Mr. Unhelpful

We all like to hear this question: “Can I help you?” when we are busy or need help.  No matter how busy we are, there is always something delegable.

If you ask your peers or boss to do something for them, you will be considered as someone who is:

• Willing to help,
• Willing to learn,
• Able to work under pressure,
• Thinking of the well-being of the others.

That nice behavior makes the difference, and your peers are not that unprofessional to give you complicated tasks to perform for them. You can just ask a colleague adding this sentence to it:

“I have one free hour. Could you please teach me something? I can help you if you are busy.”

No matter what his rank, ethnicity, religion, sex, etc. are, you will receive a smile, a big consideration, and high respect. If you are given some work, you will benefit from that occasion at several levels:

• You will find another opportunity to learn
• They become friends of yours,
• Promotion is on the way,
• Working under pressure will no longer be an issue.

This way you avoid making this mistake which has the following other features:

• Taking a vacation during a stressful time,
• Taking long breaks while everybody is super busy,
• Pretending to be sick on Fridays or Mondays,
• Getting a lot of half days to attend personal appointments,
• Pretending to be busy, while you are not,
• Having multiple breaks per day.

Another case is when a colleague is on vacation, or is just absent for some reasonable reason. Some employees refuse to offer help and to cover on the absent colleague. They just throw the whole job he usually does on the lap of others. This behavior, which is selfish and inhuman, if done by you, will absolutely make you the last person your coworkers wish to deal with in the future. In more serious cases, they will not say “yes”, when asked if you should get the job.

If you become a full time employee, you can imagine how your work days are going to be spent among people who just do not prefer to work with you. A lot of people resign just because they feel marginalized. If you are one of those who look for love and affection at work, you might feel sad and isolated if they refuse to share with you some funny moments, breaks, meals or even simple conversations.

Last, I need to remind you that the company, which means your peers, needs all your time. If you can make yourself available to help, whenever you have nothing to do or a task which can be delayed, you will create a place for you in the company. Again, if you do not offer help at all, and stay hidden somewhere under fake tasks, when you remark that your colleagues need your help, it is absolutely inhuman. It can be done on you in the future.