Entitlement should positively fuel Empowerment
All companies should strive to instill a sense of empowerment in their employees. Unfortunately, the hard truth is that most inflict a negative, bitter sense of entitlement instead, which usually results in high turnover.
This phenomenon begins even before the start of an employees appointment within a company. Promises of both the written and verbal variety are stated or documented, and a reasonable person expects that those things will come to pass. Sadly, they frequently do not. If you cannot do what you say, then do not say it. If you cannot follow through on what you’ve said, provide an explanation. Is it really that difficult ?
In addition to following through on promises and matter of fact statements, a company can engender a great deal of positivity in its employees by granting their requests.
A company which has fair policies for granting requests, and that consistently does so, has considerable good will that every employee will acknowledge.
Most employees, from their perspective, do not ask for much, and what they do ask for is usually to improve their ability to do their job. Why then do so few employers grant even simple requests ? If an employee asks for something that cannot be provided, explain why to the best of your ability. Listening to requests and explaining why they will or will not be met must go hand in hand.
An employee should be able to make a request once, and get a response or explanation within a reasonable amount of time. If an employee has to ask a second time, it is already too late. The seeds of bitterness are now growing, and it takes a lot to plow them under, if it is at all possible. This begins a negative cycle of entitlement.
A company’s culture is its most important asset. A good, positive culture will spill over on to all facets of the work that company does. The converse is also very true, that a bad, negative culture will certainly negatively affect a company in many ways.
If a company has successfully instilled a positive sense of entitlement, it will assuredly result in an amazing and productive sense of empowerment too. I opine that the best way to create this critical component of success is through consistent fulfillment of promises, both verbal and written, and by listening to your employees needs. If you do what you say, and provide for them what they require (within reason), the odds are better for all that things will go well. The odds are most definitely not in anyone’s favor in a work environment full of negativity and a bitter sense of unfulfilled entitlement.
You should read the book, “PeopleWare,” if you haven’t already. Very good information on “managing” knowledge-workers.