I think there is an upside. Or at least a perceived upside. The employee may feel like they went above and beyond what was expected and wanted to be recognized

I think there is an upside. Or at least a perceived upside. The employee may feel like they went above and beyond what was expected and wanted to be recognized for that. This may be the only way they get recognized. I’m not condoning this. And I think the long term costs/price outweigh the gain of affirmation/recognition they may want. But I do believe there is an emotional calculus that goes into this.