>Almost everyone I know has half an eye on the exit or they are making decisions like cutting back to one person businesses or taking big pay cuts for remote. Nobody seems hungry for promotions or more money. There’s so much apathy.

it's not apathy. it's realization that game is rigged, promotions are irrelevant as they increase workload/pressure on in a way that outpaces the monetary gains.

Also the fact that you can't get rich, or advance on social ladder by working anymore. There is hard cap, and it is visible to everyone younger.

COVID and remote work showed just how much rigged the game was and how the system is broken.