Responses to Co-workers Receiving Recognition at Work: A Case Study in Cameroon

ABSTRACT: The purpose of this study is to examine, the impact of co-workers receiving recognition on two types of responses namely, positive /negative and the resulting behavioral intentions (interpersonal counterproductive work behaviors and interpersonal citizenship behaviors). Employees might not only receive recognition themselves in their organizations and groups but often they witness others receiving it either directly by observation or indirectly through stories. This may lead to various emotions and responses, which vary based on the quality of relationship between the one recognized and his/her co-worker. Most qualitative and quantitative research have examined the positive effect recognition has on task performance (Greenberg and Ornstein, 1983; Stajkovic and Luthans, 1997, 2001, 2003); this study contends that employee recognition might also have negative effects that have been greatly disregarded in the literature. Thus the study seeks to understand the emotions that employees experience when their colleagues receive recognition and the resulting behavioral intentions. We used an experimental scenario study with a 2x2 between-subjects design with 200 employees from business, health and professional organizations in Cameroon. The findings reveal that the quality of relationship moderates the relation between others’ recognition and positive / negative emotions between both actors, as hypothesized. The study provides managers with useful knowledge on the negative effect recognition has on both task performance and the emotions of employees, enabling them to reduce undesired negative emotions and enhance positive emotions. This research is also among the first to show the negative effect of recognition on others’ emotions in Cameroon. Keywords: Employee Recognition, Relationship Quality, Interpersonal Counterproductive Behavior, Organizational Citizenship Behavior, Positive and Negative affects, Cameroon. …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………