你真的要做个工作狂吗？

 　　In a nation of overachievers, hard work is a virtue¹. If you work hard, you'll achieve your goals. If you work even harder, you'll achieve even more. Right?

　　在一个满是优等生的国度，勤劳是一种美德。如果你努力工作的话，你会实现你的目标。如果你更努力的话，你将得到更多。真的是这样吗?

　　Perhaps not. There are, in fact, several downsides to working too hard. Being the office workaholic can cost you coveted² promotions³, hurt your home life, and even turn friends into enemies. Evaluate yourself with the following five questions.

　　可能并不是这样的。实际上，工作太努力有很多不利面。成为办公室的工作狂会毁掉你梦寐以求的晋升机会，危害你的家庭生活，甚至会让朋友反目成仇。用以下5个问题来评估下你自己吧。

　　1. Are you busy ... or disorganized?

　　你是很忙还是无条理?

　　Are you constantly staying late and coming in early yet producing the same output as others? If so, your boss may come to view you as inefficient⁴ and possibly disorganized. Dave Cheng, an executive coach with Athena Coaching, says, "There are some people, type A's, who get a lot of satisfaction from doing lots of work, but the quality isn't necessarily superior."

　　你是否经常早到晚退，但和其他人的工作成效还是一样的?如果是这样的话，你的上司可能会开始觉得你是个做事没效率，甚至是没有条理的人。Athena Coaching公司的行政教练Dave Cheng说：“有很多人，A类人，他们从做很多工作中得到满足，但做事的质量却并不值得他们骄傲。”

　　Focus on getting your work done in a reasonable time frame. If you have perfectionism or time-management issues, ask your supervisor⁵ to help you prioritize things and learn when to let go of a task. Cheng says, "Just because you're working longer doesn't mean you're working better."

　　在合理的时间内专注地做完你的工作。如果你是个完美主义者，或在时间管理上有困难，那就叫你的主管帮你的工作区分出先后顺序，并学会放弃一项任务。陈说：“仅仅因为你工作的时间长并不能说明你工作得更好。”

　　2. Are you delegating ... or hoarding⁶?

　　你在分权还是揽权

　　If you have any aspirations⁷ at all to move into management, you must learn to delegate work. Again, tasks need to be completed in a timely fashion; if you're having trouble finishing a project, you must delegate to other team members, even if you happen to relish⁸ the task you're giving away.

　　如果你非常渴望进入管理层，那你必须学会分配工作。再次强调，工作任务需要及时完成。如果你在完成一个项目时碰到了困难，那你就要分给其他队员一起做，即使你这样做会被人取笑。

　　Cheng, who has more than 12 years of experience in corporate⁹ human resources, reveals, "Some workers feel like if they do everything and they're the only one who knows how to do it, they're making themselves irreplaceable. However, sharing information and teaching others around you is a valued skill as far as management is concerned."

　　陈有超过12年的人力资源经验，他指出说“有些工人觉得，如果他们做了所有的事情，那他们就是唯一知道该怎么做这些事情的人，自己就无法被取代了。然而，分享信息以及教你身旁的人也是管理层必需的宝贵技能。”

　　Focus on completion and quality and be generous enough to let a colleague learn and shine. If you lack sufficient support, ask your boss about expanding your group.

　　将重点放在完成和质量上，并且大方地让你的同事向你学习，做出他们的成绩。如果你缺少充分的支持，就可以要求你的上司扩展你的团队。

　　3. Are you hungry ... or is your plate full?

　　你是饿着还是你的盘子已经满了?

　　Once you've solidified¹⁰ your reputation as the office workaholic, you may find that when your dream project comes through the door, you aren't asked to work on it. Why? Your boss probably thinks you don't have the bandwidth to take on anything else. Always keep a bit of room in your schedule to sink your teeth into new challenges and opportunities.

　　一旦你被称为办公室的工作狂之后，你可能会发现当你理想的项目下来的时候，你却无法参与其中。这是为什么呢?你的老板可能认为你没有多余的精力来分心在其他事情上。一直要在你的日程表上留出一点空间，这样你才能接触新的挑战和机会。

　　Cheng reminds professionals, "Your ability to say no to certain things gives you the freedom to say yes to others."

　　陈提醒职场人士说：“你拒绝一些事情的能力同时也给了你做其他事情的自由。”

　　4. Do you have friends ... or 'frenemies'?

　　你是在交朋友还是在树敌?

　　Your workaholic ways are likely alienating¹¹ once-valued associates. Above and beyond the obvious grumblings of, "You're making the rest of us look bad," your colleagues may dread¹² collaborating¹³ on a project with you.

　　你的工作狂状态可能会疏远以前重要的同事。这已经远远超出了抱怨的范围了“你让我们其他人看起来很差劲。”你的同事可能都害怕和你共做一个项目。

　　Lose the overly methodical approach, don't expect folks to come in early or stay late for meetings, and focus on process and outcome.

　　丢掉有条不紊的态度，也不要期望人们开会的时候早到、晚退，将重点放在过程和结果上。

　　5. Do you work to live ... or live to work?

　　你工作是为了生活还是你活着就是为了工作?

　　The best workers are well-rounded professionals with full lives, in and out of the office. Each year, new studies abound¹⁴ about the importance of vacations, hobbies, and enjoying your leisure time. But are you listening?

　　最好的员工在职场内外都有丰富多彩的生活。每一年，新的调查都会强调假期、业余爱好、享受闲暇时间的重要性。但是你是否听进去了呢?

　　Your friends and family will be in your life a lot longer than you'll hold most jobs. Also, pursuing leisure activities you're passionate¹⁵ about can lead to a second career.

　　你的亲人和朋友在你生命中的时间比工作要长久得多。另外，追求你热爱的业余爱好也可能会发展成为第二事业。

　　Cheng concludes, "Work-life balance is a choice. If you reflexively say yes to taking on extra work, you may live to regret it."

　　陈总结说“工作生活平衡是一种选择。如果你违反本能去选择更多的工作量的话，你一定会后悔。”

1 virtue   

n.德行，美德；贞操；优点；功效，效力

参考例句：

• He was considered to be a paragon of virtue.他被认为是品德尽善尽美的典范。
• You need to decorate your mind with virtue.你应该用德行美化心灵。

2 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》

3 promotions   

促进( promotion的名词复数 )； 提升； 推广； 宣传

参考例句：

• All services or promotions must have an appeal and wide application. 所有服务或促销工作都必须具有吸引力和广泛的适用性。
• He promptly directed the highest promotions and decorations for General MacArthur. 他授予麦克阿瑟将军以最高的官阶和勋奖。

4 inefficient   

adj.效率低的，无效的

参考例句：

• The inefficient operation cost the firm a lot of money.低效率的运作使该公司损失了许多钱。
• Their communication systems are inefficient in the extreme.他们的通讯系统效率非常差。

5 supervisor   

n.监督人，管理人，检查员，督学，主管，导师

参考例句：

• Between you and me I think that new supervisor is a twit.我们私下说，我认为新来的主管人是一个傻瓜。
• He said I was too flighty to be a good supervisor.他说我太轻浮不能成为一名好的管理员。

6 hoarding   

n.贮藏；积蓄；临时围墙；囤积v.积蓄并储藏（某物）( hoard的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• After the war, they were shot for hoarding. 战后他们因囤积而被枪决。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Actually he had two unused ones which he was hoarding up. 其实他还藏了两片没有用呢。 来自英汉文学

7 aspirations   

强烈的愿望( aspiration的名词复数 )； 志向； 发送气音； 发 h 音

参考例句：

• I didn't realize you had political aspirations. 我没有意识到你有政治上的抱负。
• The new treaty embodies the aspirations of most nonaligned countries. 新条约体现了大多数不结盟国家的愿望。

8 relish   

n.滋味，享受，爱好，调味品；vt.加调味料，享受，品味；vi.有滋味

参考例句：

• I have no relish for pop music.我对流行音乐不感兴趣。
• I relish the challenge of doing jobs that others turn down.我喜欢挑战别人拒绝做的工作。

9 corporate   

adj.共同的，全体的；公司的，企业的

参考例句：

• This is our corporate responsibility.这是我们共同的责任。
• His corporate's life will be as short as a rabbit's tail.他的公司的寿命是兔子尾巴长不了。

10 solidified   

（使）成为固体，（使）变硬，（使）变得坚固( solidify的过去式和过去分词 )； 使团结一致； 充实，巩固； 具体化

参考例句：

• Her attitudes solidified through privilege and habit. 由于特权和习惯使然，她的看法变得越来越难以改变。
• When threatened, he fires spheres of solidified air from his launcher! 当危险来临，他就会发射它的弹药！

11 alienating   

v.使疏远( alienate的现在分词 )；使不友好；转让；让渡（财产等）

参考例句：

• The phenomena of alienation are widespread. Sports are also alienating. 异化现象普遍存在，体育运动也不例外。 来自互联网
• How can you appeal to them without alienating the mainstream crowd? 你是怎么在不疏忽主流玩家的情况下吸引住他们呢？ 来自互联网

12 dread   

vt.担忧，忧虑；惧怕，不敢；n.担忧，畏惧

参考例句：

• We all dread to think what will happen if the company closes.我们都不敢去想一旦公司关门我们该怎么办。
• Her heart was relieved of its blankest dread.她极度恐惧的心理消除了。

13 collaborating   

合作( collaborate的现在分词 )； 勾结叛国

参考例句：

• Joe is collaborating on the work with a friend. 乔正与一位朋友合作做那件工作。
• He was not only learning from but also collaborating with Joseph Thomson. 他不仅是在跟约瑟福？汤姆逊学习，而且也是在和他合作。

14 abound   

vi.大量存在；(in，with)充满，富于

参考例句：

• Oranges abound here all the year round.这里一年到头都有很多橙子。
• But problems abound in the management of State-owned companies.但是在国有企业的管理中仍然存在不少问题。

15 passionate   

adj.热情的，热烈的，激昂的，易动情的，易怒的，性情暴躁的

参考例句：

• He is said to be the most passionate man.据说他是最有激情的人。
• He is very passionate about the project.他对那个项目非常热心。