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Seeking Help May Enhance Perceptions of Competence: Examining Direct and Indirect Help Seeking in the Workplace

Ningxin Wang & Guanjin Zhang

Communication Research2026https://doi.org/10.1177/00936502261428827article
ABDC A
Weight
0.50

Abstract

In an increasingly challenging workplace, help from colleagues is essential for employees’ performance and development. Yet, individuals often hesitate to seek help at work, fearing that they may appear incompetent. The current research examined how verbal strategies used to seek help at work would affect helpers’ perceptions of the help seekers’ competence. Guided by the sensitive interaction systems theory, we focused on the directness and indirectness of help seeking communication. Through two studies employing complementary methodologies, we found that helpers judged the competence of help seekers based on their inferred causes for the help requests. Specifically, helpers evaluated seekers as more competent when they attributed the help seeking to a high motivation to succeed rather than a lack of ability. Additionally, direct help seeking was associated with higher perceived competence of the help seeker, which was mediated by the helpers’ inferences of a high motivation to succeed as the cause of help seeking.

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https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1177/00936502261428827

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@article{ningxin2026,
  title        = {{Seeking Help May Enhance Perceptions of Competence: Examining Direct and Indirect Help Seeking in the Workplace}},
  author       = {Ningxin Wang & Guanjin Zhang},
  journal      = {Communication Research},
  year         = {2026},
  doi          = {https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1177/00936502261428827},
}

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Evidence weight

0.50

Balanced mode · F 0.40 / M 0.15 / V 0.05 / R 0.40

F · citation impact0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20
M · momentum0.50 × 0.15 = 0.07
V · venue signal0.50 × 0.05 = 0.03
R · text relevance †0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20

† Text relevance is estimated at 0.50 on the detail page — for your query’s actual relevance score, open this paper from a search result.