For much of corporate history there has been a reluctance to ask for help, for fear it would expose your lack of knowledge, and limit your career prospects as a result.  In recent times that has begun to change however, as our more collaborative workplaces encourage knowledge sharing and cooperative working.

Previous research has shown that actually giving help might not be all that useful however, as it can take up valuable time from your normal tasks.  A recent study from Michigan State university suggests it might not even be well received.

“Right now, there’s a lot of stress on productivity in the workplace, and to be a real go-getter and help everyone around you,” the authors say. “But, it’s not necessarily the best thing when you go out looking for problems and spending time trying to fix them.”

Giving help the right way

The research revolved around proactive and reactive offers of assistance, or in other words, whether the recipient asked for your help or not.  The study found that when we’re proactive and offer help, we often lack a clear understanding of the problems people face, so we aren’t met with a whole lot of gratitude.  Likewise, if people are constantly asking if you need help, it may undermine your faith in your abilities.  It suggests that being proactively supportive can be problematic for both parties.

“Being proactive can have toxic effects, especially on the helper. They walk away receiving less gratitude from the person that they’re helping, causing them to feel less motivated at work the next day. More often than not, help recipients won’t express gratitude immediately, which makes it meaningless as it relates to the helper’s actual act,” the researcher says.  “As for the person receiving the unrequested help, they begin to question their own competency and feel a threat to their workplace autonomy.”

Suffice to say, they aren’t advocating a return to keeping ourselves to ourselves and not helping others, but more offering assistance mainly when it’s asked for.  It’s an approach that does require us to be perhaps be better at asking for help than many of us are, but it would hopefully ensure that both parties come out of the encounter feeling better for it.