Probably this. You would not want to stand out in any way. If you were such a slacker that it reflected badly on your boss, or if you were so productive that you became a threat to others, things could go badly. So your goal was to just exist, be a nobody, never challenge authority, never have a controversial opinion, just go home to your little cement apartment on the 5th floor and drink vodka. Sounds wonderful.

My dad used to say basically the same - he used to work at a coal mine in communist Poland and said that basically if you wanted to step up and work hard everyone else would put you back in your place. They'd get their gear, take 3 hours to get to wherever they were going, sit around and chat, then make the trip back and always have some excuse as to why the work couldn't be done.

And the thing is, at the end of the month they'd still be told that the mine has worked 150% of the norm and they are all getting letters of commendation from the the local mayor or something. Everyone knew it was nonsense, from top to bottom, and it was just how it worked. It's how on the news they said the wheat production is up 400% this year and western countries are jealous of their ability to grow crops and yet there was a shortage of bread.

So yeah, you just shut up and tried not to stick out.