Exiled in a kilt

I've come to the conclusion that there are people who take pride in their work and will give 110% and then there are people who will only do what is required of them to get a paycheck.

I've noticed a me first attitude in workers the past few years from many (but not all) workers who feel the world owes THEM and not vice versa. They move from job to job and at the end of the day are no further ahead in life then they were last year. The best workers try to make the best of their lot and see how they can contribute and gain from the experience. But the "me" generation does seem to to be breaking down the "social" responsibility to our fellow mankind these days.

Maybe they don't consider it a real job because it pays minimum wage and since they feel that way, they don't feel like they need to put forth any effort. I'm not quite sure what line of work you're in and who you're managing, but you might be able to motivate them by giving them a reason why they should put forth more effort (apart from telling them to shape up or ship out). Like, if you have any student employees
(since those are the ones in minimum wage jobs sometimes), you could somehow work "job reference" into the conversation and maybe list some things ways they could help you give them a good work reference...

then again, sometimes you just have to "manage" employees in a high-turnover environment.

Many workers won't even do what is required for a paycheck - but the company holds onto them because they can check boxes like "Asian Woman" or "Afro-American man". Then they hire white women who will do 2-3x their workload (women work harder to prove themselves) because they are internally motivated/take pride in it, and everything gets done.
I've tried "scaring" my coworkers into a reality check by saying "You're never going to get anywhere in this world, even here at this company, if you keep behaving this way. You're going to grow old and die working second shift remix at Walmart." This portrait of Hell on earth *occasionally* motivates people, but I've literally sent two guys into the army and one to school by this truth - which is good; I'm happy they've awakened from their sleep, but damn, can't there be one more me here?

I don't know why but I think it's ingrained in people's personalities. I know exactly what you mean. And it's not just for minimum wage jobs. There are engineers I work with who are paid very well who are similar. Once they get the sense that they cannot be fired, it's as if a swtich goes off. I blogged about a guy named Bob that works on my program. He's just terrible.