Why Does Organizational Politics Grow When Recognition Is Missing?
English translation of: 칭찬이 없으면 왜 사내정치가 커지는가?
Recognition is often treated as a matter of mood. A company that praises people is seen as warm; a company that does not is seen as cold. But recognition is not only kindness. It is information.
When a company recognizes a person’s work, it tells the organization what it values. When recognition is absent, people do not simply feel less encouraged. They begin to infer the rules by themselves.
The argument of this essay is simple. When recognition is absent, the organization’s criteria become unclear. When criteria are unclear, people start to read power, relationships, and politics instead of work.
Recognition Is Information
Recognition tells people what mattered. It says which behavior was useful, which judgment was good, and which contribution helped the organization move.
Without recognition, employees may still work hard. But they do not know whether their effort was seen, whether their judgment was valued, or whether the organization wants that behavior to be repeated.
This is why recognition is not merely emotional support. It is a signal that connects work to organizational standards.
When Recognition Is Missing, Criteria Disappear
When good work is not named, people cannot easily tell what the company values. If one person is recognized and another is ignored without explanation, people begin to suspect that criteria are hidden.
Fairness research shows that people do not only care about outcomes. They also care about procedures, explanations, and interpersonal treatment.[1] In organizations, fairness is not only about who receives what. It is also about whether people understand why.
If the organization does not explain what was good and why, people fill the gap with interpretation.
Reward and Punishment Are Not Mainly About Punishment
The Korean expression “reward and punishment” often makes people focus on punishment. But in organizational terms, the more important issue is not punishment itself. It is whether the standard is visible.
Reward without explanation becomes favoritism. Punishment without explanation becomes fear. Recognition without criteria becomes flattery. Discipline without criteria becomes politics.
The point is not to praise more loudly. The point is to make clear what kind of behavior the organization wants to repeat.
Organizational Politics Grows in the Absence of Criteria
Organizational politics grows when people believe that decisions are driven by hidden interests, personal relationships, or informal influence. Ferris and Kacmar’s work on perceptions of organizational politics helps explain this point.[2]
When official criteria are weak, unofficial interpretations become stronger. People ask who is close to whom, who has influence, who is protected, and whose opinion matters.
This does not happen only because people are political. It happens because the organization has not provided enough visible standards.
A Company Does Not Need a Praise Campaign
The solution is not a campaign to praise everyone. Empty praise can make the problem worse. If recognition is disconnected from work, people quickly learn that it is only a slogan.
What the company needs is a structure that names contribution. What was done well? Why did it matter? Which behavior should be repeated? What decision did it support?
Recognition should connect behavior, contribution, and organizational direction.
Decision Structure Moves the Organization
Recognition, fairness, and politics are connected to decision structure. If the company does not explain its standards, people search for hidden standards. If it explains them, people can align their work.
Therefore, recognition is not only a personnel practice. It is a management device that reduces ambiguity.
When a company says what it values, people can work toward it. When it does not, people work toward what they think the company secretly values.
References and Notes
- Jason A. Colquitt et al., “Justice at the Millennium: A Meta-Analytic Review of 25 Years of Organizational Justice Research,” Journal of Applied Psychology 86, no. 3 (2001): 425-445.
- Gerald R. Ferris and K. Michele Kacmar, “Perceptions of Organizational Politics,” Journal of Management 18, no. 1 (1992): 93-116.
- Edward L. Deci, Richard Koestner, and Richard M. Ryan, “A Meta-Analytic Review of Experiments Examining the Effects of Extrinsic Rewards on Intrinsic Motivation,” Psychological Bulletin 125, no. 6 (1999): 627-668.
- Kathleen M. Eisenhardt, “Agency Theory: An Assessment and Review,” Academy of Management Review 14, no. 1 (1989): 57-74.