By Anthony Balderrama

At one time, everyone wore suits to the office. Now casual Fridays stretch into all the weekdays.

过去，每个人穿西装上班；现在，星期五休闲日扩展到了所有工作日。

At one time, offices were the epitome of formality where bosses were addressed as "Mr." or "Mrs." and you wore only suits or dresses (complete with pantyhose).

过去，办公室是正式场合的象征，称呼老板用“先生”、“女士”，你会只穿西装或裙子(和连身裤袜)。

Now, many workplaces have a business casual dress code with even more casual Fridays, and the bosses -- who go by their first names -- are your Facebook friends.

现在，许多工作场所的着装规定都很宽松，周五休闲日的规定更是随意。被直呼其名的老板们是你社交网站Facebook上的朋友。

Employers relaxed the rules to enhance workplace attitudes. If you're on the phone or on the computer all day, it doesn't matter if you're wearing a tie. At least you'd think so.

雇主放宽规定的目的是为了改善工作态度。如果你成天都是用电话、电脑办公，那么打不打领带无所谓——至少你是这么认为。

Of course, as with all things good, too much can be detrimental. How can you have a relaxed, casual environment while still maintaining your professionalism?

当然，和所有事情一样，都会有过犹不及的时候。要如何即保持职业化又获得轻松、随意的工作环境呢?

To befriend or not to befriend

要不要够朋友

Friendships are commonplace in all jobs. They exist between colleagues and sometimes between employees and their bosses. Try as you might, switching from friendship to professional mode while you're on the clock can be difficult. For the sake of your office, however, you might want to try harder.

一切工作中都会有友谊。同事之间有友谊；老板和员工之间也有友谊。工作中要想从友谊状态转到职业状态往往是一件困难的事情，你尽管去尝试一下看看。不过，为了你的工作，你也许会希望为此付出更多努力。

"We spend so much of our day at work that people often forget where the line between work and personal life should be drawn," says Roberta Chinsky Matuson, president of Human Resources Solutions. "Discussions regarding what you did last night and with whom are not necessarily conversations one should be having at work."

Human Resources Solutions公司总裁Roberta Chinsky Matuson说：“我们每天会花很多时间在工作上，以至于人们经常忘记该怎么样划分工作和个人生活的界线。昨天晚上你和谁做了什么不是在工作中必须讨论的。”

Matuson also reminds you that what you say to a close co-worker can be overheard by many other people in the desks or cubicles within earshot. Even if no one else hears, you could be talking to the wrong person in the first place.

Matuson还提醒说，你对一位亲密同事说的话可能被听力所及范围内的办公隔间、办公桌旁的其他许多人听见。即便没人听见，可能一开始你就找错了说话对象。

You might be close with your boss, but giving information that could undermine your reliability or professionalism can harm your career down the road when it's time for a promotion.

也许你和老板的关系很近，但是透露了会有损你可靠程度、职业水准的消息会在以后晋升的时候影响到你的事业。

(to be continued)

（感谢网友abc_123分享 英语点津 Annabel 编辑）

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