The Association Blog

Try this science-based practice today, and you might just be surprised

We’re expected to be capable and self-sufficient in the workplace, so asking for help can feel vulnerable. Since we’re all often stretched so thin, we may not want to place a burden on other team members. And if you get the nerve to ask, suppose they say no?!

But guess what? The Greater Good Science Center recommends taking a few minutes to leave your reluctance behind and ask someone for a favor. Like all the practices on Greater Good In Action’s website, this one has science to back it up. “Research suggests that many of our fears about asking for help are unfounded,” says GGSC. “In fact, we tend to underestimate the chance of a positive response by up to 50 percent—meaning that a ‘yes’ is much more likely than we think.”

The result is that you may save time, become more efficient, strengthen work relationships and learn to approach situations by seeing the best in people. Here you’ll find how to ask for help and why to try it, along with an altruism quiz to determine if you’re a giver or a Grinch.

If you try this, let us know how the experiment goes.

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Photo: ASPCApro