Before getting to work, employees gather for daily recognition. The supervisor gets up and says,
Today, we’re going to recognize a few people for their outstanding achievements of late. Bob, great job coming to work on time! We all appreciate that. Susan, excellent work meeting that deadline. We gave you plenty of time and you came through! Last but not least, Johnny — I asked you to write a report and you did it! Excellent!
A story the other morning on NPR showed that, ridiculous as it might be, such things are going on all over the States.
Companies are hiring consultants to help manage the “over praised” Me Generation. […] Forget Employee of the Month — how about Employee of the Day! Some managers are resistant, saying the only praise they ever got was a paycheck. (NPR)
The commentator — herself a twenty-something — mentioned that the Me Generation has grown up in an environment where parents are terrified that their kids are not going to develop self-esteem, so they praise them to death
The results, it seems, are quite the opposite. We seem to have a generation that can’t cope without constant praise. Instead of raising strong, independent people, these parents have created kudos-holics: people who can’t — or won’t — function without praised heaped on daily.