How do you combat "apathy" in your workplace?

[inthefrey]

I am currently fighting apathy at my workplace. The, "do what I am told to do but nothing more.." attitude among my work associates drives my crazy! I mean, at 0900, 1600 and 2100, there are 5 other engineers that fight each other for the the exit. It doesn't matter if an additional 15 minutes could complete the job! Tools evaporate and turn into proverbial pumpkins at the stroke of 1600. Poof! Woosh!! Gone!

I have tried fighting this apathy for about 2 years from folks that have worked here 30. Everything I do here looks like it was professionally installed. Everything dressed neatly ready for the next guy who may work on it. This compared to guys that have worked here forever installing stuff looking like a kindergarten macrame class gone bad. Everyone is looking at the calendar for when their vacation starts and the day they retire. The day I start feeling burnout on a particular job is the day I start looking for another one. 

Is it just me? Probably.....

/rant off

[gwalchmai]

Just curious. Do you work in a union shop? Is your company employee-owned?

 

[railfancwb]

This is probably true or close to true throughout life…

[inthefrey]

No, not union. The facility has been here for over 35 years. It was recently purchase by another company after the original owner died and the "family" wanted rid of it. That buyer got it for literally pennies on the dollar along with the property. However, the base staff has not changed in 25 years. 

[Batesmotel]

This is why I’ve been fully or partially self employed most of my life. 

[railfancwb]

Often employee-owned means the employee-president-ceo owns 90% or more and the rest is scattered through the ranks. 

[crockett]

Reminds me of my first gig out of college at Mercedes Benz in R&D. We had HUGE clocks hanging on every wall. Around 15:30 everybody started cleaning up his tools and workbench. At point 16 hundred everybody was in line to punch out.

This behavior is a sure sign of a large company, and a weak or no HR department. Good HR teams know how to motivate its workforce.

I didn't last long and got myself fired over the first dispute with somebody higher up the chain. Was self-employed ever since and retired at age 40. That being said, I miss a strong routine. It is pretty healthy when you work, eat and sleep by the clock.

Once I left that job behind, my routine was all over the place. I worked 2 days straight at times, I worked 8 hours before eating anything, for years, I worked until 6 AM and woke up at 4 PM for years, I still eat my last meal around midnight, I have had drinks while working, I worked out of a bar for years on my laptop, I took stress to bed countless times and woke up to bad news way too often.

Being able to leave your work behind once you drive home from a job is a nice feature when you work for a company. When you run your own company with locations in 3 countries, your work schedule doesn't end, ever, you don't have uninterrupted weekends, and no dedicated vacations.

[Hauptmann6]

1 hour ago, inthefrey said:

I am currently fighting apathy at my workplace. The, "do what I am told to do but nothing more.." attitude among my work associates drives my crazy! I mean, at 0900, 1600 and 2100, there are 5 other engineers that fight each other for the the exit. It doesn't matter if an additional 15 minutes could complete the job! Tools evaporate and turn into proverbial pumpkins at the stroke of 1600. Poof! Woosh!! Gone!

I have tried fighting this apathy for about 2 years from folks that have worked here 30. Everything I do here looks like it was professionally installed. Everything dressed neatly ready for the next guy who may work on it. This compared to guys that have worked here forever installing stuff looking like a kindergarten macrame class gone bad. Everyone is looking at the calendar for when their vacation starts and the day they retire. The day I start feeling burnout on a particular job is the day I start looking for another one. 

Is it just me? Probably.....

/rant off

Not much you can do. More time off helps. Right now I haven't had an actual vacation since before covid. Yes a few days off here and there, but no real time off. And it shows. I go in, do my time and leave. It's our slow time a year and management is throwing a fit that we are barely working 40 and the newer people(they have fewer things to do) are getting sent home early for lack of stuff to do. For us that have been around, it's our at work recharge time. Short days and random days off due to lack of work. Most of us enjoy it and actually having a life for a while.

Now we are being told we have to work 10 hour days 50 hour weeks. Yeah, there's motivation and active annoyed apathy is set in everywhere.

So in your case, people are doing exactly what they are getting paid for. You don't get a cookie for staying late and giving up your life.

[Valmet]

Leave it at work and don’t fret about it outside of work. Seriously. 

I understand how frustrating mass apathy can be, but if it’s mass enough, you’re the only one worrying about it outside of the workplace. Not saying it’s right, but accept it as reality. If they work under you, it’s a completely different conversation. 

[inthefrey]

Wow - didn't expect this thread to go this far...

[tadbart]

People just generally suck. The workplace, be it digging a ditch, laying a concrete block, an engineering job, or a medical office, doesn't matter. 

I spend half my time as a manager bringing things down to the lowest common denominator because lazy NPs and PAs refuse to read and follow a protocol. 

 

Starting to think the best thing one can do, is stay out of a position of authority, and do the best they can while still going along with the flow. 

[norton]

8 hours ago, tadbart said:

People just generally suck. The workplace, be it digging a ditch, laying a concrete block, an engineering job, or a medical office, doesn't matter. 

I spend half my time as a manager bringing things down to the lowest common denominator because lazy NPs and PAs refuse to read and follow a protocol. 

 

Starting to think the best thing one can do, is stay out of a position of authority, and do the best they can while still going along with the flow. 

Management as a job sucks.  I did some of it early in my working days, decided I did not want to be responsible and answer for other peoples work.  Or lack of.  I spent over 40 years at the same company, but working on my own in the field.  Free from the doo doo of office politics.  Went in the H/O generally less then twice a month until the end of my career when it was more often as needed.  

In the end your career (read job) is just a means of accumulating assets.  I never defined myself by what I did for a living.  More important to me was what my family thought of me as a person.  

 

[Swampfox762]

2 minutes ago, norton said:

Management as a job sucks. 

 

Yup.. 
The Supt "guy"... told me when I "applied" for a Lineman Job...after comin home from workin over seas for 20 years...

"You got a hell of a resume here, you want to be a Lineman for Pike". 

Yes sir.  That's what I AM.  And that's how I retired. 

As a Journeyman Power Lineman.  That's what I am.  AND...I loved EVERY minute of it,.  It was my Life. And...I Loved it.

[holyjohnson]

Appreciation tends to drive Work Ethic.

Employees that feel Unappreciated only do the Bare Minimum of work and just get by.

H.R. and Management can Motivate them, one way or the other.

 

Where i work right now there is a huge turnover rate, we are expected to do the work of almost everyone above us because those people will not do it,

and its a huge weight on the rest of us to do the work of Salaried Employees when we are mostly Commission based.

 

[21 shooter]

 Micro managing.  That was one of the more destructive things to a work force.  After a couple of years of it the turnover rate where I worked was 300-400 percent.  The quickest way to get fired was suggesting that micro managing was a large part of the morale and retention problem.   

[inthefrey]

29 minutes ago, Swampfox762 said:

Yup.. 
The Supt "guy"... told me when I "applied" for a Lineman Job...after comin home from workin over seas for 20 years...

"You got a hell of a resume here, you want to be a Lineman for Pike". 

Yes sir.  That's what I AM.  And that's how I retired. 

As a Journeyman Power Lineman.  That's what I am.  AND...I loved EVERY minute of it,.  It was my Life. And...I Loved it.

Been a commercial Satellite video/data Broadcast Engineer for over 30 years. Recent events respective, I'll probably be using those talents and skills in the cellular industry by the end of the year. And, I'll be happy to retire in that field.

[Historian]

12 hours ago, inthefrey said:

 

/rant off

No.  Its not you.  I work in a place that is very much like this.   People know to the day when they retire.  They have the numbers on their dry erase boards.

The issue is one of soul.   Your place doesn't have one.   There is no....life...to what is being done.  No joy.

There are two ways to fix this....move on...or have a change in leadership.

Either way.  Keep your skills up and get the certifications you need:  When the time comes go...and don't look back.

Trust me.  I work in this place an if i wasn't so close to my state retirement...i promise you I'd be gone in a second.

 

 

[DWARREN123]

Leadership means everything in work and in life. Your place doesn't have it!

[Brad]

On 8/28/2021 at 12:16 PM, inthefrey said:

No, not union. The facility has been here for over 35 years. It was recently purchase by another company after the original owner died and the "family" wanted rid of it. That buyer got it for literally pennies on the dollar along with the property. However, the base staff has not changed in 25 years. 

 

22 minutes ago, DWARREN123 said:

Leadership means everything in work and in life. Your place doesn't have it!

Agreed completely. Not many dots to connect here.

These leaders need to read Jocko Willink's books, especially Leadership Strategy and Tactics. I read his books as a 48 year old with 20-some years of experience. I wish I would've had that insight a couple of decades ago.

[ChuteTheMall]

There's nothing like commissions to get more work for more pay.

[Walt Longmire]

On 8/28/2021 at 8:17 AM, Batesmotel said:

This is why I’ve been fully or partially self employed most of my life. 

Same here. Most people are incompetent, lazy, unmotivated, and just there for the paycheck and benefits. Explain the task at hand and tell, show them how you want it done. They'll convince you they will do it exactly as you wish. Turn your back for 5 minutes and they'll have if fucked up like a football bat while doing is however they want, no matter how shoddy.