Disengaged, apathetic, lacking ambition: What to do with team members who seem to have checked out

There are countless reasons why an employee might be (or seem) disengaged, apathetic or lacking in ambition. But what should managers do about it?

“At a previous company, I went into a new role that had been vacant for a year. I had five direct reports and only one of them was happy,” says Teri Zdrojewski CEng, a principal nuclear engineer at RB Safety Consultants. 

She quickly realised it was her job to work out why and, for the good of the company, to do something about it.