn’t what’s written in the mission statement. It’s what people experience every day—especially when no one’s watching.

Psychological Safety Is the Foundation

One of the most powerful indicators of a strong culture is psychological safety—the belief that you can express ideas, concerns, and even failure without fear of judgment or retaliation.

Workplaces that encourage open communication—where people can disagree respectfully and share feedback without repercussions—tend to outperform others in creativity, retention, and satisfaction.

This doesn’t mean chaos. It means accountability paired with empathy. It means treating people like adults. It means having hard conversations with honesty, not hostility.

And most importantly, it means creating environments where people feel like they belong.

So What Does a Healthy Culture Actually Look Like?

Here are some signs of a workplace that’s getting it right:

• Clear expectations paired with autonomy

• Leaders who listen, not just talk

• Recognition that goes beyond metrics

• Real support for work-life boundaries

• Opportunities to grow without begging for them

• Space to disagree, reflect, and collaborate

These cultures don’t happen by accident—they are designed, nurtured, and protected over time.

What Organizations Can Do Today

Improving culture doesn’t require a full rebrand or a shiny new values poster. It starts with a few honest shifts:

1. Listen more than you report. Employee feedback shouldn’t live in a survey folder—it should inform decisions.

2. Lead with consistency. If you say “we value transparency,” practice it in meetings, emails, and day-to-day choices.

3. Make inclusion actionable. Don’t just talk about DEI—fund it, measure it, and make it part of how people are promoted.

4. Normalize rest and recovery. Burnout is not a badge of honor. Make balance part of your leadership example.

Small culture shifts ripple outward fast—especially when they come from the top.

Closing Note: The Culture We Create

People don’t disengage overnight. They slowly turn away from environments that stop speaking to their values.

But here’s the good news: culture isn’t fixed. It’s created moment by moment, conversation by conversation, leader by leader.

If you want a culture that attracts and retains real talent, focus less on how things look—and more on how people feel.

Because at the end of the day, most people aren’t asking for perfect. They’re asking for purpose, respect, and a place where they can show up fully and still feel like they belong.

It’s easy to assume people quit because of pay. And sure, compensation matters. But in 2025, that’s not the full story.

Across industries, professionals are walking away from roles that offer solid salaries and even decent benefits. Why? Because the culture no longer fits.

According to a new 2025 report from MIT Sloan Management Review, toxic work culture remains the #1 predictor of employee attrition—ranking higher than pay, advancement opportunities, or flexibility. And yet, many employers still think throwing bonuses or remote options at the problem is enough.

Here’s the reality: People aren’t just leaving jobs. They’re leaving environments that make them feel unseen, unheard, or unwell.

Culture Fit Isn’t About Ping Pong and Pizza

For too long, workplace culture was packaged as perks: free snacks, branded hoodies, team-building retreats. But the post-pandemic workforce has a sharper lens. Culture today is about how people are treated when no one’s watching.

A healthy workplace culture includes:

• Psychological safety: People can speak honestly without fear of backlash.

• Respectful communication: Feedback is clear but kind.

• Boundaries: Employees aren’t praised for burnout.

• Inclusion: Everyone—not just the loudest or longest-tenured—has a seat at the table.

• Accountability: Managers walk the talk.

Without these pillars in place, even the best compensation packages feel empty.

What Professionals Are Saying in 2025

We reviewed several workforce trend studies and gathered recurring themes from employee feedback. Here’s what professionals say they actually want from their workplace culture:

“I want to feel like I belong, not like I have to perform to fit in.”
“I want a manager who mentors—not micromanages.”
“I want to grow here, not just grind here.”
“I want to feel like I matter, even when I’m not perfect.”

Translation: employees are looking for meaningful alignment, not just job stability.

When Good Culture Goes Bad (Quietly)

Most toxic workplaces don’t start that way. The shift is usually gradual and hard to name until it’s too late. It shows up as:

• Overworked teams that never push back

• Managers who confuse pressure with performance

• High performers who burn out and go quiet

• Diversity initiatives with no real follow-through

• “Open door” policies no one trusts

When these patterns go unaddressed, retention drops and team morale follows. But here’s what many leaders miss: toxicity isn’t always loud. Sometimes, it’s a culture of silence, dismissal, or neglect that quietly pushes people out.

Managers Set the Tone (Like It or Not)

No matter how well-crafted a company mission is, managers are the culture carriers. They’re the ones who model expectations, coach through conflict, and shape team dynamics.

A recent Gallup survey revealed that 70% of the variance in team engagement is directly linked to the manager’s behavior. That means culture isn’t created at company retreats—it’s reinforced (or damaged) in everyday interactions.

Leaders who want to build better culture must start by asking:

• Do I regularly check in with my team about more than deadlines?

• Do I give feedback in a way that builds, not breaks?

• Do I know how each person on my team defines growth?

Culture Audits Are Becoming Standard

In response to rising attrition, more organizations are conducting internal culture audits—not just engagement surveys, but deep listening sessions, exit interview reviews, and behavioral assessments across departments.

These audits help uncover:

• Gaps between leadership values and lived experiences

• Microaggressions or patterns of bias

• Over-dependence on high performers

• Hidden turnover risks

And the most progressive companies? They’re not waiting for exit interviews to learn the truth. They’re investing in stay interviews—conversations that uncover what’s keeping people in their seats and what might send them searching.

The New Standard: Culture by Design, Not Default

It’s not enough to hope a “good” culture will form. Today’s workforce expects intentional culture-building—ones that support emotional wellness, professional development, and inclusive leadership.

What this looks like in action:

• Training managers on emotional intelligence and DEI practices

• Embedding mental health support into everyday operations

• Redesigning performance reviews to reflect values, not just output

• Encouraging employees to give upward feedback without fear

Culture can’t be outsourced to HR. It’s a collective habit—built one meeting, one message, and one leader at a time.

Final Thought

The conversation around workplace culture isn’t fluffy. It’s foundational. In 2025, professionals aren’t afraid to leave behind shiny job titles in search of something deeper: a culture that respects their time, reflects their values, and recognizes their humanity.

Because for today’s workforce, how it feels to work there matters just as much as what the work pays.

When Andy Jassy succeeded Jeff Bezos as CEO of Amazon, in 2021, he stepped into one of the most scrutinized leadership roles in business. Yet under Jassy’s leadership, Amazon has not only sustained its momentum but accelerated. According to the company, revenues have grown by more than $230 billion during his four-year tenure, and it has made significant leaps in its delivery capabilities and use of AI.

Leading at Scale

In a wide-ranging conversation with HBR editor at large Adi Ignatius, Jassy reflects on what it takes to lead at scale. He discusses the importance of maintaining a customer-obsessed culture, even as the company grows and expands into new areas. Jassy also emphasizes the need for leaders to be willing to take risks and experiment with new ideas, in order to stay ahead of the competition.

Encouraging Risk-Taking

Jassy believes that encouraging risk-taking is essential for driving innovation and growth. He notes that Amazon’s culture of experimentation and willingness to take risks has allowed the company to make significant advances in areas such as artificial intelligence and machine learning. By giving employees the freedom to try new things and learn from their mistakes, Jassy aims to foster a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship within the company.

Embracing AI

Jassy also discusses the importance of finding smart ways to embrace AI and other emerging technologies. He notes that Amazon has made significant investments in AI research and development, and is using machine learning algorithms to improve everything from customer service to supply chain management. By leveraging AI and other technologies, Jassy believes that Amazon can continue to drive growth and innovation, while also improving the customer experience.

Reinventing Corporate Culture

In addition to driving growth and innovation, Jassy is also focused on reinventing Amazon’s corporate culture. With more than a million employees, Amazon is one of the largest employers in the world, and Jassy recognizes the need to create a culture that is inclusive, diverse, and supportive of all employees. He notes that Amazon has made significant progress in areas such as diversity and inclusion, but acknowledges that there is still more work to be done.

Conclusion

Under Andy Jassy’s leadership, Amazon has continued to thrive and innovate. By emphasizing the importance of customer obsession, risk-taking, and innovation, Jassy has helped to drive growth and expansion at the company. As Amazon continues to evolve and grow, it will be interesting to see how Jassy’s leadership style and vision for the company shape its future.

FAQs

Q: What is Andy Jassy’s background and experience?
A: Andy Jassy is a veteran Amazon executive who previously led the company’s cloud computing division, Amazon Web Services.
Q: What are some of the key challenges facing Amazon under Jassy’s leadership?
A: Some of the key challenges facing Amazon include maintaining a customer-obsessed culture, driving innovation and growth, and navigating the complexities of a rapidly changing technological landscape.
Q: How is Amazon using AI and other emerging technologies?
A: Amazon is using AI and other emerging technologies to improve everything from customer service to supply chain management, and is making significant investments in AI research and development.
Q: What is Jassy’s vision for Amazon’s corporate culture?
A: Jassy is focused on creating a culture that is inclusive, diverse, and supportive of all employees, and has made significant progress in areas such as diversity and inclusion.