Scripts
How to Ask for Help at Work
A script for getting things off your plate while still seeming competent
Most job listings — regardless of company, industry, or role — seek the same few qualities: The ideal candidate has a can-do attitude, and a team-player mentality. You’re a self-starter and a go-getter. You believe that no job is too big or too small.
Amid all these clichés, job listings rarely mention an essential quality in today’s collaborative workplaces: the ability to ask for help. The failure to value and hire for this quality sets up the conditions that lead to employee burnout.
A can-do attitude sounds great, but as with most things, it works best in moderation. In some cases, the desire to be seen as helpful or proactive can push a high-achieving employee to take on more than they can reasonably handle — and then refuse to ask for help when they need it, choosing instead to suffer with a smile.
In a 2018 Gallup study, 23% of full-time workers reported feeling burned out at work very often or always, while an additional 44% said they felt burned out some of the time. Unsurprisingly, one of the major causes of burnout, according to the study, was an unmanageable workload.
