Otherwise Engaged Get blase employees motivated about their jobs, and they'll really take care of business.

A woman is standing at a retail counter waiting for help. Whenan employee finally saunters over to ring up her purchase, hedoesn't smile or say "thank you." The woman leaveswith a feeling of discontent, wondering if she ever wants to shopthere again.

An "I don't care" attitude is ravaging businessesfrom the assembly line to the retail floor. Research and consultingfirm the Gallup Organization estimates 70 percent of employees are"disengaged," meaning they're no longer committed tothe company. Even worse, the longer employees stay, the moredisengaged they become.

Disengaged employees are "in a holding pattern," saysCurt Coffman, global practice leader of employee and customerengagement consulting at Gallup and co-author of First Break All the Rules: What the World'sGreatest Managers Do Differently (Simon & Schuster)."[There's] a comfort with being average."