Can too much praise be harmful?

The urge to be liked is a natural human instinct which is why it doesn’t surprise me that it has been said that leaders are handing out unwarranted praise to new employees. Let’s face it, nobody wants to feel like the ‘bad guy’!

Experts have said that this could potentially be harmful for employees and stop them from progressing in their long term careers.

No matter what your status is, you can’t deny that your boss praising you fills you with a confidence boost. Who doesn’t enjoy that buzz?! But is this giving them a sense of false hope for the future? I would say that the employee should earn the praise they receive and this shouldn’t come flooding in simply because they’re new. It’s easy for leaders to look at ‘newbies’ as an exciting, new prospect to the business and it becomes a two-way street of trying to impress: the employee wants to impress their boss and the employer wants the employee to be happy and of course not leave! We all know the recruitment process to regain that member of staff can be very time consuming and trying to find the perfect match again can be tiring.

New recruits should receive honest feedback early on which should be given in a systematic way to ensure there are clear guidelines and expectations. If the new recruit doesn’t take your constructive criticism very well, then you need to be thinking is this the type of person you want within your business?

Do you feel like you need some support on how to act in the right way? Contact HR180 on 0845 458 5881.