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In his book "Outliers", Malcolm Gladwell defines entitlement as asserting yourself with people in authority. His statement forces us to take a deeper look into the stereotype of Gen Y Workers feeling entitled at work. Let's look at the positive side of entitlement:
Being entitled means you have self-respect. If you don't respect yourself, how can you expect others to respect you? When you have self-respect, others can sense it. Being treated with respect starts with how you treat yourself.
Being entitled means you view yourself as special. Gen Y is motivated to make a difference in the world. The United States is also the most individualistic-driven country. Each person has unique talents that are waiting to be maximized. The key to increasing productivity is finding where each worker "fits" within the organization. Think: the right strength in the right place at the right time.
Being entitled means you are worthy of attention/interest from others. Part of succeeding in the corporate world is being "noticed" for the right reasons. If you don't do something "extraordinary" to stand out from the crowd, don't expect to ever be promoted. As an employee, give management a reason to look. It you believe you are deserving of your supervisor's favor, back it up with results and you will position yourself to be an irreplaceable asset to the company.
Entitlement at work can be a good thing.
Gen Y Workers: Expect great things and perform accordingly!
Managers: Challenge your workers to higher levels of performance!
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Comments
07.22.09
I agree, entitlement CAN be a good thing, but I worry that most people are only able to harness to weaker points of being entitled. Telling people to embrace their entitled selves will probably hurt them at work. Especially young professionals who already have the stigma of narcissism to deal with.
What do you think?
07.22.09
There's also the more widely-held definition of entitlement: "a guarantee of access to benefits because of rights, or by agreement through law".
And I think that explains a lot of the backlash against the entitlement issues of Gen-Y. It's not that we have self-respect and want to be noticed. It's that we expect these things to happen simply by existing, and become quite unhappy when that ceases to be. Nothing in life is a guarantee anymore.
07.22.09
Thanks for the post Scott. This one had my wheels spinning.
In my view, entitlement cannot exist in a bubble. Its meaning is dependent on there being more than one person and not only authority figures. To take it a step further, it also implies a superiority of one over another. While self-confidence is critical to success, if it is achieved, even in part, through the perception that one has entitlement over another, it fosters a hollow form of self-respect unlike the type that comes from having experienced true achievement. Entitlement places your self-respect in the approval and recognition by others who you cannot control. Entitlement also implies that there is an expectation of something whether it is some sort of treatment by others, access to places, etc. Expectations typically lead to disappointment and disappointment leads to a negatively skewed perception of people in the world, a process of thinking that ends up permeating everything you do. What do you think about operating without expectations but instead working to achieve your specific goals?
07.22.09
I agree with Ryan.
I don't believe being entitled means you are worthy of attention/interest from others. Usually it means that YOU believe you are worthy of attention/interest from others. Which is a subjective thing.
I believe attention, the right kind of attention, and interest, have to be earned if you want to be respected in any organization.
I prefer thinking of myself as ambitious, through which stems a proactive drive to achieve goals. I generally agree with the idea of your post, self-respect is highly important, but the idea that professional success depends on us believing we are entitled to it seems a bit childish.
//A.J.
07.22.09
Feeling deserving of a better life is a good thing. Not being willing to work for it and having unrealistic expectations of what you need to do to get there isn't so good. I guess the opposite of entitled is accepting one's fate as prescribed by others, usually their family or friends and putting blinders on to what they're really wanting out of life.
Both are good relative to the life you want to lead. I'll take the former option and keep making strides.
07.22.09
I appreciate everyone's thoughts on this subject. The reason I posted it is because there is the label of "entitlement" put on Gen Y and I decided to take a different spin on it. Instead of it being a bad thing, I look at it as a positive place to start. To me "entitlement" starts with a belief in yourself. Where you take it from there is up to the individual. A friend of mine suggested the difference is how much responsibility you are willing to take. Entitlement without responsibility is being stuck-up or lazy. I believe in working with what you've got! Let's use "entitlement" to our advantage!
07.22.09
Everyone is entitled to respect as a human being, after that we are entitled to nothing really. We are not entitled to be respected by others in any profession, or to even be noticed in any given field until we have proven ourselves worthy, and that anyone thinks differently is something I can't grasp.
I think we should believe in ourselves and shoot for the moon, at the same time not expect and type of entitlement until we earn them.
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01.26.11
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01.27.11
Amazing!I also wish him good luck to defend his gold medal.I like to share it with all my friends and hope they will also encourage him.point of sale
01.27.11
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