Suffering from EMS - Entitlement Mentality Syndrome

“The worst day in a man’s life is when he sits down and begins thinking about how he can get something for nothing.” – Thomas Jefferson

Do any of these characteristics describe someone you know at work or people who work at organizations you visit as a customer?
• They are lazy and show no sense of urgency.
• They are under qualified for the positions they hold.
• They are wasteful with an organization’s resources.
• Their work quality is poor and they have no pride in what they do.
• They are very good at looking busy, yet produce little results.
• They tend to keep others from doing their job by frequently chatting about non-work related issues.
• They consistently arrive late to work, take long lunch breaks, and often leave early.
• They expect a promotion or raise simply based on their years of service.

If you know of such individuals, then they may be suffering from EMS – Entitlement Mentality Syndrome. This is an ailment that can be far more debilitating than any physical illness because few individuals ever recover from it. Simply put, EMS causes people to expect something for nothing. They believe they are entitled to things without making any sacrifices or giving anything in return.

So what’s wrong with wanting something for nothing? It’s great to be given a gift, win a prize, hit the jackpot, or win the lottery – right? However, when individuals expect it regularly, it can become an addiction or a way of life for them. The real problem is that it lacks integrity. Most people equate integrity with honesty or truthfulness, but it really means the state of being complete or whole. To be whole means that you are in alignment with your “higher” self – that noble part of you that instinctively tells you that you should be honest with yourself and earn what you get. Regularly accepting things that are given freely without any expectations tend to corrupt our sense of integrity. It devalues the work ethic and encourages laziness and apathy.

After awhile, such individuals begin to feel entitled to the point of irrationality. They believe that someone will always bail them out of a tough situation, make excuses for them, give them another chance, pay their debt, or give them a job because of connections. They believe they’re not responsible or accountable, there are no real consequences in life, and they have no motivation to work for anything.

With the current economic meltdown occurring throughout the world, many private and public sector organizations are faced with making hard decisions to keep afloat. Even more difficult is the decision to let some people go or reduce their work hours so that the organization can remain viable. There are many good workers who do more than what they are asked and produce more results than their colleagues, yet they will have to suffer the same fate as their EMS counterparts. This will create one of several results for the productive workers in an organization: they will leave and find another job for better hours or pay, they will stay and continue to work hard to maintain their job and hope the situation improves, or more likely, they will stay and sink into the ranks of the EMS drones.

As an employer or supervisor, if you notice any of your employees suffering from EMS, act fast so it will not metastasize throughout the organization. If you allow EMS to remain, it will contaminate your entire workforce and turn your organization into a purposeless, service-less shell of low motivated individuals who will hinder your organization from growth.

EMS is spreading through our society at an alarming rate and we are seeing its debilitating effects in our younger generation. There has never been a generation of children with the sense of privilege that our children have today. Many tend to think that they deserve to have whatever they want, do whatever they want, and whenever they want without having to earn it first. This mentality is the root cause of most of the problems experienced by parents. Children with EMS tend to be lazy, bored easily, have low motivation, and make a mess and expect someone else to clean it. The rising generation wants instant gratification and tends to be addicted to electronic gadgets and technology. They believe that if they want money, all they have to do is hold their hand out, or stand at an intersection with a bucket.

Entitlement is like a velvet-padded bear trap with one of the jaws taking away the virtues that a person needs to succeed in life like self-initiative, responsibility, inventiveness, independence, and pride in doing your best; while the other jaw gives people vices such as conceit, laziness, apathy, and indulgence. Once the EMS trap is set, it rarely lets go. A person may think they are free, but in reality they have surrendered themselves and become dependent upon a provider such as a parent, spouse, relative, employer, or the local or federal government.

If you knew something was harmful to someone else, would you sit back and say nothing. Parents, teachers, and employers need to take responsibility to stop the harmful behavior of EMS by teaching the values of contributing to society with the talents, skills, and knowledge individuals have acquired – to give back when they receive so that the quality of life of all those touched will be improved instead of just taking and not giving back. Teach that there are true moments of need and teach the rising generation how to serve their fellow beings without expecting anything in return. Teach our future leaders to work and take responsibility to create a better world for themselves instead of whining about what others have. Teach our youth to be problem solvers, and not be part of the problem.

Breaking the EMS addiction is difficult because it requires developing a new mindset and behaviors. It requires a person to break the chains of dependency that have become a comfortable way of life. The harsh reality is that no one owes you anything. No one owes you a job, computer, education, food, house, car, health care, or to pay your bills. The only person responsible for getting you what you want in life is you. You are ultimately in charge of your life and your destiny. Don’t gamble away the precious gift of life by suffering from Entitlement Mentality Syndrome.

"Ask not what your country can do for you - ask what you can do for your country." – President John F. Kennedy