We all need help at work from time to time. Whether the client wants a last minute presentation, a coworker goes on maternity leave, or a problem halts production, there are times when the team has to pull together to accomplish its goals. But how far should you go to pitch in? Before you volunteer to once again help that coworker who always seems to be behind the eight ball, ask yourself these questions:
How far are you willing to go? Find out how big the task is and how long you’re expected to stick with it. Do you have a part in the process or will you be responsible for the entire project? To be motivated, do you need to feel like your coworker is working as hard as she can? How do you know she is? For example, will you be frustrated if you’re cold calling in the snow in February while she’s setting up her home office? Is she asking you to do things she could easily do herself? IE: If she asks you to order file folders and have them sent to that home office, will that tick you off? It’s hard to persist completing her tasks in addition to your normal job if you dislike them. Are you friends with this person? It’s both easier and harder to help out a friend. She’s counting on you to meet her needs and you feel guilty when you have to put your work first. Will you lose this friend if you refuse to help or if you make a mistake?
Is there any way this can backfire? If helping someone else endangers one of your projects you have to say no, even if it causes conflict with your coworker. Is this task temporary or will you end up her permanent unofficial assistant? When you take on a responsibility, there’s always a chance it will become part of your job and you won’t be compensated for it. Are you okay with that? Is this coworker infamous for trying to give her work away? Helping her could give you a reputation as a doormat. Do you already help other people? If so, you may want to limit your assistance to performing the same task for everyone. For example, If you proofread team members’ activity reports, you not only define your boundary, you can also position yourself as a Subject Matter Expert. If you help on this project and it fails, will you be held responsible? If you help on this project and it succeeds, will you get credit?
Can you take advantage? If you’re going to take on extra responsibilities temporarily, make sure they’re a good use of your precious time. If it’s a way to learn new skills, allows you to stretch out of your comfort zone, pay it forward, makes you a value added employee, increases your visibility to the company in a positive way, and/or makes you look good at performance review time, you should consider it. Maybe you currently have too much time on your hands. Is this project a way to keep busy? It’s actually easier to be busy than to try to look busy. Maybe this temporary responsibility is something that comes naturally to you. If it’s easy for you, go for it.
Like the Beatles, we get by with a little help from our friends. But serial assisting does not get you promoted; it gets the person you’re assisting promoted. Find that boundary between helpful and doormat and don’t cross it.
Share your stories of how far you go to help your team here: