Office of Instructional and Research Technology
Inside the entitlement generation
Work/life balance, vacation time, high salaries, and quick promotions are the work expectations of a large number of university students, according to Inside the entitlement generation, a recent column in Canada’s The Globe and Mail.
Sounds good, doesn’t it? Who wouldn’t want these things?
As of 8pm Sunday night, more than 460 people have expressed opinions on this topic, some believing that these are good expectations and some believing that they’re not.
Margaret Wente, the column’s author, believes that these expectations are not only unrealistic, but dangerous. She fears that these students, raised by “a generation of adults who believed that kids should never be allowed to fail, or told the truth about their abilities, or that getting what you want is sometimes hard,” are going to get a shock when they enter the workforce.
What do you think?
Tom Weeks
2011 September 19, 6:26 PM
I do think expectations are out of balance with reality, particularly in today’s world. I also think ambition is healthy and necessary for a happy, productive life. There is a balance or equilibrium between the two … not that it’s easy to find.
Steve Homes
2011 September 22, 8:40 AM
I have kids entering the workforce and I don’t agree with Margaret Wente…
She is talking about kids being “wrapped up in cotton wool” by their parents. The expectations this generation have, evolved because of their go-getting attitude and their total disinterest in “work 40-years in a job you hate for pittance and a gold-watch”
John Doe
2011 September 29, 2:25 AM
I believe the “entitlement generation” to be an enormously offensive term. Perhaps some folks are born, silver spoon in hand, but it ain’t me, it ain’t me. I ain’t no millionaire’s son.
J.
2011 October 4, 3:29 AM
To be prompt. Much of the “entitlement generation” subscribes to the belief that the only way to have a half-decent life is to enter a well paying profession. They only pursue it because they have been forced or brainwashed by their parents, media, education, etc. into believing that they only a few options. I’ve seen great artists and musicians in the midst of blooming abandon their calling because of their parents or guidance counselors goaded them towards more “stable” job environments. Young people simply shuffle their feet in the direction their mentors point hoping for the best. In that sense it shouldn’t be consider the “entitlement generation”, more like the “half-dead generation”.
On a different note, the article makes an unfair mention or lack thereof of the other percentage of students and young workers. Am I of course talking about the ones who have also been pushed towards a direction not of their choosing, but have an unhealthy amount of motivation. So much so that they form destructive and even sinister habits like pulling consecutive all nighters and sabotaging fellow students and workers. Don’t believe me? Feel free to check in on your family, friends, co-workers and fellow students sometime and see how they really behave or compete. I fear for the future sometimes, and it isn’t because I think this generation is full of lazy, unmotivated, young people with a sense of entitlement.
Blaise Camon
2011 October 4, 11:13 PM
I have not had a job. I volunteered my time at the library, municipal courts and other places. I did mostly administrative work such as filing and running databases. My parents help me immensely and I appreciate their input. However they did not sign up to volunteer or do my homework. That was my job. I also believe the term is offensive because students work in different ways whether it is a 30 hrs a week at a supermarket or for free as a volunteer or as an intern. All students get as free labor or as a worker is meager wages to scrape by or the satisfaction out of working with professionals in a company and learning on the job. High salaries? Quick promotions? Luxurious vacation times? Give me a break; I know better. These “perks” do not match up when examining editorial assistant’s responsibilities or the cashier ringing up groceries.