By: Natasha Archary
Human Resources Executive at Lanseria International Airport, Boniwe Dunster says how employees handle criticism in the workplace is very important for a healthy career.
According to Boniwe, a study by the Harvard Business Review found constructive criticism to be the best way to get the attention of an employee who has become unproductive or complacent.
Accepting criticism at work can be an important step toward increasing your efficiency and professional success.
Here’s how to stop taking criticism personally:
Toxic positivity
Social media influencers have gained more traction. While some use their influence to inspire and motivate people to success, there are others, like Kim who remain highly critical of people.
The difference between constructive criticism and attacking someone personally is that the latter is detrimental to a person’s morale.
Constructive critique will focus on:
- Actions and behaviour focusing on what someone has or has not done
- Facts, with specific examples of behaviour that is inappropriate
- Future improvement, for example, requiring an employee to do something differently or make changes
Having constructive critique means there’s room for improvement and areas of focus that can be worked on.
Dealing with highly critical people
Critical people make rude comments, judge our decisions, talk at length about what we’re doing wrong and rarely have anything positive to say.
Learning to deal with critical people will entail more than just a tough skin.
You will need to assert yourself and establish firm boundaries which sets the tone for your engagements.
- Be assertive
- Back up your words with behaviour
- Give feedback
- Take a break from the person
- Remember their opinions are just that
