this is the kind of thing I’ve been thinking about lately— interpersonal relationships + how they play out in the macroeconomic sense

An efficient culture, then, is first and foremost a meritocracy. Status will be awarded for skills and contributions that advance shared goals — making a big sale, meeting an important deadline, etc. And status will not be awarded for things that are orthogonal to (or detract from) the goals of the community. These include: nepotism, flattery and ass-kissing, race/gender/age, and humor/beauty/external status (unless they're important for getting the job done). And seniority should correlate with 'substantive contributions'; no one should be rewarded just for warming a chair.