职场真的需要天天加班吗

    职场就是这般的不讲道理，你以为你的“加班”会被领导认可，但没准儿领导还以为你在利用公司的资源做私活……Nowadays things aren't going smooth. College graduates are having a hard time finding jobs as there are too few job openings, while those who do have jobs are facing staff cutting and salary reduction. In the past many people with jobs coveted¹ better jobs, literally² "keeping one eye the bowl and the other on the pan." The situation now can be described as "many people are grabbing for one bowl". Many people are holding fast their bowls--even though they are wood ones which cannot compare with unbreakable iron bowls or luxurious³ gold bowls--lest other people should grab them awyay。
    当下年景不好，大学生求职碰壁，职场人裁员减薪，如果说过去大家是吃着碗里的看着锅里的，现在则是一个饭碗无数人在抢，很多人牢牢抱着自己的木饭碗，生怕被他人抢了去。
    To effectively protect their bowls, many people are trying their utternost to give a good impression of themselves. In addition to conscientiously⁴ doing their assigned duty well, many people voluntarily take up many other duties not assigned to them, busy from morning till night like a wound clock. Well, comrades, you see, we do appreciate the attitude of taking such initiative in work! However, somethimes one should not overdo⁵ things...Confucius says that "going beyong the limit is just as wrong as falling short". That is to say, both doing too much and doing too little are open to discussion alike。
    为了保护好自己的饭碗，很多人使尽浑身解数表现自己，除了兢兢业业做好本职工作，甚至自愿承担了办公室里的诸多分外之事，忙得像一只上足了发条的闹钟，一天到晚走个不停。咳咳，同志们，这种积极向上的工作态度，我们当然是——赞赏的！但有时候，也要注意一个度哇……论语云，过犹不及，也就是说，什么事情做得太过头了和做得不够一样，都是值得商榷的。
    A former classmate of mine, for example, was so exited when he got his first job that he simply regarded the company with so much affection as his own home. He worked overtime⁶ of his own accord and did not go home till very late in the evening. He even dawdled⁷ there at weekends, when he had to do with instant noodles as the company's mess hall was not open on holidays. He voluntarily took up many odd jobs, including sending express mails. He expected that his behavior would leave a good impression on his boss and be the top among all the new hands, thus getting promoted as the first one among them。
    比如，有位同学刚刚工作，兴奋之情简直难以言表，恨不能把单位当成家一样热爱，每天在单位“加班”到很晚才回家，周六周日也经常在单位泡着，没有食堂就凑合吃点泡面，公司的很多杂事哪怕寄个快递他都一并承担下来，他觉得这样能给领导留个好印象，在刚进去的一拨新人中拔得头筹，最快“晋升”。
    He didn't expect that the boss would speak to him some time later like this:" I always see you in your office. I wonder if your spare-time life has been very dull. A young man should go out and see the world when free and make friends with you peers. If you just live a shut-youself-up life, you cannot keep your working enthusiasm for long, so it won't last long. Besides, if you prolong your work hours and take up everything and help everyboby without discrimination, you won't be able to concentrate on your own work efficiently⁸."没想到领导过了一段时间找他谈话，说：老看你呆在单位，是不是业余生活太单调了？年轻人，没事多出去走走，和同龄人交交朋友，生活太封闭会直接影响你对这份工作的长久激情。而且工作时间拖得过长，什么事情都管，谁的忙都帮，自己的本职工作被牵扯精力，效率反而受到影响。”
    On hearing this, my friend went dumbfounded. He had never expected that his painstakingly⁹ designed show would leave his boss with such a poor impression. As a matter of fact, things in working places are often unreasonable¹⁰ like this. You believed that your working overtime would be approved by your boss. However, it may turn out that your boss thought you were perhaps doing some private job by making use of the company's resources, because he believed that you should be able to finish the work assigned to you within your work hours. You thought your colleagues would appreciate your devotion to work, but they might feel your hardworking exerts too much pressure on their part. Some of them might even make some cynical¹¹ remarks。
    这位朋友一听就傻眼了，没想到精心策划的“表现”行动，却给老板留下了不好的印象。其实职场就是这般的不讲道理，你以为你的“加班”会被领导认可，但没准儿领导还以为你在利用公司的资源做私活，因为他觉得给你的工作量在上班时间完全可以搞定。你以为你的“敬业”会被同事赞赏，但没准儿别人却因为你“太努力”而倍感压力，甚至在一旁说你的风凉话。
    The duration and degree of heating are very important if doing your job is compared to cooking soup in a boiler¹². High degree of heating or pungent¹³ seasoning¹⁴ cannot ensure the good taste of the soup. Sometimes overheated behavior would be seen as "making a deleberate show off" and cause misgivings¹⁵ on the part of others as they would think you were crafty¹⁶, thus doubting your talent and character。
    职场上熬一锅汤的火候很重要，不是火越大、料越猛，汤的滋味就越鲜美。有时候，“过火”的表现可能被别人认为是“作秀”、“心眼多”，甚至可能怀疑到你的才干和人品。
    So I would advise you to knock off when it comes to quitting time so as to keep in step with your colleagues and bear the same pressure with them. If you find that you are always the last one to ture off the light in your office, it is high time you thought over seriously how you could avoid being the last one。
    所以，该下班就下班，尽量和其他同事保持步调一致，承受相似的工作压力。如果办公室里每天晚上最后一个关灯的人都是你，不如认真考虑一下：怎样才能不做最后一名？

1 coveted   

adj.令人垂涎的；垂涎的，梦寐以求的v.贪求，觊觎(covet的过去分词)；垂涎；贪图

参考例句：

• He had long coveted the chance to work with a famous musician. 他一直渴望有机会与著名音乐家一起工作。
• Ther other boys coveted his new bat. 其他的男孩都想得到他的新球棒。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。

3 luxurious   

adj.精美而昂贵的；豪华的

参考例句：

• This is a luxurious car complete with air conditioning and telephone.这是一辆附有空调设备和电话的豪华轿车。
• The rich man lives in luxurious surroundings.这位富人生活在奢侈的环境中。

4 conscientiously   

adv.凭良心地；认真地，负责尽职地；老老实实

参考例句：

• He kept silent,eating just as conscientiously but as though everything tasted alike. 他一声不吭，闷头吃着，仿佛桌上的饭菜都一个味儿。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She discharged all the responsibilities of a minister conscientiously. 她自觉地履行部长的一切职责。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 overdo   

vt.把...做得过头，演得过火

参考例句：

• Do not overdo your privilege of reproving me.不要过分使用责备我的特权。
• The taxi drivers' association is urging its members,who can work as many hours as they want,not to overdo it.出租车司机协会劝告那些工作时长不受限制的会员不要疲劳驾驶。

6 overtime   

adj.超时的，加班的；adv.加班地

参考例句：

• They are working overtime to finish the work.为了完成任务他们正在加班加点地工作。
• He was paid for the overtime he worked.他领到了加班费。

7 dawdled   

v.混（时间）( dawdle的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Billy dawdled behind her all morning. 比利整个上午都跟在她后面闲混。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He dawdled away his time. 他在混日子。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

8 efficiently   

adv.高效率地，有能力地

参考例句：

• The worker oils the machine to operate it more efficiently.工人给机器上油以使机器运转更有效。
• Local authorities have to learn to allocate resources efficiently.地方政府必须学会有效地分配资源。

9 painstakingly   

adv. 费力地 苦心地

参考例句：

• Every aspect of the original has been closely studied and painstakingly reconstructed. 原作的每一细节都经过了仔细研究，费尽苦心才得以重现。
• The cause they contrived so painstakingly also ended in failure. 他们惨淡经营的事业也以失败而告终。

10 unreasonable   

adj.不讲道理的，不合情理的，过度的

参考例句：

• I know that they made the most unreasonable demands on you.我知道他们对你提出了最不合理的要求。
• They spend an unreasonable amount of money on clothes.他们花在衣服上的钱太多了。

11 cynical   

adj.(对人性或动机)怀疑的，不信世道向善的

参考例句：

• The enormous difficulty makes him cynical about the feasibility of the idea.由于困难很大，他对这个主意是否可行持怀疑态度。
• He was cynical that any good could come of democracy.他不相信民主会带来什么好处。

12 boiler   

n.锅炉；煮器(壶，锅等)

参考例句：

• That boiler will not hold up under pressure.那种锅炉受不住压力。
• This new boiler generates more heat than the old one.这个新锅炉产生的热量比旧锅炉多。

13 pungent   

adj.（气味、味道）刺激性的，辛辣的；尖锐的

参考例句：

• The article is written in a pungent style.文章写得泼辣。
• Its pungent smell can choke terrorists and force them out of their hideouts.它的刺激性气味会令恐怖分子窒息，迫使他们从藏身地点逃脱出来。

14 seasoning   

n.调味；调味料；增添趣味之物

参考例句：

• Salt is the most common seasoning.盐是最常用的调味品。
• This sauce uses mushroom as its seasoning.这酱油用蘑菇作调料。

15 misgivings   

n.疑虑，担忧，害怕；疑虑，担心，恐惧( misgiving的名词复数 )；疑惧

参考例句：

• I had grave misgivings about making the trip. 对于这次旅行我有过极大的顾虑。
• Don't be overtaken by misgivings and fear. Just go full stream ahead! 不要瞻前顾后， 畏首畏尾。甩开膀子干吧！ 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

16 crafty   

adj.狡猾的，诡诈的

参考例句：

• He admired the old man for his crafty plan.他敬佩老者的神机妙算。
• He was an accomplished politician and a crafty autocrat.他是个有造诣的政治家，也是个狡黠的独裁者。