李小川

當领导宣布一项即将开展的新业务时，有人会选择主动请缨，敢于闻风响应，有人却宁愿退避三舍，安于岁月静好。前者看到的是会议、项目、出差中蕴藏的机会与人脉，后者则嗅到了它们可能给自己带来的聒噪与不安。公司的发展当然需要勇于创新的前者奔波于不同会场，不断寻求和拓展关系网，但更不能缺少对公司不离不弃的后者，正是他们兢兢业业地将每一项业务落到了实处。

Perhaps they are two of the most welcome words in the English language： “Meeting cancelled.”When they cropped up in Bartlebys message the other day， he experienced a brief moment of elation.1 In truth， the meeting turned out only to be postponed for two weeks， but procrastination is an under-appreciated pleasure.2

Workers， and possibly all people， can be divided into two groups. Those who like to be involved in everything and can be dubbed3 “FOMOS” because they suffer from a “fear of missing out.” And then there are those who would ideally want to be left to get on with their own particular work， without distraction—the “JOMOS” （joy of missing out）.

When The Economist moved offices in London in 2017， the new building came with a set of meeting spaces. As was inevitable， there are a lot more meetings. It is hard to walk by these gatherings without wondering who these people are and what they are doing.（It mostly seems to involve them gazing earnestly at a projection of a computer screen.） Never once has Bartleby， who was born under the sign of JOMO， wanted to join one of the groups.

Readers will instantly know their tribe. If the boss announces a new project， do you immediately volunteer， thinking this will be a great chance to prove your skills？ If so， you are a FOMO. Or do you foresee the hassle4 involved， the likely failure of the project， and the weekend emails from all the FOMOS wanting to spend less time with their families？ Then you are a certified JOMO.

Another test is technology. FOMOS are early adopters， snapping up the latest gadgets and sending documents to colleagues via the latest file-sharing programme.5 JOMOS tend to believe that any tech upgrade will be initially troublesome and wonder why on earth their colleagues cant send the document as a PDF.

FOMOS relish the chance to take part in a videoconference call so that they can share fully in the dynamics of the meeting and not missing any clues about the participants long-term agenda.6 JOMOS deeply resent the video element， which prevents them from checking their emails or playing solitaire while Ted drones on about budgets for 20 minutes.7

Networking events are the kind of thing that gets FOMOS excited as a chance to exchange ideas and make contacts. When JOMOS hear the word “networking，” they reach for their noise-cancelling headphones. For them， being made to attend an industry cocktail party is rather like being obliged to attend the wedding of someone they barely know； an extended session of social purgatory8.

Similarly， FOMOS see a breakfast meeting as a chance to start the day on a positive note. They would hate to turn one down in case they lost business， or the chance of career advancement. JOMOS resent setting their alarm earlier and would rather breakfast at their kitchen table， grumbling9 about the news headlines to their spouse. If it is a work meeting， then hold it during working hours.

As for business travel， FOMOS cant wait to experience the delight of overseas conferences and visiting new places. It will all look good on their curriculum vitae10. JOMOS know that such travel involves cramped airline seats， jet lag and a long shuffle through immigration.11 The final destination tends not to be some exotic location but an identikit12 conference centre or hotel that they forget five minutes after they have departed.

JOMOS recognize that they have to attend some meetings and go on trips to get their work done. But they regard such things as a penance13 not a privilege. Something useful may come out of it， but best not to get their hopes up14.

It might seem obvious that employers should look to hire FOMOS， not their opposites. After all， in a company full of JOMOS， sales might suffer and there would be little innovation. But while FOMOS are racing from meeting to networking event， you need a few JOMOS to be doing actual work. If FOMOS are like dogs， barking excitedly and chasing their own tails， JOMOS are more feline15. They will spring into action if a mouse is in the vicinity16 but， in the meantime， they are content to sit by the fire.

The other reason why depending on FOMOS is dangerous is that they are naturally restless17. JOMOS will be loyal， for fear of ending up with a worse employer. But FOMOS may think that working for one company means they are missing out on better conditions at another. That is the point of most networking， after all.

1. crop up： 冒出，突然出現；Bartleby： 巴特尔比，是美国作家赫尔曼·梅尔维尔（Herman Melville）的短篇小说《抄写员巴特尔比》（Bartleby， the Scrivener： A Story of Wall-Street）中的主人公，受雇于一位华尔街律师。起初他勤奋能干，但拒绝做抄写以外的工作。不久之后，他开始拒绝做任何事情，只重复说“我不愿意”。在被解雇后，巴特尔比仍拒绝离开事务所，律师在忍无可忍之下只好搬走。最终，巴特尔比被办公室的新主人送进监狱，并在狱中绝食而死。小说反映了资本主义社会人与人之间的冷漠和疏离，以及商业化的美国社会对人的精神的压抑、禁锢和摧残。《经济学人》杂志借助该人物名字设置了专栏，文章主题聚焦职场与管理；elation： 兴高采烈，欢欣鼓舞。

2. procrastination： 拖延，推迟（尤指不想做的事情）；under-appreciated： 未受到应有重视的。

3. dub： 给……起绰号，把……称为。

4. hassle： 麻烦。

5. snap up： 抢购，此处指抢先使用或产品一经推出就迫不及待地想要立刻使用；gadget： 精巧的装置。

6. FOMO一族很享受参加视频电话会议的机会，这样他们就可以在活跃的氛围中充分交流彼此的观点，而且不会对其他参与者提到的长期规划有任何遗漏。relish： 享受，喜欢。

7. solitaire： 单人纸牌游戏；drone on： 喋喋不休。

8. purgatory： 受难，痛苦的经历。

9. grumble： 抱怨，发牢骚。

10. curriculum vitae： 简历，简称CV，通常为英式用法，美式英语常用résumé。

11. cramped： 狭小的，拥挤的；jet lag： 时差反应，飞行时差综合征；shuffle： 挪动，此处指在机场边检时乘客需要在各种通道里绕来绕去；immigration： 移民入境检查站。

12. identikit： 千篇一律的。

13. penance： 自我惩罚。

14. get hope up： 使（对没希望的事）抱有希望。

15. feline： 猫科动物的。

16. vicinity： 附近，邻近地区。

17. restless： 不满足现状的，求变的。

阅读感评

∷秋叶 评

选文作者将工作中的人分为两类，一类是所谓的“乐于拓展社交关系网者”（those who love networking），另一类则为“希望不受干扰者”（those who want to be left alone）。前者热衷于抛头露面，一个机会都不愿落下，而后者的理想状态是长时间地专注于自己的某项具体工作，不喜频繁参会或出差。

这种分类，让笔者不由得联想起林语堂先生的类似说法。林语堂先生作为作家，在中西方都非常成功，是中国现代时期少有的能同时用中、英文创作并享有国际声誉的作家。但他一旦担任“要职”，很快就会主动请辞。屈指数来，他一生中至少有过四次“从政生涯”或担任过“行政职务”：厦门大学文科主任（相当于现在的文学院院长，1926年）、武汉国民政府外交部英文秘书（1927年）、联合国教科文组织（UNESCO）文艺组（巴黎）主任（1947—1948）、新加坡南洋大学校长（1954年）。其中，除了在联合国教科文组织任职稍长，其他均不到一年甚至几个月就草草收场。林语堂先生在联合国教科文组织任职期间，对于整日要撰写备忘录及准备报告，还要出席各种会议，感到“苦不堪言”（frustrating and exhausting）。后来，他在英文版《八十自述》（Memoirs of an Octogenarian， 1975）中说：“There are two kinds of animals on earth. One kind minds his own business， the other minds other peoples business. The former are vegetarians， like cows， sheep and thinking men. The latter are carnivorous， like hawks， tigers and men of action. I have often admired my colleagues for their administrative ability. I have never been interested in that.”（这世界上有两种动物。一种动物顾自己的事情，另一种动物忙于他人的事务。前者是素食者，譬如牛、羊与思想家。后者是肉食者，譬如鹰、虎与行动家。我常羡慕同事的行政能力，而我对此却毫无兴趣。）显然，林语堂先生把自己归入第一類，属于“素食素心人”，可宁静而致远，却难以轰轰烈烈。其实，这种情形在知识分子中绝不在少数。

季羡林先生在一篇回忆许国璋的文章里说，“我天生是一个内向的人，我自谓是性情中人。在当今世界上，像我这样的人是不合时宜的。但是，造化小儿仿佛想跟我开玩笑，他让时势硬把我‘炒成了一个社会活动家，甚至国际活动家。每当盛大场合，绅士淑女，峨冠博带，珠光宝气，照射牛斗。我看有一些天才的活动家，周旋其中，左一握手，右一点头，如鱼得水，畅游无碍。我内心真有些羡煞愧煞。我局促在一隅，手足无所措，总默祷苍天，希望盛会早散，还我自由。”文人学者潜心文章学问，推崇个性与自由，自然更常有一份素心。钱锺书先生就曾说过：“大抵学问是荒江野老屋中，二三素心人商量培养之事，朝市之显学，必成俗学。”

当今社会，各行各业推崇的无疑多是那些“点子多，爱折腾”的“创新型人才”“领军人物”。如果用动物来作比的话，那显然是要求人人成为击飞长空的鹰与汪汪吠叫的狗，而只知道埋头苦干的牛与坚守本分、静候一隅的猫，自然是不思进取的“时代落伍”分子了。就笔者观察，在学术教育领域的某些机构，领导通常会对下属提出一致的要求，尽管由于机构性质不同，表述随之会有所差别。有的是坚持“不换脑筋就换人”，在工作上因循守旧、不转变思想就会被淘汰；有的是要手下的所有学者“铁肩担道义，妙手著文章”，比如做一些有高额项目资助的学术课题（即钱先生所谓的“朝市之显学”），而很少顾及学者个人的学术兴趣与专长。诚然，我们的时代确实需要一批不知疲倦的奔走者和振臂高呼的理想家，然而最终推动社会进步的，恐怕还是要靠那些思想者、实干家，而非宣传家、活动家。