Monday, December 6, 2010

Is this our future?

Ive noticed lately that a huge number of people in their mid 20's and younger seem to have a huge sense of self entitlement. They believe that they should work less, get paid more and have no repercussions to their actions. As an example, I went back for career training into a new job and was in class with people who had just joined the military. Their blatant disregard for the rules and the disrespect they showed their superiors was disgusting. They seemed to think that just because they were there that it was enough. They did less and expected more. It wasn't just in the military that I saw this change. When I got out and started working at a hospital, there were younger receptionists that kept complaining about raises but believed work was more a time to socialize and flirt rather than actually do their job.

Now I'm not trying to say that this is every person in their mid 20's or earlier because there are exceptions to every rule but its slightly alarming to see so many young adults acting like this. Where have we gone wrong in showing our children the value of integrity and hard work? Hopefully as they grow up, they will grow out of this phase and start acting like a true, functional adult. Maybe this is just another side effect of the fact that people seem to start their careers and families much later in life.

1 comment:

  1. I also see the sense on entitlement in the younger generation, but I don't think that it's limited to younger people. I don't know if media is influencing attitudes, or if it's our diet... I really have no clue as to why more and more people are having this sense of entitlement. It's almost as if people are afraid to put out the effort because they are afraid to fail. I CAN tell you that it pisses me off to no end when I'm busting my ass and I see someone just putting forth the minimum effort required. Unfortunately, it seems as if these people fail forward in life and become managers and decision makers.

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