Different perspectives

   As a teenager working my first job, I watched my boss become really frustrated because some of the younger workers would walk in the door right at the start of their shift. They would spend the next five or ten minutes signing in, visiting with coworkers, putting on their work smocks, adding their hours on the time sheet, etc. before finally showing up at their assigned duty location. They thought it was okay because they walked in the door on time.
    One evening my boss called a meeting immediately after the store closed.  He explained that he was paying us for the hours we worked at the duties he assigned. He didn't expect to pay us for preparing to work or for the time spent visiting or tending to our own business before we arrived at our duty station. Even though I hadn't been guilty of these offenses, I could have fallen into the same routines because I hadn't thought about these things. He made sense to me and what he said has stuck with me.
   I'm a rule follower. If I don't like a rule, I'll work to change it, but .............. I respect people and their experiences. Most rules come as a result of a struggle or series of struggles. They provide structure and serve to 'level the playing field'. I've had to make a few of my own and I remember the time and thought I put into them. I hope to be given a chance to discuss the reasoning before my personal rules are broken or ignored.   
   At work, my coworkers and I have some pretty serious conversations. They are usually triggered by a phone call or situation we may be addressing. One recurring topic is the 'sense of entitlement' that people feel. Upon hearing that phrase, many people automatically think about 'welfare mothers' or unemployment. Yes, there ARE some obvious abuses to the welfare and unemployment systems in our country but, I wonder how many of us actually stop to consider our own sense of entitlement. 
   We all feel it on occasion and I don't think it's always a negative thing.  In our relationships, we want to need and be needed. We make a commitment to each other and expect to depend on that commitment. That sense of entitlement gives us security, strength, confidence and inspiration to struggle through the difficult situations we encounter, to be better and do better.
   However there are still things we feel we deserve even though it's not truly our decision. A woman I know has been at her job for several decades and has a set schedule. She believes it's acceptable to arrive at work 5, 10, 15 minutes or more after her scheduled start time, and not just occasionally, because she's an 'ish' kind of person. She'll also change her schedule without consulting her supervisor, to keep a coworker company when another coworker takes a day off.  It's a coworker kindness, but even though she works a full day, it doesn't always fall in line with the needs of the company. She feels entitled to make those decisions without discussing it in advance.
   Another woman woke up early and couldn't get back to sleep. For two days in a row she arrived at work an hour early. On the second day she told her coworkers that they didn't need to worry because she wasn't going to get more overtime than them, she would just get off two hours early at a later date. A couple of them were noticeably angry.
   Whether taking someone else's reserved parking space because they are on vacation, or taking an extra long lunch because the allotted time isn't sufficient to eat AND run an errand, people feel it's easier to justify these types of decisions because 'it's a big company', or 'I stayed later last week' whether it was requested of them or even necessary.
   If I could have one rule that no one had the power to change, it would be that when you make a decision that falls under the scope of another individual or within their world, you would do it openly. 'Have the conversation' in advance. Even if your decision doesn't involve the people around you, you will lose the trust of all who suspect you are being deceitful or self-serving.