The Social Costs of Seeking Help

Abstract

Proactivelyseeking help from others involves “social costs” because the help seeker appears incompetent, dependent, and inferior to others. This article hypothesizes that these costs are especially threatening when the help seeker is male and in a male-oriented occupational role, when the helper is in a higher or lower status role than the help seeker, and when the task is novel and central to the organization’s core competence. A field study examined physician and nurse help seeking regarding a new computer system within a large hospital. The results showed that individuals reported less help seeking when theywere male, in male-oriented occupations, and when the task was central to the organization’s core competence. Perceived social costs mediated these effects.