WorkWise: Getting help from an overworked employee

Overextended co-workers might present a roadblock if you need help on a project.

How can you persuade them to help?

s the method the same if you don’t know people well?

Psychologist Beatrice Harris, founder and a managing director of Harris, Rothenberg International Inc., in New York City, says that when she coaches executives and HR professionals, she hears about people asking for help. She points out that it’s impossible for companies to make foolproof staffing plans to accommodate “all of the bursts requiring greater output. There are times when one group will have overwhelming demands and others may have a constant rate of (unrelated) work.”

Companies with seasonal demands don’t want to over-hire.

Shared history

You might think that asking a co-worker directly is the only possible method. In that case, “dig your well before you’re thirsty,” advises Janet Civitelli, vocational psychologist at VocationVillage.com in Sugar Land, Tex. “This means build relationships before you need them, not just in times of overwork and crisis.” Harris concurs: “Peer support at work is most successful/fruitful if based on a relationship and not on a task.”

Time your request well, Harris continues, when you receive the assignment rather than when you’re facing an emergency. When you approach the person, you might have to let him know about your heavy workload, because others often don’t know, according to Robert (“Robby”) Slaughter, president of Slaughter Development L.L.C., in Indianapolis, Ind.

“If they’re not overworked,” he explains, “they want you not to be either so that everyone is contributing fairly.”

After your co-worker agrees, Harris advises, “don’t feel alone in doing this. Ask who is above him and bring in the person to alter priorities, because what you’re doing is part of a greater strategy.”

Cold Turkey

Harris mentions that because many long-term relationships have been wiped out by the recession, it might be difficult to find a co-worker with whom you share a work history. This situation intensifies anxiety about productivity and potential job loss, which means that co-workers might be less likely to help you out.

Try a different approach -- “making them ‘want’ to help you!” -- exclaims Robert Rail. Through the United Nations Police Task Force, he trained police in 60 countries in interviewing and interrogation techniques, among others. Rail is author of several books, including “Surviving the International War Zone: Security Lessons Learned and Stories From Police and Military Peace-keeping Forces” (CRC Press, forthcoming, October, 2010).

Bring to the table a collaborative spirit, Rail advises. Be ready to “give something of yourself. Get food on the table — coffee, tea, doughnuts. If you don’t have something on it, you’re not going to come to an agreement with anyone. Coffee and a doughnut or piece of pie in my office nurtures conversation and cooperation.”

Next, disclose something personal about yourself, such as the good day you’re having or the deer you hit, that will help you bond. “You have to lead,” Rail observes. “You can’t just ask, ask, ask.”

Find a way to compliment your co-worker once or twice.

“Then ask his opinion or what he’d suggest and say, ‘I need a little help,’” he continues. Your co-worker might agree or might simply say, “I can’t.”

Don’t give up. Rail recommends telling the person that he’s already helped, and, a day or two later, letting him know that you worked on his suggestion or idea, with good results. Use e-mail, the telephone or a voice message. One day the person will answer your call.

If everyone around you is overworked, don’t be afraid to ask for help, whether you know your co-workers well or not.