TIP OF THE WEEK

When offering help at work can be harmful

Whether it’s a aggravating “mansplainer” or a chatty Kathy who always needs to chime in, coworkers who offer unsolicited help may be doing more harm than good, according to new workplace research from Michigan State University.

Offering unsolicited “expertise” is not only often unproductive, it is unappreciated and can harm a coworker’s self-esteem and feelings of competency, the study found.

“When advice or help is unsolicited, it can lead to a few issues. First, the advice/help may not be very useful or informative because there is a very real possibility that the helper does not have an accurate understanding of the problem or situation, at least compared to when help is explicitly requested,” said Michigan State University management professor Russell Johnson. “Second, when it isn’t requested, unsolicited advice/help may restrict or limit recipients’ sense of autonomy or freedom at work, which is an important psychological state. Employees tend to be more motivated and engaged in work when they feel a sense of autonomy.

“Third, when it isn’t requested, unsolicited advice/help may also be experienced as a threat to recipients’ sense of competence. Recipients may wonder, ‘Is there something wrong with me?’ or ‘Am I making mistakes or errors?’ when they are targeted for advice/help-giving. When advice/help is requested, this threat to competence is less likely,” Johnson said.

NO BENEFIT FOR ANYONE

The moral of the story is to limit offers of help to when asked; otherwise, focus your attention and energy on your own work.

“Our findings suggest that the mental drain on those who provide proactive or unsolicited help comes from having to continually monitor the environment for opportunities to offer help and figuring out what type of help is required,” Johnson said.

Offers of unsolicited help can also have a negative effect on recipients.

“In our study, we found that receiving gratitude from recipients offset the depleting effects of providing help; however, gratitude is most likely when help is solicited versus unsolicited,” Johnson said. “Unsolicited help led to less gratitude, which left helpers subsequently feeling mentally fatigued and disengaged from work.”

The research was based on previous findings that showed how helping colleagues actually slowed down their success. Johnson’s research looked more closely at different kinds of help people offer their coworkers and how that help is received.

When employees provide unsolicited help, they are less likely to receive gratitude from the help recipient, the study found.

“This lack of gratitude and recognition actually led helpers to become less prosocial, cooperative and engaged at work the following day. Thus, there appear to be negative spillover effects from one day to the next when episodes of providing unsolicited help backfire,” Johnson said. Better options

Are you a problem-solver who likes to share ideas at work? Johnson advises “it’s best to stay in your own swim lane.” It’s better to focus your problem-solving skills on your own work until help is requested by others.

“For the reasons mentioned above, providing unsolicited help tends to backfire for both recipients and help providers,” Johnson said.

When help is needed, be straightforward and make an explicit request for help, he said.