In my last blog, I explored the AI high-performance paradox, the reality that AI tools don’t automatically reduce human effort, especially as the pace of work keeps rising. This week, I want to build on that with another observation that’s featuring strongly in my State of Workplace Wellbeing 2026 report (coming very soon): our environments and cultures are becoming increasingly “isolagenic”. A term you may have heard me use before, but for those who haven’t, what do I mean by that?
What does “isolagenic” mean?
Isolagenic comes from isol (isolation) and -genic (producing or causing).
So the question becomes:
To what extent are our environments, at work and in life, producing isolation?
The obvious drivers are easy to spot: hybrid and remote working patterns, technology, convenience, everything delivered to your door, and fewer “micro-moments” of human contact.
But I think there’s a broader cultural shift too, towards individualism, competition, and self-protection.
An Isolagenic culture example: The Traitors
If you’ve been watching The Traitors (I am, and I love it), it’s a brilliant illustration of an isolagenic environment.
It’s literally designed to make people doubt each other. Trust becomes risky. Collaboration feels fragile. Even when the “faithfuls” try to work together, the whole structure is predicated on suspicion, betrayal, and self-preservation.
Now, work isn’t a reality TV show (thankfully), but it’s worth noticing how easily environments can shift in that direction when:
- We don’t have regular contact
- Relationships stay transactional
- People feel under pressure
- And communication becomes mostly digital
Which brings us to a paradox. What I am calling the isolagenic culture paradox.
The isolagenic culture paradox: we’ve increased communication, but decreased connection
Most people are communicating more than ever, more messages, more platforms, more updates.
And yet, many people feel less connected.
Why? Because connection isn’t just contact. It’s trust, familiarity, and shared context, the things you build through small, repeated interactions over time.
When those “tiny touches” disappear, isolation doesn’t arrive dramatically. It creeps in quietly.
Why I think this will become a real issue
Here’s my (unfortunate) prediction: we’re going to feel the consequences of isologenic cultures more sharply over the next year or two.
Not just emotionally, but organisationally.
Because isolation tends to show up as:
- Lower psychological safety (people hold back)
- Weaker collaboration (more friction, less generosity)
- Slower decision-making (less trust = more checking)
- Lower resilience (people feel they’re carrying it alone)
- And a more brittle culture under pressure
And when the pace of work is high, isolation is amplified. When you’re already stretched, you don’t have spare capacity to “bridge the gap” socially.
A simple prompt: look around
Here’s a small question I’d invite you to sit with:
Where in your life has become more isolagenic, and what could you do to nudge it back towards connection?
That could look like:
- Saying hello to more people you pass on the street
- Choosing one day a week to be more “out and about”
- Having a real conversation rather than a quick message
- Spending more time around colleagues (if that works for you)
- Or simply creating more moments of contact that don’t have an agenda
This isn’t about forcing extroversion. It’s about protecting connection as a wellbeing resource, because human connection supports resilience.
For leaders: don’t outsource belonging to a Slack channel
If you lead people, the big takeaway is this:
Connection doesn’t happen by accident in hybrid cultures; it has to be designed.
Not through more meetings, but through better moments.
A few practical approaches that work:
- Create predictable touchpoints (cadence builds familiarity, familiarity builds trust)
- Make space for non-transactional contact (not every interaction should be about tasks)
- Rebuild the “micro-culture” of teams (how we talk, how we help, how we recover after pressure)
- Measure connection, not just output (because isolation will quietly undermine performance)
The point of the “isolagenic” lens
When you can see how an environment is shaping behaviour, towards isolation or connection, you can start making different choices. Small ones, repeated, are often the most powerful.
So this week, take a quick look around:
Where might your world be drifting in an isolagenic direction, and what’s one small thing you can do to counter it?
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