向前一步:第142期 不要身还在 心已远(16)

 But she thought about all the time and money she had already invested in her career and didn't see how walking away made economic sense either. 但她回想起自己已经在事业中投入的时间和金钱成本，这让她确定自己离开职场也不会有什么经济意义，

So she made what she called "a leap of blind faith" and stayed in the workforce¹. 所以她“盲目地信心大增”，决定继续为事业打拼。

Years later, her income is many times greater than when she almost withdrew. 多年以后，她的收入增加了很多倍。

Wisely, Anna and other women have started to think of paying for child care as a way of investing in their families' future. 费勒将补贴育儿费用看作是为家庭未来投资的一种方式，这很聪明。

As the years go by, compensation often increases. 如果一位女性的薪酬随着工作时间而增加，其职位也随之而提升，

Flexibility² typically increases, too, as senior leaders often have more control over their hours and schedules. 那么她工作时间的灵活度显然也会提高，因为职位更高的管理者通常可以更好地安排自己的工作时间和日程。

And what about men who want to leave the workforce? 那么，假如一位男性想离开职场呢？

If we make it too easy for women to drop out of the career marathon, we also make it too hard for men. 我们很容易接受女人退出职场的马拉松比赛，那么我们对待想退出的男性却会更加苛刻。

Just as women feel that they bear the primary responsibility of caring for their children, 正如女性认为养育孩子是家庭重担，

many men feel that they bear the primary responsibility of supporting their families financially. 许多男性为了养家糊口也不堪重负。

Their self-worth is tied mainly to their professional success, and they frequently believe that they have no choice but to finish that marathon. 他们的自我价值基本上都与事业成功绑在了一起，所以除了拼命跑完这趟马拉松外，他们别无选择。

Choosing to leave a child in someone else's care and return to work is a difficult decision. 把孩子留给保姆照看，自己重返职场，要做出这个选择是很困难的。

Any parent who has done this, myself included, knows how heart wrenching³ it can be. 有过这种经历的父母，包括我自己，都明白这会有多么痛苦。

Only a compelling, challenging, and rewarding job will begin to make that choice a fair contest. 但是，只有赢得一份能够说服自己、具有挑战性并且回报丰厚的工作，才能让这种选择成为一场公平的比赛。

And even after a choice is made, parents have every right to reassess along the way. 而且，即使在做出这个选择之后，我们也完全有权利对生活重新评价。

Anyone lucky enough to have options should keep them open. 任何幸运到可以自由选择的人都应该保持这样的开放度，

Don't enter the workforce already looking for the exit. 不要在刚刚驶入职场高速路时就寻找出口。

Don't put on the brakes. Accelerate. 不要踩刹车，要加速。

Keep a foot on the gas pedal until a decision must be made. 一脚踩在油门上，直到必须做出选择的那一刻。

That's the only way to ensure that when that day comes, there will be a real decision to make. 只有这样，才能够保证在那一刻到来时，你所做出的是一个正确的决定。

1 workforce   

n.劳动大军，劳动力

参考例句：

• A large part of the workforce is employed in agriculture.劳动人口中一大部分受雇于农业。
• A quarter of the local workforce is unemployed.本地劳动力中有四分之一失业。

2 flexibility   

n.柔韧性，弹性，（光的）折射性，灵活性

参考例句：

• Her great strength lies in her flexibility.她的优势在于她灵活变通。
• The flexibility of a man's muscles will lessen as he becomes old.人老了肌肉的柔韧性将降低。

3 wrenching   

n.修截苗根，苗木铲根（铲根时苗木不起土或部分起土）v.（猛力地）扭( wrench的现在分词 )；扭伤；使感到痛苦；使悲痛

参考例句：

• China has been through a wrenching series of changes and experiments. 中国经历了一系列艰苦的变革和试验。 来自辞典例句
• A cold gust swept across her exposed breast, wrenching her back to reality. 一股寒气打击她的敞开的胸膛，把她从梦幻的境地中带了回来。 来自汉英文学 - 家（1-26） - 家（1-26）