One third of office workers would rather clean the toilet, than ask colleagues for help, — study

According to a study, conducted by the American consulting company Pryority Group, almost one in three US office workers surveyed admitted, that they would rather clean toilets, than ask their colleagues for help.

The study, called “Social Muscle,” was conducted in 2024 and aimed to find out the level of social relationships between office workers in the workplace. The study indicates a rapid degradation of employees’ social skills, including the need to ask questions, make contacts, and overcome discomfort.

Remote work, which has become very common since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, has led to the atrophy of many social skills among office workers. Everyone is used to the fact, that meetings can be held online and messages can be rewritten or edited, which reduces the risk of awkwardness, that inevitably arises during direct interaction between people.

A “sculpted” image reduces risk, but it also eliminates the small mistakes, that make us real to each other. These imperfections, that make people feel uncomfortable and human, are increasingly disappearing in the course of work, and social interaction skills atrophy. 

If a colleague generously responds to a request for help, the relationship becomes stronger. If someone admits, that they don’t know something and learns from someone else, their competence grows. If failure is treated with respect, the feeling grows stronger. It is these uncomfortable moments that encourage personal growth. 

A Pryority Group study found, that 56% of american office workers are more likely to work individually, than collectively. At the same time, 44% of respondents called their relationships with work colleagues superficial. According to 63% of respondents, the reason for this is lies in modern technologies.

The survey involved 750 people from all over the United States. They worked for various companies on a full-time or part-time basis. The respondents were between the ages of 18 and 65.

The Pryority Group concluded, that people around the world are losing the ability to communicate freely with each other. The most vulnerable in this regard are the generation of so-called “buzzers” — people born in the second half of the 1990s.

The study shows, that it is these people, who find it most difficult to ask their colleagues for help or discuss their own mistakes with them. Avoidance of inconvenience and interaction with colleagues leads to the formation of an avoidant type in working relationships. This, in turn, leads to the accumulation of problems that are not solved. The atmosphere of growing tension and passive aggression can lead to the collapse of the team.

Pryority Group recommends, that employers balance remote and office work so that employees cross paths more often and disputes are resolved. A healthy team atmosphere reduces the risk of depression and burnout

The results of the study are published on the website Pryority Group

Source: Forbes