There are some people for whom a list of instructions on how to do something on a computer is an insurmountable obstacle of such immense and intimidating fury that they can't even make an attempt to try it themselves and they immediately put in a help desk ticket for "assistance," which means "Send an IT guy down to do it for me." Following directions is impossible for them, so the sight of a list of instructions instantly means they need someone else to do it for them. These people are also in the position make decisions that affect the lives and careers of other people.
Some say it's weaponized incompetence. In some cases, perhaps it is. Malicious actors want to pass their work onto someone else, so they "ask for help" and feign incompetence to frustrate someone until they just do it themselves. It's the dynamic of "you're just so much better at it than I am." But this can't be the only answer. And ultimately, we shouldn't attribute to malice what could be explained by simple incompetence. Most people are just too stupid.
One magical phrase I have become accustomed to is, "It's just easier." It's the phrase spoken by those who walk all the way across the office building to "ask a question" and interrupt someone's workflow knowing full well that there are multiple electronic (and asynchronous!) methods of communication that aren't as inconsiderate, or needy, or attention-demanding. "It's just easier" to walk over to you. It's easier because they can't psychologically contend with changing how they interact with the world. It's just easier if you do my job for them. Whatever you're doing is less important than them, right now.
Often times it seems to come down to basic, ordinary problem solving skills. There are those who will assume you're some kind of super genius if you are capable of searching the internet for an answer to a specific question. Maybe you'll be able to fix it yourself. Maybe you'll have to look up the model number, or the software specifically. Maybe you'll have to call the company's support line. The point is that it pays to be able to search for an answer. Some people have no ability to do this and don't seem the slightest bit interested in learning how. The thought of trying to learn how angers them. They shouldn't have to, they think.
"I am not a tech person," they breathlessly exclaim. In their minds, a tech person is a being imbued with an otherworldly mythical power to know exactly what to do at any given moment on a computer. These people have no ability to understand what a computer is trying to show them, no capability to parse a UI, so if anything is even slightly out of place, like an ant who lost the line, they are completely confounded and have no idea what to do. Some people don't know how to do their jobs, they simply know what to click, and when to click it, and where it is physically located on their computer screen when the time comes to click it. This is called rote learning. They learn through--and live by--repetition and memory triggers. They don't know what their job is or why, they just know what to click. A "tech person" is required, in their mind, to operate this machine. They aren't one, so their inability to perform the basic functions of their jobs becomes someone else's problem.
I've come to the conclusion that some people have no ability to think in new ways or to learn new things. Many people have no ability to think differently, or to explore, or to even realize fully that there is another person with their own set of problems on the other side of every conversation. Their brain simply stops and gives up, short-circuits. The thought that their rote-learned procedures, the numbered list of steps they frantically scribbled on their first day on the job, might change in some way is an affront to them. Perhaps it extends from Impostor Syndrome. "If they make me change, they'll see that I'm barely smart enough and that I have no business being in this job and they'll find someone who knows what they're doing."
There are an awful lot of people who do not deserve their job or salary. Many of them could retire, but don't want to, so they're sticking around and sabotaging the careers and lives of the younger and more capable workers.
~[MD]