We often confuse a sense of entitlement with recognizing and owning one’s value. When someone knows their worth and understands what they can contribute, it is not a sign of entitlement mentality; rather, it reflects self-awareness and confidence, which indicates a healthy understanding of their value and potential impact.
Entitlement mentality can manifest at work, within a family, or among friends. An entitled person expects to be treated as superior to others and views others as inferior, existing solely to serve their needs. They believe they are owed something without having to put in much, if any, effort to achieve it.
Contrary to popular belief, this is not a ‘Millennial or Gen Z problem.’ Anyone, regardless of age, can develop an entitlement mentality if their expectations are misaligned with what can be reasonably offered. Employee entitlement is the self-centred belief that one is special and deserves preferential treatment.
The Dangers of Employee Entitlement Mentality
Social media is increasingly contributing to the entitlement mentality in our society. Many uninformed individuals with internet access offer online commentary on workplace behaviours, negatively influencing others’ perceptions of what is acceptable. Entitled behaviour is toxic to your team.
- Negative Behaviour and Conflict: Research shows that entitled workers often display negative behaviour, leading to conflict with co-workers and with you as their leader when you don’t give them what they feel they deserve.
- Employee Engagement: Entitled employees believe they are owed something, so they become increasingly disengaged if they don’t receive it.
3. Your Team’s Perception: Catering to an entitled employee’s every demand will not only reinforce their behaviour but also make the rest of the team think you are playing favourites or that being a squeaky wheel will get them results.
4. Additional work for you: Managing an entitled employee can lead to an influx of special requests for schedules, vacations, and work preferences.
HOW EMPLOYEE ENTITLEMENT MANIFEST IN THE WORKPLACE
- They Want to Make More Money: An employee might request a higher salary, preferential treatment for projects, employment perks, or schedule flexibility due to an inflated sense of self-worth. However, you are not expected to grant a raise because it was requested. This is where performance appraisals are valuable; they allow you to reward or penalize performance according to clear expectations.
- They Expect Insider Information
Sometimes an employee feels they should be the first to know about business decisions. As your team grows, sharing information with one privileged person could create more discord than it’s worth. Information should be communicated in the right way, at the right time, in the proper context, and to the appropriate people.
- They Want to Be Held to a Different Standard
You might have an employee who has been with the company for a long time, perhaps a family member or close friend, who believes they don’t have to follow processes as thoroughly as everyone else. Such favouritism can lead to low morale among the rest of the team. So, rules should be upheld by everyone in the organization.
- They Want to Acquire More Training on the Company’s Dime
An employee might feel they deserve additional training at the company’s expense. Be cautious of employees who believe they are automatically entitled to training opportunities funded by the company. They need to understand the value and effort required to earn such opportunities—there is a cost to learning.
HOW TO ADDRESS ENTITLEMENT AS A LEADER
While it’s relatively easy to address entitlement in children by teaching them skills like empathy, perseverance, and gratitude, it’s more challenging with adults who may have long relied on entitlement tactics to succeed. We can’t predict how our employees will react, respond, or evolve as our business grows. It’s up to us to curb entitlement. Here’s how:
- Communication: Most employees don’t fully understand what it means to run a business, including the concepts of profit, loss, and operating cost. Take this opportunity to show them the financial breakdown. Avoid entering into a debate—arguing is a tactic entitled people use to bully others. Entitled individuals dread the silent treatment.
- Don’t give in to their Demands: Consider a child throwing a tantrum in a grocery store because they want chocolate. If their mother buys it, it might stop the tantrum temporarily, but it reinforces the behaviour. Don’t be that mother—don’t let your entitled employee pressure you into caving to their demands.
- Deter the Behaviour from the Start: From day one, ensure employees have clear job descriptions and undergo annual reviews to align on expectations and assess whether their assigned KPIs continue to benefit the evolving business. During the offer process, employees should be made aware of the compensation package, which outlines the value of each expense the company incurs by employing them.
A sense of entitlement is cancerous. In extreme cases, you may need to let off the entitled employee. Stop shooting yourself in the foot trying to accommodate entitled employees. Rather, seek out passionate and grateful employees and help them align with the greater vision. As the saying goes, “Gratitude begins where your sense of entitlement ends.”
Gratitude begins where your sense of entitlement ends.
Linus Okorie