"The Entitled" employee is the second cousin of the "Fairness Whiner". The primary difference is in the point of reference -- "Fairness Whiners" endlessly compare themselves to others, while "The Entitled" just seem to think they deserve it because...well, just because. There doesn't appear to be a hard line between the two behaviors, and one can easily leak into the other.
Manager: So you think you should get {insert here object of employee's desires -- pay, office, recognition, etc.}
Employee: Yes. I deserve it. I really am that good. [Entitlement mentality]
Manager: Nobody else gets that.
Employee: Not true -- I heard Fred in accounting did. Twelve years ago. [Fairness Whining]
The cross-over can be seamless. The distinction, as I mentioned earlier, is in the motivation behind the employee's behavior.
So why do people feel entitled?
I must admit, I'm at a bit of a loss to explain it. Perhaps they lose track of the basic give and take relationship between employer and employee -- the company pays you money, and you provide effort, knowledge or other values in return. If you don't like the deal, as the employee, you are always have the right to cancel it and move on to something else.
Perhaps they don't realize how lucky they are already -- a job with a company in the United States already puts an employee in rarefied air when it comes to luck, just ask almost anyone living and struggling to survive in the developing world.
Perhaps they missed out on some of those childhood lessons that should have taught them rewards need to earned, rather than complained into existence. Or demanded. Or campaigned for.
Or maybe it's something completely different. Something I'm missing.
Maybe they really are entitled to something better than what they have now. Maybe they are that good. Maybe their employer is taking advantage of them.
Entitled Employee, if you really think you are that good -- then take action. Don't complain, go find another job with someone who better appreciates your talents. Don't poison others, take your future into your own hands.
My thoughts and philosophies on management, employment, corporations and corporate corruption are interwoven in my novels. You can learn more by clicking on Leverage: A Corporate Thriller, or Incentivize here.
