Office protocol can make it difficult for one employee to ask another 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 before. 勤劳肯干总不是错的。

If you know a coworker is working through lunch on 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 does not add up paid overtime hours. It is only helping a peer in need. 这种帮助无异于雪中送炭。不要计较太多，你的善心会得到回报的。

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 overloaded. 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。

（改编自：hao360英语学习网 英语点津Annabel编辑）