Every single worker deserves to get feedback regularly. Corrective or constructive feedback might come to mind as the default type of feedback people give and receive at work, but positive feedback is arguably more important.

Why is positive feedback so important? There’s a saying that good works goes unnoticed. It’s easy to ignore high performers and focus on employees who need the most help. But if you allow your good workers to go unnoticed too long, they will feel unappreciated and will start looking for another job.

Positive feedback is empowering. When managers and colleagues acknowledge that someone has done a good job, that person feels seen. Their contributions are noticed. It helps them understand how and why the work they do matters. In other words, they feel good about job. When people are happy at work, they’re more likely be engaged and less likely to leave. Research also shows that productivity is a self-reinforcing cycle: When people feel productive, they’re likely to be productive. Telling people when they do a good job is a way of making them feel productive.

The opposite is true, too. When good work goes unnoticed, people feel like they’re operating in a vacuum. They might believe their contributions don’t matter, and that no one notices whether they complete their work at all.

Having a culture of feedback comes from the top. Leaders and managers have to give feedback often to not only set the tone that feedback is encouraged, but also to teach people through example how it’s done. When leaders normalize feedback, it implicitly gives everyone else permission to share their comments, ideas, suggestions, and encouragements, too.

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