Written by Scott Dunn   

We see it in the headlines every day. Mass layoffs. Jobs moved overseas. Foreclosures. Bankruptcies. OK, we get it, right? It’s really tough out there.

We also see the bright side in the headlines. Massive bonuses for the financial sector. Executive retire with giant multi-million dollar package. Executive fired and given multi-million dollar package as send-off. Corporate profits higher than ever before. Executive participates in “Undercover Boss” to show token gestures of goodwill toward his employees while earning more than pre-2008 salary.

Pretty depressing, right?

When we read the headlines, it’s an impersonal experience. We try to take what is a frightening reality and put it into a nice, neat little package so we can comprehend it. We watch the DOW to see the numbers go up and down. We watch the unemployment figures. We check the interest rate at the Fed. We see the price of Gold going up again.

We’re looking for indicators that life will get better for us, but in the scheme of things, most of these indicators are far, far beyond our circle of influence. Many of them have negligible immediate impact on us personally, even if we can see it, but we still feel the effects of those dizzying numbers. The bottom line for most of us is that we feel pretty helpless when we look at what is happening.

All of this translates into apathy in the workplace. Apathy is a buzzword lately, particularly with regard to elections. The word apathy isn’t easily understood by many of us. To put the word in perspective, let me give you an example. The opposite of love is not hate. If I hate you, I still care enough about you to be angry at you. But if I am apathetic towards you, then I don’t really care anything about you. You can do what you’re going to do. It doesn’t matter to me anymore. That’s apathy.

For the average person looking at all the bad news, it’s really hard to take it all in and feel like there is any hope left for him or her. The constant grinding up of hope due to a savage economic environment can lead to severe apathy that shows up as just really poor performance. Let me give you a personal example.

On New Years Day, my wife and I bought a very reasonably priced exercise machine. We wanted to save money on the purchase so we bought it online to avoid the sales tax and the shipping charges. We even elected to assemble it ourselves, which we did manage to do. But a lot had to happen before we even got the box into our living room. And we paid cash to avoid creating a debt and paying interest on it.

The seller advertised that the item would ship in 3-4 days. After almost two weeks of calling and tracking and sending emails, we learned that UPS had lost track of our package. At one point, our package found it’s way into a shipping container, but it was not on the manifest for that container, so no one knew it was there. In order to resolve the problem, I had to talk to a yard manager for UPS to make sure that the box got shipped to us. I was put on hold a few times just to get to her.

Then I had to schedule an appointment for delivery. But the person responsible for setting up that appointment never called me. I had to call them to get help so I could track him down. And then I had to dog them for a few days to make sure the box got here.

When we got the box, we put it together the same night. Everything seemed right. All the parts were there. There were even a couple extra washers and screws, just in case we needed them. But when we tried to use it, the machine made an annoying and worrying clicking noise.

So I called around seeking support. I called the manufacturer to get help, but all I got was an answering machine with an opportunity to leave voicemail. After leaving the voicemail, I waited a day. Then two days. Then I called again, only this time, I called the sales department because they *always* answer the phone. While talking to a salesperson, he put me through to a repair technician who then referred me to a local repair shop.

Then I’m working with the local repair shop. I wait a few days for a phone call hoping to schedule an appointment as soon as possible. After several days and several calls to their office, including voice mails and phone tag, I managed to schedule an appointment.

When the technician comes out, he finds that there is a defect in the machine and he says he’s going to order a part. A week and a half later, I talk to a repair tech on the phone to learn that a note had been placed on the work order for our machine, telling somebody else to place the order for the part. The tech ordered the part the same day telling me that it would still be 5-7 business days before we received the part. And that is where we stand as of now.

It is amazing to me that after almost 3 months, we still do not have a working machine. The only upside so far is that the technician I spoke with froze the warranty so that we could preserve it until we get to use the machine.

So, looking back at this experience, is this just me? Is this an isolated experience in customer service caught up in the wheels of commerce? Or is this typical, across the board for everyone? If this is typical, then no wonder the economy is slow. Who wants to buy anything with an experience like that?

Admittedly, I did what I could to save money. Knowing what I know now, I’d buy it in the store, pay for assembly and make sure that everyone had some skin in the game. Ah, but that is experience.

I think that my experience is the result of worker apathy. I had to goad everyone along just to get what I purchased into my home and fixed. Workers who are overwhelmed with the prospect of losing their house, being unable to pay their medical bills and putting food on the table, without any near-term prospects for having fun are not just losing money. They are potentially dangerous.

This is all compounded by employee perception that upper management is going to make the same money regardless of the performance of his company - and in most cases, they will. They have the perception that when management gets fired, or retires, he will leave in style with money to spare.

The CEO sees that no matter what happens to his pay, he will still be able to pay all of his bills and have plenty of money left over. He has money saved up, investments working for him, and a generous salary with benefits because the board of directors want to retain the best CEO. The CEO can do no wrong because in these tough times, he can always blame it on the economy. He can always find a way to reduce costs by shipping jobs overseas. All that really matters is the bottom line.

That creates apathy, too. Why should he care? His kids will still get braces, go to karate school and go to college. The prospect of being homeless or going without food for one night never even enters his mind.

From top to bottom, do we really care anymore?