Office protocol

Office protocol can make it difficult for one employee to ask another for help. While no one likes the shirker(偷懒者,懒骨头) 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.

If you know a coworker(共同工作的人, 同事, 合作者) is working through lunch on a large client packet, your volunteering to stay and help will be gratefully (感激地) received and most often returned when it's you who is stuck(不能动; 不能继续做某事). I say voluntarily because your offer does not add up paid overtime hours. It is only helping a peer in need.

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