It's a good thing to do. I don't agree with the first point about asking first. Ask if you like; if not don't ask. It's up to you. I'm afraid that yet again I p

It's a good thing to do. I don't agree with the first point about asking first. Ask if you like; if not don't ask. It's up to you. I'm afraid that yet again I put this down to the modern cultural schism among people who would describe themselves as liberals, with those on the progressive left adopting extremes of sensitivity that I find over the top. Specifically, I disagree with her points as follows: 1. Giving someone a compliment that’s not in line with their current goals. Try to judge that yourself. But your coworker has no control over what others say; one of the risks in life, somewhere fairly low down in a list with many elements, is the risk that a coworker will compliment you for something that's not in line with your goals. Deal with it. 2. Giving someone the wrong “level” of compliment. For example, if they’re a very senior engineer and you say something like “PERSON did SIMPLE_ROUTINE_TASK really well!” That will make you look silly, not them. 3. If your coworker was supposed to be focusing on a specific project, and you’re complimenting them for helping with something totally unrelated, their manager might think that they’re not focusing on their “real” work. Make it one of your aims to have the sense to get that right. 4.Some people have terrible managers (for example, maybe the manager will feel threatened by your coworker excelling) Make it one of your aims to have the sense to get that right. 5. Some people just don’t like being called out in that way, and are happy with the level of recognition they’re getting! Bad luck; they don't control what others do.