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Praise Me! Praise Me Now!

Posted by Training Magazine on April 20, 2007

Confetti Interesting story in the Wall Street Journal (subscription required--I know, we've been very Journal-heavy lately) today about how twenty-somethings' need for approval, induced by the self-affirming way their parents raised them, is leading to uncontrolled "praise inflation" and to narcissistic work cultures. If these praise hogs don't get the coddling to which they are accustomed, they pack up their insecurities and move to another company. Read: fawn over your employees or you will have a retention problem on your hand. One praise-happy company has a designated confetti thrower:

The 1,000-employee Scooter Store Inc., a power-wheelchair and scooter firm in New Braunfels, Texas, has a staff "celebrations assistant" whose job it is to throw confetti -- 25 pounds a week -- at employees. She also passes out 100 to 500 celebratory helium balloons a week.

Now, I'm a twenty-something, and while I do like being recognized when I've done a good job, the idea of paying someone to throw confetti at me seems wasteful (both of resources and paper) and a bit off-putting. I think the generational sea change that many have waxed on about is overrated. And I have some numbers to back me up this time: A Watson Wyatt survey of workers in Canada says that engagement drivers are largely the same among different age groups [link via Incentive Intelligence via The Cenek Report]. Leadership or rewards (both pay and benefits) were cited first or second by all age groups and the one one group that listed rewards first was the 30-39 set.

Maybe that's because Canuks weren't raised in narcissistic American culture. But how about this alternative analysis: This survey (and a number of others I've come across lately) also says that one big obstacle to engagement is a lack of trust in and communication from the top. People my age have grown up being treated as disposable commodities by management in most companies, and so it's no wonder that we don't exhibit much loyalty to employers who fail to recognize that we have strategic importance to an organization. Your twenty-something employees don't need false praise to ensure they don't feel insecure, they need real leadership.

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Comments

Carolyn Burns Bass

This trend is no surprise. About 15 years ago my firstborn played on her first sports team. I was appalled when asked to give $10 to buy her a trophy. I asked, “Trophy for what?” The team mom explained that all the parents pitched in to buy their kid a “participation” trophy so they wouldn’t be disappointed if they didn’t get one of the “earned” trophies.

Still, good leaders recognize those who contribute to the team without the confetti and balloons. These employees are the ones who’ll receive “earned” awards and will eventually rise above the falling confetti.

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