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 coveted better jobs, literally "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 luxurious 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 conscientiously 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 overdo 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 overtime of his own accord and did not go home till very late in the evening. He even dawdled 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”。来源：(http://blog.sina.com.cn/s/blog_486c0f670100j8dc.html?tj=1) - 职场真的需要天天加班吗？_北外网院_新浪博客

　　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 efficiently."

　　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 painstakingly designed show would leave his boss with such a poor impression. As a matter of fact, things in working places are often unreasonable 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 cynical 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 boiler. High degree of heating or pungent seasoning cannot ensure the good taste of the soup. Sometimes overheated behavior would be seen as "making a deleberate show off" and cause misgivings on the part of others as they would think you were crafty, 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？