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May 21, 2019
Brenda Smyth
She’s out there: That one indifferent employee who shows up for work … but isn’t really committed. She’s become satisfied with mediocre … doesn’t really care about above … or beyond.
How did she get this way?
Will her presence on your team affect those around her?
Will her apathy rub off on co-workers?
And what can you as a manager do to turn things around?
Let’s start with how she’s affecting those around her. The findings of Pontus Leander, James Shah and Stacey Sanders reported in Psychology Today suggests that “exposure to apathy can decrease motivation for people who are already unsure of their commitment to a goal.” A second study had the same outcome but focused on the effects on people who were strongly committed to a goal. For these individuals, seeing apathy actually made them more committed.
Conclusion: When someone is “wavering in his or her commitment to a goal, seeing others who are apathetic nudges us in the direction of giving up,” reports Psychology Today. Conversely, when someone is highly committed to a goal, seeing others who are apathetic increases commitment.
Indifference, as most of us know, is when someone doesn’t care about moving toward a goal. There’s a lack of interest. Maybe the individual is still doing the work, but just enough to get by. Spotting indifference isn’t all that hard. “It’s good enough,” “Oh, was that deadline today?” and “I won’t be in again today” could be the first signs.
When you, as a boss or manager, spot indifference, it’s important to act—investigate by asking questions—rather than wait for the downward trend to gain momentum until the employee’s performance bottoms out or he or she quits.
Look for opportunities to recognize individual employees so they know their efforts are noticed—that their work is an integral part of the big picture.
People need purpose.
They need variety.
And they need to be noticed and valued.
Indifference in the workplace can be contagious, particularly to employees who are already feeling invisible and like they’re not part of something bigger. You can be the shot in the arm it takes to curb the spread of indifference.
Brenda Smyth
Brenda Smyth is supervisor of content creation at SkillPath. Drawing from 20-plus years of business and management experience, her writings have appeared on Forbes.com, Entrepreneur.com and Training Industry Magazine.
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