Asking For Help At Work Is Influenced By Gender, For Engineers
Cristina Poleacovschi, Iowa State University; Amy N. Javernick-Will, University of Colorado Boulder; Sheng Wang, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, and Tony W. Tong, University of Colorado Boulder
The Research Brief is a short take about interesting academic work.
The big idea
In a study published in the Journal of Management in Engineering, we analyzed whether knowledge accessibility – defined as the time and effort that individuals spend seeking knowledge from their colleagues – is influenced by gender.
Whether solving a technical problem or seeking career advice, employees benefit from knowing who can answer their questions. However, employees may find it difficult to ask certain colleagues for help and may avoid approaching them. In the male-dominated engineering industry, where women ...