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. 勤勞肯干總不是錯的。

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. 這種幫助無異于雪中送炭。不要計較太多，你的善心會得到回報的。

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，不要刻意地老記著或提醒每個人您曾如何地幫助過他們--在你遇到力不從心的情況下總會有人回報你的。

（改編自：hao360英語學習網 英語點津Annabel編輯）