Human Resources practitioners have called for the withdrawal of entitlement syndrome exhibited by both employers and employees in the workplace, which contributes to Africa’s underdevelopment.
Issues surrounding the emergence of entitlement syndrome and how to deal with them were addressed by seasoned HR professionals at the maiden edition of Africa HR Roundtable, which took place in Lagos on Wednesday, September 28, 2022.
In July, Plexus and Greensage had announced a partnership to support aspiring and seasoned HR practitioners. The two organisations also announced a quarterly Africa HR Roundtable.
The Managing Director of Greensage, Efe Ihegie, emphasised the crucial role the HR sector plays in maximising the growth of organisations, noting how the entitlement attitude some employees exhibit maght impede Africa’s overall growth.
She said, “HR is considered as one of the most important elements of any organisation. Where all other resources are in place, without the right HR, the organisation’s chances of success are slim. However, it is not enough to have the right HR, it is equally important that the proper mindset is exhibited by the workforce.
“In Africa, a lot of employees have unrealistic expectations and exhibit lackadaisical attitude towards work; hence, the outputs do not match the inputs as expected by the employers.”
Panellists, including Shola Oshogwemoh, Tunde Olagunju and Joshua Popoola, spoke on the theme, ‘Entitlement Syndrome in the Workplace – Bane of Africa’s Development.’
Olagunju, who is the HR Manager, Greensprings School,, discussed the significance of running an open-book business and system where hard work and dedication are rewarded.
Asserting that some businesses misinterpret the duration of an employee’s employment with them as a sign of loyalty, he advocated knowledge-based employee training.
He added, “A system where performance and hardwork are not rewarded results in entitled employees. Transparency is important to organisational growth, competency framework and skill.”
Popoola, an HR Consultant at Blue Advisory, claims that people are the foundation and framework of every society.
According to him, If a society is functioning well, its members are responsible for it, and if it is not, its members are also accountable. “There are ideas and people behind every company we see today standing or thriving.”
He also criticised the trend of people going into organisations without the intention of adding value.
“Whether or not you were pushed into the organisation, you must be willing to add value,” he added.
On her part, Oshogwemoh said, “Being entitled goes both ways; it’s just overestimating your worth.”
She noted that employers could also exhibit traits of entitlement, which could also be a problem.
Oshogwemoh added, ” If somebody wants a remote job, it does not mean the person is bad. Entitlement syndrome is more prevalent with senior managers, who may get to a particular stage and begin to feel that, at their level, they have done a lot.”
She also said the Africa HR Roundtable has been able to help address some of the problems of entitlement syndrome and how to handle them.
The Principal Consultant at Plexus, Ozioma Ubabukoh, who moderated the session, spoke on the importance of effective leadership in carrying out projects and achieving overall growth.
Plexus is an Integrated Marketing Communications and Brand Management Consulting firm, while Greensage is a business performance management company that provides exclusive services via corporate training, verification, background checks, business strategy and intelligence, including process redesigning and restructuring.
