To think that this is nothing other than a popularity contest

[atheistmantis]

At work my boss has put up a large notice board in reception where customers can see it. The idea is that colleagues write something on it to praise another colleague. It seems to me like it's just going to be one great popularity contest, we will see - it went up today so time will tell.aibu or,cynical ?

It depends on the maturity and integrity of your colleagues, but you might well be correct. It's really for your boss to manage it effectively - eg. if someone's taken the trouble to help another colleague, suggest they recognise them by adding it to the board; intervene if people are adding names without a robust reason etc.