The word "entitlement" has been thrown around lately, both in reference to the government and private sectors. According to Webster's, entitlement is defined as "belief that one is deserving of certain privileges." I was curious about what the general consensus is regarding entitlement in the work place so I posted the following question on several Linkedin groups:

"Do you think younger workers (ages 22-30) have a sense of entitlement?"

This question generated hundreds of responses from a wide range of backgrounds and age groups. I had a few major take-aways from the responses:

• The overwhelming majority felt that the 22-30 year olds do exhibit a sense of entitlement HOWEVER this is no different from past generations. All age groups have felt entitled, what changes is the specifics of the wants and expectations.
• Those who felt this generation was worse than those in the past were VERY NEGATIVE in their feeling towards 22-30 year olds.
• Responders who identified themselves as parents said they observe significant entitlement behavior in young adults but not in their own children. (What a shocker!)
• Responders in the 22-30 year old age group admitted some of their generation felt entitled and blamed it on poor parenting.
• This topic was distressing for many and they had no problem identifying the causes (the media, poor parenting, unlimited access to information, affluence, etc.)

My take - accept the reality and move on. Every generation experiences abundances that were scarce just a decade before. Instead of complaining, solve the problem.

Take a younger person under your wing. Let them fail. Reward for performance not just for being part of the team. Teach that real personal fulfillment is derived from "earning", not just receiving.

Art Miller, principal at Arthur Miller and Associates, sent me the following story about Bill Gates. I think this about sums it up.

Bill Gates said several years ago at a high school graduation about 11 things students did not and will not learn in school. He talked about how feel-good, politically correct teachings created a generation of kids with no concept of reality, and how this concept set them up for failure in the real world.

"Rule 1: Life is not fair - get used to it!

Rule 2: The real world won't care about your self-esteem. The world will expect you to accomplish something BEFORE you feel good about yourself.

Rule 3: You will NOT make $60,000 a year right out of high school. You won't be a vice president with a car phone until you earn both.

Rule 4: If you think your teacher is tough, wait ‘til you get a boss.

Rule 5: Flipping burgers is not beneath your dignity. Your grandparents had a different word for burger flipping: they called it opportunity.

Rule 6: If you mess up, it's not your parents' fault, so don't whine about your mistakes, learn from them.

Rule 7: Before you were born, your parents weren't as boring as they are now. They got that way from paying your bills, cleaning your clothes, and listening to you talk about how cool you thought you were. So before you save the rain forest from the parasites of your parent's generation, try delousing the closet in your own room.

Rule 8: Your school may have done away with winners and losers, but life HAS NOT. In some schools, they have abolished failing grades and they'll give you as MANY TIMES as you want to get the right answer. This doesn't bear the slightest resemblance to ANYTHING in real life.

Rule 9: Life is not divided into semesters. You don't get summers off and very few employers are interested in helping you FIND YOURSELF. Do that on your own time.

Rule 10: Television is NOT real life. In real life, people actually have to leave the coffee shop and go to jobs.

Rule 11: Be nice to nerds. Chances are you'll end up working for one."

Thanks Art!