Constructive Criticism in the Workplace

October 8, 2012

According to Merriam-Webster, criticism is defined as, "the art of evaluating or analyzing works of art or literature; a critical observation or remark."  Not a lot of people like to be on the receiving end of criticism, especially if it is for something they were not even a part of.  Constructive criticism is exactly what its name implies; it is supposed to be constructive, to help someone rise above a problem or mistake in a polite manner while complimenting anything they might have done correctly or above expectations.  Constructive criticism is especially important in the workplace because managers don’t want their employees to feel belittled or insulted to the point of them quitting.

In my experience, I have given and received my fair share of constructive criticism.  As a new team leader in a retail warehouse, I had to receive constructive criticism in order to succeed.  One time I received constructive criticism because I had a task of resetting a section layout for the seasonal department.  I decided to take the task on myself instead of using associates from other departments, who were busy getting the store ready for close.  I did stay overnight to complete the project with a couple of associates on the third shift.  On previous projects, my manager explained that these projects can be completed faster with the help of more people.  This was said because while I usually knocked out a layout change rather quickly, myself, I also tended to not bother other people in different departments.  I knew that the other departments had their own jobs to do.  I did, however, talk to the third shift manager and asked to have a couple of associates help me after they had finished their stocking for the night.  All in all, the project was finished and I was able to get it done a little faster with the help of two more people.  By being both a team member and a leader, I successfully completed what I set out to do and that I did collaborate with two more associates on the night crew to finish.  I still left the day associates to do their jobs before they left because I knew that I could ask the third shifters, so it worked out for everyone.