Critical Thinking Skills in the Workplace

Introduction

“The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing.” – Albert Einstein¹

Critical thinking is one of the main drivers of human consciousness. It motivates the acquisition of new knowledge and the creation of innovative proposals and solutions to problems. Moreover, this skill has a particularly valuable value in the process of communication and interaction with people. In particular, critical thinking is vital within the workplace and its effective functioning. The task of developing, training, and improving this skill is faced by managers of any organization since this ability has one of the leading roles in the success of the workplace and the company’s performance indicators. In addition, this ability helps not only to improve the quality of the performance of staff functions and the achievement of the goals of the organization but also provides employees with the opportunity to clearly understand the hierarchical structure of the company.

Thesis

Before proceeding to consider the arguments confirming the importance of critical thinking for the workplace, it is necessary to gain an understanding of the basic terminology that concerns this topic. Thus, the concept under study is defined as “is a process of objective evaluation of facts and the consideration of possible solutions to problems”². In addition, aspects such as information analysis, surveillance, inference, and communication can also be prescribed for this approach³. Consequently, the skills associated with critical thinking help in the decision-making process and in finding strategies that will help achieve the greatest efficiency.

It is worth noting that the examined topic carries some dubious characteristics, which especially concern the process of learning it. Furthermore, research stated that “the controversy in critical thinking instruction is referred to as the generic vs. discipline-specific debate between the generalists and the specificists”⁴. The issue is that some hold the opinion that this skill should be taught in a generalized manner, while others emphasize the need to consider it as a subject-specific skill. The development of this aspect will not only improve the organization’s ability to adapt to changing conditions but also improve communication among staff. Thus, critical thinking is important in the workplace as it provides a large number of benefits to the company to improve performance indicators and employee relationships

The most common information that was found during the research on the focus question were the advantages that critical thinking skill provides in the workplace. The research emphasized that “it means sorting among useful and arbitrary details to come up with a big-picture perspective that leads to an impactful decision or solution to a problem”⁵. Many sources investigated in the framework of this work pointed to the effectiveness of critical thinking on the part of finding solutions and alternatives to solve the problem that has arisen. Moreover, this skill can be compared with the ability to think objectively since they both focus on analyzing a variety of factors to determine conclusions.

It is worth noting that there is a large amount of information that focuses specifically on the process of solving issues in the workplace. In addition, there is much more of this data than those that prove the benefits of critical thinking as a tool for interaction within the organization. Henceforth, the ability to soberly evaluate and analyze information is a valuable skill for the most successful and efficient problem-solving and strategy development process in the workplace.

The following idea that needs to be considered in the framework of studying the importance of critical thinking skills in the workplace is its role in the communication and interaction of employees with each other. Hence, it is underlined that it “is a method for structuring the important messages so that they have the most possible impact”⁶.

Therefore, people who have this skill at a sufficiently high level have the opportunity to more effectively and quickly achieve the main goals of communication. Moreover, they are most often in the most favorable relationships with other employees. Another advantage of critical communication in the framework of the workplace environment is its significant contribution to the improvement of staff collaboration. Thus, this circumstance arises as a result of the fact that individuals are able to correctly distribute roles among themselves due to awareness of each other’s strengths and weaknesses and taking into account the ultimate goal that they must achieve. In addition, during group work, employees who have well-developed critical thinking skills are able to communicate their thoughts to other team members in an organized and consistent manner.

Consequently, collaboration is devoid of unnecessary and unnecessary information that can worsen the outcomes of the activity. An analogy can be drawn between the overall ability to communicate in a group setting and the skill of critical thinking since they both most favorably affect the functioning of personnel in the workplace. After researching various sources, this scientific paper came to the conclusion that there is a relatively small number of studies concerning the role of the examined topic in employee communication, which necessitates further research. Thus, in addition to the positive impact of critical thinking skills on staff productivity, it also positively affects communication among employees in the workplace.

An equally important aspect is the training of the organization’s employees in critical thinking. Every company should understand that investing in improving the skills of staff can provide significant benefits for it, which is also emphasized by increasing employee satisfaction and reducing stressful situations and lack of effectiveness. The main goals of education are to spread awareness about the importance of this skill and improve productivity and the environment in the workplace. First of all, research stated that “in order to teach critical thinking skills and enable people to master them, educators should choose a strategy that encourages them to understand and apply such skills”⁷. In other words, before starting to train personnel in this approach, company managers should determine what goals they want to achieve after graduation. The next step is to provide employees with an understanding of how to work with information in the examined framework.

Hence, this implies training in analyzing data, the sources from which they originate, and finding answers to any questions that arise. When forming an opinion on a particular problem, the elaboration of various aspects of the issue is of particular importance. In other words, it is necessary to consider all points of view in order to limit prejudices and personal judgments and achieve the highest degree of objectivity. This is important within the workplace, as this environment is often characterized by a high level of diversity. This aspect is considered vital because, despite the fact that everyone has a certain level of development of this skill, its improvement is important in any change of environment and external conditions. Therefore, the training in critical thinking should be similar to any other skills that are necessary to improve the quality of work in the organization and interpersonal relationships.

Conclusion

In conclusion, this research investigated the importance of critical thinking skills within the workplace and the benefits they provide for the company. Thus, one of the first positive aspects of this aspect is the increase in productivity and the decision-making process in the company. This is due to the fact that critical thinking provides an opportunity to weigh all possible alternatives and develop a strategy or solution most objectively and effectively. Further, the skill under study is important in the process of communication between employees in a work environment. It promotes the establishment of cooperative activities and the improvement of relationships between diverse groups of individuals.

Of particular value is the construction of a proper staff training process regarding the improvement of critical thinking skills. This process involves spreading awareness and providing understanding and the ability to evaluate and analyze multiple points of view before making a decision. Therefore, it can be concluded that critical thinking is a process that helps to find answers to various questions, such as how best to solve a problem, which can help improve communication between people and feed one’s curiosity. In addition, this skill is essential for the workplace and is an integral part of the organization’s functioning.

The Reference List

B. Monych, ‘Critical Thinking Skills: How to Develop Them in Every Employee,’ Insperity, 2022. Web.

B.S. Bhasin, ‘Critical Thinking is the Key to Effective Communication,’ Linkedin, 2019. Web.

Eagle’s Flight. How to Promote Critical Thinking in the Workplace. Web.

N. J. Alsaleh, ‘Teaching Critical Thinking Skills: Literature Review,’ Turkish Online Journal of Educational Technology-TOJET, vol. 19, no. 1, 2020, pp. 21-39.

R. Paul and L. Elder. (2019). The Miniature Guide to Critical Thinking Concepts and Tools. Maryland, Rowman & Littlefield.

S. Wang, ‘An Exploration into Research on Critical Thinking and Its Cultivation: An Overview,’ Theory & Practice in Language Studies, vol. 7, no. 12, 2017, pp. 1266-1280.

Teach Thought. 40 Of The Best Quotes About Critical Thinking. Web.

Footnotes

1. Teach Thought. 40 Of The Best Quotes About Critical Thinking. Web.
2. Eagle’s Flight. How to Promote Critical Thinking in the Workplace. Web.
3. R. Paul and L. Elder. (2019). The Miniature Guide to Critical Thinking Concepts and Tools. Maryland, Rowman & Littlefield.
4. S. Wang, ‘An Exploration into Research on Critical Thinking and Its Cultivation: An Overview,’ Theory & Practice in Language Studies, vol. 7, no. 12, 2017, pp. 1273.
5. B. Monych, ‘Critical Thinking Skills: How to Develop Them in Every Employee,’ Insperity, 2022. Web.
6. B.S. Bhasin, ‘Critical Thinking is the Key to Effective Communication,’ Linkedin, 2019. Web.
7. N. J. Alsaleh, ‘Teaching Critical Thinking Skills: Literature Review,’ Turkish Online Journal of Educational Technology-TOJET, vol. 19, no. 1, 2020, p. 27.