Recognition (sociology)

Recognition in sociology is the public acknowledgement of a person's status or merits (achievements, virtues, service, etc.).^[1]

In psychology, excessively seeking for recognition is regarded as one of the defining traits of a narcissistic personality disorder.^{[citation needed]}

Another example of recognition is when some person is accorded some special status, such as title or classification.^{[citation needed]}

According to Charles Taylor, recognition of one's identity is both a fundamental need and a right, and non- or misrecognition is a form of oppression.^[2]

In workplaces, some use recognition among peers or from managers to encourage employee engagement. Recognition at work has been proven to help motivate employees.^[3]

Recognition has been found^[4] to be one of the most important ingredients in workplaces. It increases employee engagement, continuous improvement behaviour, trust in the organization, intention to stay and satisfaction with management. The three most common ways^[5] that employees wish to be recognized are a verbal thank-you (95%), personalized specific words of acknowledgement (92%) and a written thank-you (88%). Although these approaches are often not measured, it is encouraged that managers ask their employees how they most want to be recognized (the platium rule) versus how they would want to be recognized (the golden rule).^[6] Furthermore, many organizations have recognition programs in place,^[7] however it's not always how employees today most want to be recognized.