Office protocol¹ can make it different for one employee to ask anther for help. While no one likes the shirker who never seems to be able to quite get his own projects finished and turns helplessly to peers for assistance, most will willingly volunteer to lend a hand to someone who has helped him or her.

　　对于同事间寻求帮助，办公室内的礼节往往起着重要的作用。往往没人愿意帮助那种老是无法完成自己工作，爱偷懒的人；而大多数人还是乐意主动地帮助那些曾经也帮助过自己的同事。

If you know a coworker is working through lunch to collate² a large client packet, your volunteering to stay and help will be gratefully received and most often returned when it's you who is stuck. I say voluntarily because your offer is not to add up paid overtime³ hours. It is to help a peer in need.

　　如果知道同事午饭时间还一直忙着校对客户的文件，您主动提出留下来帮助他，会得到他的感激，在你遇到同样的情形时，会得到他的回报。我所指的主动，是因为您的协助是没有加班费的。属于助人于困难时机。

If your offer is accepted, you do not, however, store it away in your mental favor bank or ever remind everyone what a good person you were for helping------you simply hope the favor will be returned when it's you who is overloaded⁴.

　　一旦你的好意被接受，不要刻意地老记着或提醒每个人您曾如何地帮助过他们--在你遇到力不从心的情况下总会有人回报你的。

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