Rewards Nation's Blog

In a recent post, Chris Guillebeau – author of The Art of Non-Conformity and one of my favourite bloggers, talks about how people closest to you can sometimes leave you feeling dejected with their less-than-enthusiastic reaction to an idea or project that means the world to you.

But lo and behold, just as you’re questioning yourself and whether you should just give up, you’re totally surprised by people you barely paid attention to before who come out of left field to praise your idea. They explain how your innovation or hard work is making life so much better for them and tell you how much they appreciate your dedication and selflessness.

Wow! Not only do you feel appreciated, refreshed and energized, you now feel a responsibility towards your new fans to keep going, work harder and be worthy of their praise. You immediately re-engage, and bask on cloud nine for a while.

This scenario also happens at work where – for whatever reason – an employee may not always get the support that she needs from her manager or teammates. Fortunately for her and for the organization, fans will emerge from other teams or departments with messages of appreciation that raise her spirits and bolster her level of engagement.

That’s the beauty of an employee recognition program that is fully social and open to everyone in the organization. When some people won’t step up, others will step in to save the day.