[BigZaphod]

I agree. I don't mind actual public recognition. In fact, I sorta desire it sometimes - but only when it's actually earned and the people being told of the achievement recognize why it was an achievement in the first place. There has to be real meaning behind this stuff, IMO. Things like "employee of the month" just feels like cheap pandering and no one really cares.

[tallanvor]

If you really go above and beyond, then public recognition can make sense. I just hate it when companies try to make a big deal out of things I think are (or should be) just a normal part of the job.

[evilduck]

Employee of the month is stupid. It limits recognition to a single person in a timeframe, even if there are two who deserve it, and falsely creates recognition when maybe nobody deserves it, watering down legitimate recognition potential. Having been in jobs like that before, they're also usually based off metrics that are easy to game or dominate.

Also, for other "big" recognitions, you'd better be damn sure the person deserves it. I've seen people who did one thing at the right time in front of the right people that earned corporate recognition and a bonus while the rest of us were doing equally valuable stuff at a less visible level and got nothing. Nothing kills productivity faster than that.