The problem with informal "people will notice" reward schemes, even when administered well (and don't take that for granted, it's easy for them to become popula

The problem with informal "people will notice" reward schemes, even when administered well (and don't take that for granted, it's easy for them to become popularity contests!), is that they encourage bad work-life balance among more junior employees. If you regularly have people popping up at 10 PM to fix things, and you don't have any formal recognition of the fact that they've gone above and beyond, new hires who want to get ahead will learn that working late into the night is the way to do that.