We tend to think of support at work as always helpful. Advice. Guidance. A quick assist when things get tough. But research shows some kinds of support quietly do more harm than good.

Certain forms of workplace support don’t restore energy or build trust—they drain it. And over time, they can erode engagement and fuel burnout.

Researchers describe several types of unhelpful workplace social support:

All of these are unhelpful ways of supporting people. But of these, two stand out as especially damaging: partial support and undependable support.

To understand why, it helps to refer to our basic psychological needs at work: competence, volition, and relatedness. Competence is the need to feel capable and effective. Feeling that you have volition or agency means you can provide input on decisions or choose how things are done. Relatedness is the need........

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