Practice Development Counsel

Phyllis weiss haserot
Phyllis weiss haserot


President & Founder


212 593-1549
pwhaserot@pdcounsel.com
www.pdcounsel.com

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Origins of Entitlement Mentality


I am always fascinated by the implications of formative influences on an individual or a segment of the population that may lead to significant patterns of behavior. By “formative influences” I mean the economic, social, political and cultural factors present and shared when people are coming of age, usually around high school and college age.

A Wall Street Journal article (6/13/16) by Lisa Ward with the provocative and eye-catching title “How to Create a Narcissist,” reports research findings on the influence on personal traits and attitudes, satisfaction with work and the amount of top management pay when coming of age in a weak or strong economy. The paper on the studies was authored in the journal Psychological Science by Emily C. Bianchi, Assistant Professor at Emory University’s Goizueta Business School, who was surprised to find her young Millennial students in 2011 to be “humble” rather than “entitled” as they are often portrayed. She defined narcissism as “having a grandiose sense of self-worth, entitlement and superiority.”

Wondering if experiencing the Great Recession was the explanation, Dr. Bianchi set out to study the growth of narcissism between 1979 (a deep recession) and 2006, which for the most part had strong economic growth. She didn’t include Millennials in the study since at the time, being in young adulthood, it was too early to gauge how the Great Recession would ultimately impact them. So she looked at older adults (average age in the two studies was 40) who experienced past recessions.

The hypothesis was that growing narcissism among college students in the U.S. over the period studied might reflect a long period of rising prosperity. People who begin adult lives during economic depressions or wars have proven likely to be especially attuned to national and economic security lasting even to later life.

“Worse economic conditions in young adulthood were associated with lower narcissism score later in life,” said Dr. Bianchi. “ This is true for people well removed from young adulthood, suggesting that this experience leaves an enduring mark on how people conceptualize themselves relative to others.”

A third study used a sample of almost 2,100 CEOs from major U.S. publicly traded companies to go beyond attitudes and measure narcissistic behavior. Previous research by other scholars found that narcissistic CEOs frequently paid themselves substantially more than the next most highly paid executive in their organization, considering themselves uniquely valuable – and worth it. Dr. Bianchi found that “CEOs who came of age in worse economic times had more modest salaries relative to the next most highly paid executives in their firms.”

One possible reason that when people come of age in good economic times they do better professionally in terms of prestigious positions or higher income is that they expect and demand better outcomes. I speculate this could be true of the Baby Boomer experience, and it possibly explains at least in part the so-called entitlement attitude of the older segment of Millennials.

Dr. Bianchi found in earlier research that people who earned degrees during recessions were grateful for the jobs they had both early in their careers and later. They didn’t agonize over how they might have done better. (Could this be said of the older half of Gen X?) While those who reached early adulthood in good times prospered, according to Dr. Bianchi, they had a tendency to have regrets and what-ifs because they believed there might have been better alternatives out there for them. Does that help to explain the older half of Millennials’ mentality and tendency to job-hop and try many things without strong commitment – or maybe not?

Time and perspective will tell us more about how the economic climate of the last decade ultimately affects the narcissism and other characterizations of Millennials and Gen Z. Both of these generations so far have shown themselves to be concerned about having a positive impact on the world, not to be mostly inward focused. Their reactions to the Brexit and the U.S. election campaigns give some indication of both an outward and a “me” focus.

Your thoughts on these studies? Do they help to explain attitudes and behaviors you are seeing? Do they change or reinforce your impressions?

Send your comments and questions to me at pwhaserot@pdcounsel.com or start a conversation on the Cross-Generational Conversation group on LinkedIn.

Phyllis

©  Phyllis Weiss Haserot, 2016

* The generational chronology for easy reference: Generations are defined by the similar formative influences – social, cultural, political, economic – that existed as the individuals of particular birth cohorts were growing up. Given that premise, the age breakdowns for each of the four generations currently in the workplace are approximately:



Learn about our *Generational Wisdom for Mentors and Mentees* programs as well as multi-generational team facilitation. Call 212-593-1549 or e-mail pwhaserot@pdcounsel.com.

For coaching, training and special programs on inter-generational challenges for and among 4 generations in the workplace and maximizing the potential of young professionals, call or email Phyllis for an exploratory talk or complimentary coaching session at 212-593-1549 or pwhaserot@pdcounsel.com

Phyllis is available to speak at your organization or at firm retreats on inter-generational relations and organizational effectiveness topics. Call or e-mail for a list of topics or to custom-tailor your own.




06/2016