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Hannah Seligson is a career expert, journalist, and author based in New York City. Her work has appeared in The New York Post, The Boston Globe, The Daily News, Marie Claire, The Village Voice, and The Huffington Post. She is a monthly contributor to JobWeek, a nationally syndicated career section. Hannah is also a frequent contributor to LifetimeTV.com’s career channel and a blogger for WomensWallStreet.com, Damsels in Success Professional Women’s Blog, and Women for Hire.
Hannah’s first book, New Girl on the Job: Advice from the Trenches, a career guide for young women based on over a hundred she conducted, was published in hardcover by Citadel Press in June 2007. The book has been featured in The Washington Post, The Miami Herald, USA Today, Glamour, Businessweek.com, Fortune.com, and Newsday. Hannah has also been a guest on numerous radio shows, including NPR and Oprah & Friends XM radio. She’ll be featured on the PBS show “To the Contrary� later this summer.
Hannah graduated with B.A. in Political Science from Brown University in 2004. Please visit her web site – 
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So if you haven’t heard the words “entitlement” and Gen-Y” in the same sentence, you’ve obviously been working somewhere very far away, or living under a rock.
Researchers and career experts say that the ubiquity of job hopping, particularly for Gen-Y (those born after 1979), is partially being driven by their reluctance to painstakingly pay their dues.
This has given way to the coining of Gen-Y as “entitled,” a nebulous term that I have always had trouble defining.
My best estimation of what people mean when they label someone as “entitled” is that they’ve had their first interaction with a 20something who waltzes in and inquires about applying for the marketing manager position that just opened up, when she has barely clocked six months on the job.
It’s a sense that I deserve this, even though I haven’t paid my dues to get it.
But would a guy who had the same chutzpah—I mean confidence—be characterized as a real “go-getter” or “entitled?”
Think about this way. Would legendary business leaders such as Stephen Schwarzman, the Chairman and co-founder of the Blackstone Group, Jack Welch, the former Chairman and CEO of General Electric, or Bill Gates, the Chairman and co-founder of Microsoft, be perceived as entitled or just confident if they were starting out in 2007?
But let’s put gender aside for a moment and pay lip service to the fact that what has been labeled the Achilles’ heel of Gen-Y might actually be beneficial for employers.
Research by Bharath M. Josiam, a University of North Texas associate professor in the School of Merchandising and Hospitality Management, found that while a previous generation may have felt that that promotions aren’t worth the headaches or hassles, Gen-Y hospitality students believe the advantages of a job promotion outweigh the disadvantages
For employers, the storyline here only seems to read as positive — an aspiring, enthusiastic, hard-working crop of workers is at their fingertips.
“Employers should be heartened that (Gen-Y hospitality) students on the whole are not slackers,” Josiam says. “They have a positive attitude toward work, a low level of promotion cynicism and a strong work ethic.”
What’s wrong with feeling entitled to a position that you worked hard for or intend to work very hard in? Isn’t that what they just called “earned” or “ambitious” in previous generations?
Part of this post originally appeard on WomensWallStreet.com.
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Hi Hannah,
Great post.
I think Gen Y shouldn’t be singled out and labeled with the ugly ‘E’ word as well.
www.jtodonnell.com/wordpress/?p=23
Entitlement in America isn’t a generational issue - it’s a societal one.
There’s nothing wrong with wanting more professionally, as long as it’s for the right reasons.
Unfortunately, that’s where we see too many workers go wrong…
Hannah,
Great post. I have to agree that is suprises me somewhat that employers are put off by the ambition of Gen Y workers. I think in many ways, we are threatening.
I also think a lot of it also comes from the thought many people seem to have that perhaps all generations are entitled or rebellious at this stage in their lives. Maybe that’s true. But what many don’t see is that the world around Gen Y offers different opportunities to this generation. Read more about my thougths on this in this article. littleredsuit.com/2007/07/11/the-power-of-now-what-sets-gen-y-apart/
Anyway, glad to see you at EE! I look forward to reading more from you.
I agree that Gen-Y has a refreshing outlook on office politics and work/life balance and has rebranded entrepreneurship.
I disagree with the notion that entitlement is just some Gen-X or baby boomer upset that a Gen-Y’er had the stones to apply for a job that was seemingly above their experience level.
The thing about paying dues — or whatever you want to call them — is that they give you an opportunity to learn about how to handle situations and yourself.
I think in some sense we all “pay dues” until we retire regardless of our generation.
I think it’s great that we feel we are entitled. I’ve worked hard to get where I am and certainly deserve to be rewarded for that. The fact that we are stronger now and asking for more is good. Not only do we continue to pay dues as we work towards our goals, but we’ve been paying dues much earlier by working harder in high school, working very hard in college, and obviously trying to change things once we retain a career.
By being entitled I think we are avoiding much of the stress and aggravation that comes along with the responsibilities of making a difference and moving up the career ladder, because we are making sure we are taken care of first so that we may do the best job possible.
Entitled is definitely the new buzz word to describe the highly ambitious, go-getting new generation of workers. What’s so wrong with believing we always deserve better? As long as I don’t believe I deserve a raise or a better job or a multi-million dollar business just for being me, then what is the problem? If paying your dues means learning from experiences then Rebecca is right, we have been paying dues for years, and we will continue paying them until we retire. I still think the term sucks!
I think the term sucks as well. Gen Y was raised with better education and required to meet higher expectations than any other cohort in history. Now that school is over, do you think we want to take our hard earned education and file papers (or worse)? We are grossly overqualified for our work, should we just sell ourselves short? We see people who are less competent than us being promoted above us just because they’re older or they’ve been at the company longer. After years of hard work and thousands of dollars in debt, I want to do a job that I’m now qualified for! If that means I have entitlement issues, I’m guilty as charged.
P.S. If we want to start labelling people for entitlement, let’s talk about social security…
Here’s a little perspective. Before Generation Y hit the workplace, Generation X was marked with the “entitlement” label. (It was a very dot-com era thing.)
I agree that the entitlement word sucks. In fact, in my speaking and writing I frequently accuse Baby Boomer partners at law and CPA firms of having a sense of entitlement: that they are entitled to make at least as much money as the year before (or their best year) even when the firm has a bad year financially; or they are entitled to give out assignments at the last minute and ruin someone’s weekend plans.
But back to Gen Y’s entitlement label. The complaint from more senior people is that Gen Y doesn’t want to do boring things, even if that is necessary in order to learn some things integral to the job. To quote Hannah, “For employers, the storyline here only seems to read as positive — an aspiring, enthusiastic, hard-working crop of workers is at their fingertips.” The catch is that some Gen Y’s are perceived as not being so hardworking (I hear this frequently in law and accounting firms). Their work ethic is being questioned, not their ambition. I didn’t say I agree, but that is, unfortunately, a wide-spread perception, at least as compared to older generations. Perceptions may be wrong, but they are a reality to the people that hold them.
The only way to conquer this “them” and “us” split is for each generation to make a concerted effort to reach out and get to know and understand the others. This is a diversity issue. It takes time and dialogue and can be initiated by anyone who reaches out authentically without arrogance. I believe that facilitated dialogues are the best and quickest means to change. Otherwise, each “side” wastes energy complaining to its own choir instead of doing good, creative fufilling work.
Hannah, I totally agree with with a lot of your posting! Opportunities in business only come if you ask for them, or if you are the boss’s buddy.
Entitled is a term thrown around in so many contexts these days; it’s like a catch all for calling someone a name. It’s turning into such a derogatory phrase.
As a GenXer, I’ve had a mixed experience with managing GenY folks. As with all people, some are really hardworking, and fabulous! And then I’ve come across others who spend their entire day blogging at work, ABOUT work (fired? yes), and saying inappropriately casual things to senior management like ‘You’re short; I bet you like to wear heels.’
But hang in there, the label will wear off!
But one problem may be too much education: editors at a recent publishing job of mine complained that they’d hire these really educated assistants, but they had never held ANY sort of job! So training them was like Employment 101 because they’d never had a boss before.
Hannah, you’ve introduced an interesting perspective.
When I’ve heard the term “entitlement” as it applies to GenY, it has had less to do with basic confidence and enthusiasm, both of which I believe are generally valued in an organization no matter who brings it. Instead, I think GenY “entitlement” refers to the expectation for praise or promotion regardless of whether they are deserved.
I’m sure we’ve all heard the different reasons people offer for this sense of “entitlement”. Some consider it a reasonable response to declining company loyalty in modern business. Others blame recent parenting and educational techniques that focus on “self esteem” regardless of actual merit. (There’s a great line in the movie “The Incredibles” where Mr. Incredible laments that his son’s school is always “finding new ways to celebrate mediocrity.”)
What sets leaders like Stephen Schwarzman, Jack Welch, and Bill Gates apart is actually their lack of “entitlement”:
- Rather than trying to convince people of how terrific they are, they prove their capability through consistent success.
- Rather than waiting for someone to hand them what they feel they deserve, they work hard to achieve it themselves.
I don’t mean to suggest that the entire bulk of Generation Y feels that they are “entitled” to positions or paychecks that they have not yet earned, but I believe that’s where the frustration lies for some managers who are using the term. No matter what you believe, or what your mother or teachers tells you, in business, you are only as capable as you demonstrate.
Entitlement is just another one of those negative words/phrases that gets a bad rap, but we need to explore what it really means. I think Hannah does an admirable job there.
Ummm, Jessica….Social Security benefits are not an “entitlement”. They come out of every paycheck you’ll ever make, and that amount is matched by your employer, given to the government to invest, and payed back to you when you become eligible. The last time I checked, which was quite awhile ago, it was 7.51% of your gross income (plus another 7.51 from your employer). The fact that the gov’t has been totally fiscally irresponsible and has basically spent the money on other things, which will force Gens Y and X to pay for the boomers’ SS benefits, isn’t the fault of the boomers. They literally “paid their dues”, but somebody else spent them. It’s enough to make you get political…but that’s another blog.
Jessica, yes, it’s entirely possible that you have “entitlement issues,” and I give you credit for at least recognizing that possibility. I apologize for singling you out, and I don’t want to jump down your throat, but here’s how I hear what you’re saying: “Out-of-the-box, I come to you pre-overqualified for any work I can think of, and I’m absolutely more qualified than older people who have been with the company longer.” I have to ask: what makes you think that you’re overqualified or more qualified? How are you defining “qualified”? Do you mean better educated? As a former high school teacher, I feel safe in saying that over the last two decades, the U.S. educational system has really only improved for the underprivileged and underperforming; if you you were reasonably bright to begin with, the quality and breadth of your education has actually decreased.
I’ll repeat the description of “entitlement” that I mentioned above: “expectation for praise or promotion regardless of whether they are deserved.” Someone who has been at a company longer than you have probably knows that business better. I’m not saying he/she is smarter, or that his/her education was better, or anything like that … but that, yes, he or she is probably more qualified, and that is generally the basis for promotion.
If that person really isn’t more qualified, then there’s only one way to prove it, and it ain’t more lip service about how well educated your generation is: deliver consistent success over an extended period of time.
Sean,
I see your point, but I think your description of entitlement is completely off. I do not know one person who wants fake or empty praise. When my boss tells me good job today, but I know that I just did a so-so job, I recognize this is fake. As far as a promotion goes, I dont know one person who would turn down a promotion because they think they didn’t deserve it. That is not a Gen-Y trait.
Ryan, I don’t disagree with anything you’re saying, and I’m not inferring that you (personally) feel that you are “entitled” to anything. But if you reread Jessica’s post, you may recognize the kind of attitude that people are talking about when they say that GenY feels they are “entitled.” (Jessica, my apologies again for calling you out this way.)
Certainly not everybody, but there are a lot of people in GenY who are entirely convinced that they are (1) smarter than the generations that preceded theirs, possibly mistaking tech-savvy for intelligence; (2) better educated than the generations that preceded theirs and/or that they worked harder during their school years; and (3) deserving of some kind of reward for all this hard work, particularly in the form of better jobs and better pay. That sense of “deserving” is what I’m talking about when I talk about “entitlement.”
Are you suggesting that none of this rings a bell as you review some of these replies? On this very page, how many people have indicated that they “deserve” something, not because they’ve proven any kind of merit in a real business setting, but because they worked hard in school or some such?
The question I posed to Jessica tries to get to the bottom of this, and I ask it in earnest, not because I’m trying to make fun: why does she think she’s overqualified, or at least more qualified than the person next to her? By what real, tangible measure? No matter how convinced she is of her own worth, an employer probably won’t be inclined to hand over a promotion without some kind of track record of real success.
I’m a Generation Xer myself so I thought I would add my two cents into this debate.
I think the notion of “entitlement” is simply a label that is passed to each subsequent generation. Boomers were entitled in their youth. Then Generation Xers. And now, generation Y. Whether or not the sense of entitlement actually exists is obviously open to debate. But to me, it really comes down to a matter of perception.
When I first entered the workplace, I was an eager, young go-getter. I had just finished graduating with a Bachelors in Electrical Engineering (one of the hardest disciplines in university) and I naturally wanted to see a return on my investment and hard work. Was this entitlement? Well, yes. And why shouldn’t I feel that way? Last time I checked, this is not a communist country. Those that pursue continuing education are supposed to be rewarded for their hard work. Otherwise, there is no incentive. At the time of my graduation, having a bachelors degree (in engineering anyway) was more than adequate to find a good paying job. Although it is still possible nowadays, many companies are raising the bar to a masters. So the individuals behind me in age now have to work that little bit harder to reach a similar level. Should they feel entitled to good pay and a decent job after achieving a masters degree in something like engineering or computer science? Of course they should.
But to add a corollary to this discussion, I think the notion of Generation Y entitlement does not stem from our perception in the workplace. I think a lot of that stems from those in the Generation Y category that feel they are entitled simply because they consider themselves “special”. Now every generation has these types. The would-be entrepreneurs and so-called “moguls” are fixated on attaining massive wealth and prosperity at a young age. I call it the MTV effect. They watch shows like Cribs and make the assumption that this is the norm. Furthermore, our youth is now inundated with all these infomercials promising wealth and prosperity for those wishing to become real estate empire moguls or day traders.
From my perspective, its not really a sense of entitlement that defines Generation Y. It’s more of an “unfounded optimism”. And I don’t mean that to be disparaging. But growing up in the 80s and 90s did not really expose that generation to too much hardship. In fact, it was probably two of the best decades in our country’s history from a financial and prosperity standpoint. But those that lived through the 60s and 70s with political unrest, an oil crisis and financial meltdown in the markets are usually more cautious than their younger counterparts. Although some of that is also attributed to becoming more conservative and fiscally responsible with age.
I work with many generation Yers in my company and I don’t see evidence of a massive sense of entitlement. At least, not any more than I have seen in other individuals from different generations. They appear to be hard-working youths trying to get ahead. Nothing more. If anything, the entitlement I see exists more in the middle aged crowd, especially those with the longest tenure at the company. I call them the “geriatric prima donnas”. These individuals function under a MASSIVE sense of entitlement. Because they have put in the most years at the company and were partially responsible for helping it grow, they are often very difficult to work with, extraordinarily stubborn and quite frankly, very lazy. They look at members of my generation and the one after me as, quite frankly, a threat.
In reply to Sean, I appreciate your point of view, but why did you automatically assume I was wrong?
When I say “more qualified” I am talking about motivation to succeed, the ability to do the job functions required, and added value to the company.
An example: In my first job out of college, I joined an office of five people and quickly became the top sales associate and the ‘go to’ person for many of the operational functions. The other associates (including the manager) had to ask me how to do many of their job functions, but after a year, a less qualified person was promoted instead. I didn’t get promoted until my manager left and a Gen-Xer took her place. I think sales numbers are a pretty objective measure; they directly affect the company’s bottom line. I would also caution older generations to not discount tech-savvy. In this market, it is a job skill like any other.
I also believe that Gen Y did work harder in school from a younger age than the boomers did. I’ve had boomers tell me so. If working hard in school is not applicable to the work force, why do we do it?
I recognize that I do have an “attitude” about this. I also think it’s justified. I worked hard and I’m willing to continue doing so. Why shouldn’t I be entitled to a return on my investment? And if I’m not, why should I continue working hard?
To Marcia, I agree with much of what you said. Without getting too much off topic, the entitlement I was referring to was that of the boomers knowing that their SS witholdings were spent by a government of their peers while they were in the voting majority, and still not attending to the issue. Most of them seem to think they can put off SS reform until it is no longer their problem. I am no less entitled to what I put in than the boomers are, and there is little likelihood that I will get it. While this is a political issue, I also think it is a Gen Y issue and I would like to see it discussed further on this site.
Jessica, I’m not sure that I automatically assumed you were wrong, but I did ask you to help me understand why you were right. Your original post–referencing only your education, not a track record of success or any proof of professional merit–suggested to me that you were another recent graduate, freshly entering the workforce and flabbergasted that you weren’t immediately given an “executive level” paycheck and responsibility. In fact, if anything, you seemed more closed-minded than your employer, because it seemed impossible to you that an experienced employee who had worked for the company longer, but who was older than you, could possibly understand the business better than you do.
Reread that original post, and you might see what I saw.
However, having read your second post, I begin to get a clearer picture. Now I recognize that you have indeed been part of the workforce for awhile, and that you do have a track record of success, but that you have still been overlooked for promotion, presumably because of your youth or plain old “professional politics,” and that you probably are better qualified than others who were promoted before you and probably did deserve the promotion. But that’s different from the undeserved “entitlement” that I think we were discussing here.
I do have to ask, though, why you are still hanging your hat on your education, rather than on your professional merit? It sounds like you do have a track record of success–you were the top sales person–and a great story to tell. Don’t you agree that that success might carry more weight than how hard you worked in school? A high GPA may open doors for you, but once inside, the management philosophy I’ve encountered is this, and I don’t entirely disagree with it: “How you did in school is your problem; how well you do your work is my problem.”
You need a track record of success. Sorry, I just think your post is to idealistic and even delusional. Gen Y may be more educated generation, but do they have the patience to deal with a competitive work environment where other older and qualified counter parts that have paid their dues and show loyalty to their company
From Reading Sean’s comments. I agree with him 100 %. As an employer, It makes me sick to my stomach that we had people from Ivy Legue Schools who “think” that they could do the job, but can’t hack it. I met a lot of older cusp Gen Y/ Gen X who dropped out of college and their track record is successful.
While your educational background does count, but to be blunt, I also look if someone is psychologically all there vs. delusional. People who are hard working, intelligent, loyal to the company, and aware of the realities within the working environment count more than an Ivy League University Degree and a great GPA. It’s just a piece of paper and doesn’t talk about the person’s abilities once in the organization.
Young Gen Y is riding on a pipe dream. You can’t get to 0 to 60 in a minute like a car. Promotions are built on track record, trust that you can do the job, and an alturistic attitude vs a sense of entitlement over a a degree and a GPA. Six months doesn’t cut it….. do you mind if I get a hit of what you were f’ing smoking?
As for Bill Gates, he blazed his own trail outside of someone elses company. I’m sure he didn’t promote someone after 6 months over an employee who has been there for several years with a proven track record and good attitude.
School is all theory……. welcome to the real world. Gen Y, you are chocking from your own smoke of your pathetic pipe dream.
May be if I take a hit of what you cocky Gen Y fools are smoking, I’ll be the next president and have several mansions around the world.