Are you a praise-junkie?

Are reward and recognition programmes a symptom of a growing addiction to praise?

If it holds true that the UK follows the US when it comes to incentives and motivation (a myth, in our experience, but that's another story), are we set for uncontrolled praise inflation?

A recent article in the Wall Street Journal by Jeffrey Zaslow (readable here), "The Most-Praised Generation Goes to Work", looks at the effect of unfettered praise on a generation of children now set to enter the workforce. It paints a disturbing picture of an infantilized workforce hung up on praise, rewards, and narcissim.

"Employers are dishing out kudos to workers for little more than showing up. Corporations including Lands' End and Bank of America are hiring consultants to teach managers how to compliment employees using email, prize packages and public displays of appreciation. 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."

Parenting websites are full of guidance on how to not to overpraise children. In an article subitled The Inverse Power of Praise, author Po Bronson writes that continous praise leads to youngsters who avoid challenges and take the easy option.

"Since the 1969 publication of The Psychology of Self-Esteem, in which Nathaniel Branden opined that self-esteem was the single most important facet of a person, the belief that one must do whatever he can to achieve positive self-esteem has become a movement with broad societal effects. Anything potentially damaging to kids' self-esteem was axed. Competitions were frowned upon. Soccer coaches stopped counting goals and handed out trophies to everyone. Teachers threw out their red pencils. Criticism was replaced with ubiquitous, even undeserved, praise."

Can the same be translated to the workplace, and staff reward and recognition programmes? If rewards are frequently given without a corresponding performance achievement or behavioural change, the same principle might apply - staff will be less willing to take on challenging projects that might be riskier. Managers risk indulging their staff rather than driving them to perform better. Our belief is that rewards should always be used to drive performance or behaviour change and not just provide a 'feelgood' perk.

"For now, companies like the Scooter Store continue handing out the helium balloons. Katie Lynch, 22, is the firm's "celebrations assistant," charged with throwing confetti, filling balloons and showing up at employees' desks to offer high-fives. "They all love it," she says, especially younger workers who "seem to need that pat on the back. They don't want to go unnoticed."