How to Handle Criticism and Nonconstructive Feedback
N icole Wolfe, B.S. At one point or another, no doubt, you’ve flipped through the channels and seen a zebra instinctively fleeing a hungry lion. This reaction is part of a natural response to threats called the acute stress response—or more commonly, fight-flight-or-freeze—which is hard wired in the brains of humans and animals. And while taking flight from a lion is a zebra’s productive response to a threat, this response does not work so effectively in the workplace. Unlike in the animal kingdom, the threats that induce the acute stress response at work are not life threatening. More often than not, these “threats” are merely criticisms of our work. When a boss or co-workers criticize us, we feel the same immediate stress that causes the zebra to flee. In the workplace, this automatic response is characterized by verbal defensiveness (fight), avoiding the situation (flight), or having no response at all (freeze). These responses do nothing more than leave us with a sinking feelin