How to ask for help at work (without feeling awkward)

Hi everybody, it is Helen here from the Squiggly Careers podcast and you are listening to one of our Squiggly shortcut episodes. These episodes come out every Thursday. They're designed to be a really quick listen to help you with the specific challenge, opportunity, problem you might be having at work right now. And today's topic is about asking for help. The more we are able to ask for help at work,

the less likely we are to get stuck in situations and the more able we are to succeed in our squiggly career. So good news on that front. However, the bad news is that lots of us find this really hard to do. We worry that people will think we don't know what we're doing, so we feel a bit vulnerable and exposed when we ask for help. Also, if you're anything like me, I have this sort of

dogged persistence where I think, well, I'll just, I'll just work a bit harder and then I'll be able to do it. Or perhaps sometimes you think, well, I don't want to bother that person because they're really busy too. But all of these blockers that we put in the way of asking for help means that we are more likely to struggle for longer. it's more likely that we're going to be ineffective in the way that we're working. You know, it's faster and easier and often more enjoyable when we ask for the help that we need at work.

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