Definition
Theoretical approaches
A theoretical view of employee recognition
There are a number of viewpoints on employee recognition. Recognition is often considered a work organization method or human resource management practice. The literature on recognition may be grouped according to four main viewpoints: the ethical perspective,the humanist and existential view, the psychodynamics of work, and the behavioral approach.
The ethical perspective
The ethical perspective considers human beings as dignified and equal. People are an end, not a means of achieving an organizational objective (De Koninck, 1999). Therefore, they are not perceived as a tool for the company. Recognition is viewed as a shared individual and collective duty to show concern for others.
According to the ethical perspective, recognition is expressed through actions aimed at making up for harm to employees caused by specific management choices.
| EXAMPLES |
|---|
|
The humanist and existential view
The humanist and existentialist view emphasizes human beings as fully unique and distinct. It places unconditional faith in humans and their potential. Recognition is perceived as special attention to a person. According to this perspective, it is important to take the time to "get to know the people around us, acknowledge their full existence, and give meaning to their actions" (Bourcier & Palobart, 1997).
In this view, recognition is expressed in interpersonal relationships on an ordinary, everyday basis.
| EXAMPLES |
|---|
|
The psychodynamics of work
The psychodynamics of work looks at the subjective experiences of people in the workplace, the invisible dimensions of work (e.g., effort expended, risks incurred), and individual and group defense strategies to maintain psychic balance. According to this approach, workers strive to maintain their psychic balance (balance between pleasure and suffering) despite certain destabilizing conditions.
Recognition is perceived as a reward experienced mainly at a symbolic level, and is given for actual work. Recognition also results from a judgment regarding the beauty and utility of work accomplished (Dejour, 1993). Management, customers, or line supervisors generally deliver a utility judgment that mainly addresses the social, economic, and technical usefulness of an employee's work. A beauty judgment is made by peers and coworkers who are in the best position to judge the quality of work accomplished and the effort expended in completing it. Through their judgment, subordinates recognize that work has been completed according to good practice.
| EXAMPLES |
|---|
|
| Marie-Claire Carpentier-Roy, Université de Montréal |
|---|
“While recognition can take a number of forms, my research has shown that meaningful recognition mainly addresses two aspects: actual work accomplished and subjective dedication to work.
Let us first discuss recognition of work accomplished. If we accept that recognizing means judging, we agree that recognizing work accomplished means judging the beauty and utility of this work by acknowledging the knowledge, skill, and experience resulting from the occupational culture, as well as the occupational culture itself. But what is occupational culture? It is a combination of book and empirical knowledge, as well as the related norms and values. Recognizing occupational culture implies perceiving it as a concrete combination of the theoretical intelligence of actor-subjects as well as their practical intelligence, which is itself a combination of cleverness, wisdom, ability, and ethics in the sense of the Greek words mètis, phronèsis, and deinotès.
A point must be made regarding the link between recognition of work accomplished and work results. While results must be judged, we must understand what the various fields of research have to say in this regard. A judgment regarding results constitutes recognition if and only if it considers the process that led to these results. In other words, if we evaluate results without taking into account the many factors (environmental constraints, unexpected difficulties, etc.) involved in the work process independent of effort expended, our judgment—far from constituting recognition—can weaken, demotivate, and destabilize the actor-subject at work.
Now let us discuss the second aspect mentioned above—subjective dedication to work.
We must not disregard an individual’s subjective dedication to work if we want to implement meaningful recognition practices. What do people put into their work? As we know, workers put in their skills, knowledge, etc. as actors, but they also dedicate themselves as subjects, i.e., as creative, free individuals with desires and interests. In other words, individuals put in what they know and who they are. No one, regardless of position (manager, executive, employee), can eschew these subjective attributes. Any recognition practice that fails to consider worker subjectivity is not meaningful recognition. In my research, many employees told me they had put their heart and soul into their work for 10–15 years but now felt disconnected from corporate interests and were satisfied with doing their job well because, they said, ‘we received no recognition for giving our all, so why kill ourselves over our work?" |
The behavioral approach
The behavioral approach focuses on individual behaviors that can be observed and controlled, as well as work results. It also asserts that behavior is directed and stimulated by the resulting consequences, and ties in with the concept of contribution/reward.
Employee recognition is therefore viewed as a form of positive reinforcement—often associated with the notion of reward—aimed at encouraging employees to repeat the desired behavior or highlighting expected results.
| EXAMPLES |
|---|
|
However, rewards should not be the only method of employee recognition. Recognition is also expressed spontaneously in interpersonal relationships, which can carry over to worker behavior.
These theoretical views help better identify the targets of employee recognition and guide our definition of the concept. They also translate to four forms of recognition: existential recognition, recognition of work practices, recognition of dedication to work, and recognition of results.
All rights reserved - Content managed by Modulo