The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Shiftless \Shift"less\, a.
   Destitute of expedients, or not using successful expedients;
   characterized by failure, especially by failure to provide
   for one's own support, through negligence or incapacity;
   hence, lazy; improvident; thriftless; as, a shiftless fellow;
   shiftless management. -- Shift"less*ly, adv. --
   Shift"less*ness, n.
   [1913 Webster]

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):

shiftlessness
    n 1: a failure to be active as a consequence of lack of
         initiative or ambition

Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0:

27 Moby Thesaurus words for "shiftlessness":
   dilatoriness, do-nothingness, ergophobia, faineancy, faineantise,
   fecklessness, hastiness, heedlessness, hoboism, improvidence,
   indolence, inertia, inexertion, laggardness, lax stewardship,
   laziness, lotus-eating, negligence, poor husbandry, remissness,
   sloth, slothfulness, slowness, spring fever, thoughtlessness,
   thriftlessness, vagrancy