Asking for help is not an admission of weakness or failure. It can help you get the job done faster or better and might lead to a positive improvement for everybody. Most people are anxious about asking for help and worried that they’ll be rejected, but helping other people makes the person helping feel good, so they are unlikely to say no.
Who to ask?
When you start work, you should be introduced to your supervisor or line manager, who you probably met during the recruitment process. They are the person who is responsible for your work and managing your performance.
Your supervisor or line manager is usually your first point of contact for any issues that you have
If you work for a larger organisation, there may be a Human Resources team you could speak to, or a union representative. You may also be allocated a work mentor or supporter who is there to help you.
Why ask for help?
You might ask for help if:
- You don’t understand something – this doesn’t reflect badly on you, it is usually as much to do with the person who originally explained it to you.
- You’ve made a mistake – don’t worry, we all do – the most important thing is that you noticed and have admitted to it
- You are undecided how to do something – such as responding to a particular question being asked. Getting someone else’s opinion often helps reassure you that your original thinking was sensible. If their opinion is different from yours it might also lead to a better solution, either by adding their ideas to your own, or by swapping them
- You want to learn – this is something every employer values in an employee. Being curious about how things work and why we do them this way helps us to understand our own work and learning new things is a strong motivator.
When to ask for help
When you are feeling really anxious, sorting out a concern sooner is better than leaving it
However, getting the timing right when to asking for help is important. Try not to ask when you can see that someone is really busy, just before a break time or at end of the day or shift. Agree to talk at a time when it would be convenient for the person who
