People work twice as hard for a manager who knows their kid’s name.

Being known is a form of pay that costs nothing and cannot be faked. Someone who believes you see them as a whole person gives effort no schedule could require, largely because they are no longer working for an institution but for a specific human being. This is not a technique, and it stops working the moment it is used as one.

Learn three real things about each person you work beside, then ask about one of them next week. Remember the answer. Interest that continues past the first conversation is what separates this from small talk.