There are various sources for feedback to employees. One makes a distinction between feedback that arises from an employee's own activity and feedback that is socially mediated through other persons.

Feedback from anemployee's own work can, inter alia, take place through checking the action steps he or she took. This way, employees obtain feedback on whether the aimed working goal has already been achieved, or on how far they are still from achieving the goal, respectively.

Socially mediated feedback can emanate from line managers and co-workers, as well as from third parties such as clients, patients or customers. It is provided, for example, within a working day, with a time delay or summatively. Examples of the latter are annual reviews, among others. In addition, socially mediated feedback is provided either directly to an individual or to groups of employees.

Current state of knowledge

A scoping review by the Federal Institute for Occupational Safety and Health summarises the state of scientific knowledge of feedback. It considers its interrelation with (mental) health and well-being. It also describes its relation to motivation, job satisfaction and performance. The review also reveals research gaps and discusses options for designing this factor.

The project "Mental Health in the Working World"

The scoping review on feedback is part of the project "Mental Health in the Working World - determining the current state of scientific evidence". The project assesses mental load factors based on the state of scientific knowledge.

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