AT THE CHECKOUT COUNTER IN THE GROCERY STORE, Rob couldn’t help hearing the young cashier commiserate with the check out boy. “I hear you got yelled at.”
“Yeah, again! She’s a witch.” The teenage employees were complaining about their supervisor who they said was always hounding them.
“What was it this time?” “I usually catch a nap okay, but today she caught me out back.”
“The snoop!” The boy frowned and rolled his eyes. “Then she yelled at me for eating a bagel. She is so picky. She said I have one more chance. Can you believe she did that?”
“Yeah, who does she think she is?” Rob considered whether it would be more effective to tell the supervisor or to talk to the boy. On the way to the car, in a light tone, Rob remarked,“Sounds as if you have job trouble.”
“No, it’s not me, the supervisor has it in for me. I was thinking of quitting anyway.”
“What will you do then?” “I’ll get a job at McDonald’s.” “You think it will be different there?” “Sure, if I’m lucky.” Rob spoke seriously. “What do you want to do when you get out of school?”
“I don’t know, but do know that I am always going to be my own boss.”
“Will you work alone?” “No, not me. I’ll have employees.” “Well, then you’ll be lucky if you get fired now. If you are going to be a boss,you need to be learning about what to do with employees who don’t do their work. And those who steal, too.”
The young man paused, his mouth slightly open, but no sound came out. A bag of groceries hung suspended in midair.
Looking into the boys’ face, the older man used his gentle but powerful tone. “I wish you well.”
As Rob pulled away, he noticed the boy still standing stock-still, staring straight ahead.
Think about it. These two teenage employees were supporting each other’s irresponsible and unethical behavior with no concern about the adult who could not avoid overhearing them.
Lucky kids, to have a supervisor who was doing her job. Lucky boy to have a customer offer some words of wisdom.
How did these adolescents get that way? It’s okay to steal time. It’s okay to steal bagels. If the supervisor doesn’t like it, that’s her fault. It doesn’t matter what we say in front of customers. We don’t know the history of these particular young people, but we do know what the Overindulgence Studies told us.
The more children are raised with no rules or rules that are not enforced, the more likely they are to: ■ have an overblown sense of entitlement ■ behave irresponsibly ■ expect immediate gratification ■ have trouble learning how much is enough ■ have lax personal boundaries ■ display uneven competencies ■ believe they are the center of the universe A part-time job is a window of opportunity for teens to learn about responsibility and how to become competent.
You can learn more about overindulgence and how to avoid it by reading the book How Much is Enough?
JEAN ILLSLEY CLARKE PH.D., CONNIE DAWSON PH.D., AND DAVID J. BREDEHOFT PH.D. are co-authors of How Much is Enough? To read more about overindulgence go to www.overindulgence.info.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on June 5, 2007. Read the original PDF.