I was just reading this ridiculous story about employers praising the Me Generation workers in order to keep their self-esteem up. I don’t even know where to begin commenting on this. It is so unbelievably stupid.
I couldn’t even finish reading it. Once I got to this part, I had to stop.
Employers are finding ways to adjust. Sure, there are still plenty of surly managers who offer little or no positive feedback, but many withholders are now joining America’s praise parade to hold on to young workers. They’re being taught by employee-retention consultants such as Mark Holmes, who encourages employers to give away baseball bats with engravings (“Thanks for a home-run job”) or to write notes to employees’ kids (“Thanks for letting dad work here. He’s terrific!”)
My mind went off on a tangent of, If Bob’s employer ever did such an asinine thing as to actually encourage our children to think they are letting him work there, like they have any such control over our lives, he would have to quit, and I just called it quits on the article.
This reminded me of something that happened in the grocery store once with The D. He was really good, after a phase of being a pain in the store, so I said, You did a nice job behaving today. He replied, Can I get a candy bar, since I did such a nice job behaving today?
I said, No, we don’t deserve a reward for doing what we are supposed to do anyway. You did a nice job and I am proud of you for the improvement, but this is what you should have been doing all along. Rewards are for when you do something extra.
There was a woman standing behind us who looked aghast. Apparently, she did not agree with what I said. I just remember thinking, I hope she doesn’t have any kids.
One of my first lessons learned in homeschooling was that my children had had their self-esteem decimated by the over-praise of the public school. When they received praise that they did not deserve, it made them feel uncomfortable and less confident. Worse than that, they started having a problem believing anything good that was said about them, even when it was warranted.
I worry about what the future holds when we are now faced with young adults whose self-worth and psychological well-being depends on constant praise.
It’s a scary thought.
(Hat tip: Crunchy Con)
I couldn’t agree more – when I was in the workforce – I was one of those bosses/managers who doled out praise rarely – when someone did something over and above their job. Merely functioning in their job was not praise worthy.
I actually read through that entire article – although I was about to pack it in over the Scooter Stores “confetti and balloons” – person.
And I wouldn’t have bought the candy bar either.
ooh…I read a summary of some research awhile back about how all this really does backfire. Too much extrinsic motivation results in lower productivity. I can’t find the links, but here are some thoughts I had on the subject awhile back.