"Victim mentality" might not be the right phrase in this situation, so let me elaborate.
My company went public not too long ago and due to overconfidence and underpreparedness, we floundered for our first 6 quarters. In that time, there were layoffs, people quit, and management used and discarded new ideas like tissues. It was a very rough year and a half for everyone.
Since then things have stabilized. We have a clear path forward, we have a stable client base, and the backfills are getting up to speed and alleviating the general workload. All in all, things are about as good as they've ever been.
The problem is that we were in a slump for almost two years. That's longer than a sizable number of people have even worked here - they've never known the good times. Unfortunately, these individuals have developed a personal narrative of victimization by the company. Not enough to leave or speak to the managers, all of whom are reasonable when it comes to mental well being, but enough to only do their bare minimum workload.
If asked to help with special projects, like organizing the mess that was created in the last two years, they fall back on being too busy - despite the fact that their at half the caseload of six months ago.
I do want to stress - things were hard in the company. There is no question about that. But now I'm in position where we need to start making things better and I don't know how to approach this group of people in a way that respects their hard past, but also gets them off their butts to build something better for the future.
Any advice?