【英语生活】职场精英如何工作生活两不误

With so many opportunities available in China and so many people working tirelessly to get them, many Chinese executives have grappled with the balance among career, health, family and the pursuit of wealth.

Kai-Fu Lee, former Google China chief and a venture capitalist, focused the public's attention on work-life balance when he recently revealed his lymphoma diagnosis, saying his long working hours may have something to do with it. Many Chinese executives have found a better balance than Mr. Lee says he did.

Wei Christianson, co-CEO of Morgan Stanley MS -1.43% Asia, who juggles work and three children, can do several things at once and keeps a strict split between work and family. She conducts meetings, reads, thinks and uses an electric roller to tidy up her hair in the car. Having a driver helps. 'You have to multitask to be more efficient,' she said in a call during a high-speed train ride from Beijing to Shanghai. 'Otherwise you won't have any time to sleep.'

But one thing that she has learned from her husband, Jon, a partner at U.S. law firm Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP, is to put work and family in different mental compartments. This helps avoid bringing negative feelings and stress home from work. 'It is easy to think about work all the time,' added Ms. Christianson. 'But it is important to switch off at home so work and family don't interfere with each other.'

It can be challenging. While she was working to get a role in Agricultural Bank of China's 601288.SH -0.39% IPO, the biggest of the year in 2010, Ms. Christianson's husband and one of their sons were in a bad traffic accident. During the day she worked hard on the deal, and at night she split her time between two hospitals.

'It takes a very strong will to keep that balance,' Ms. Christianson said. Morgan Stanley got the deal, and Ms. Christianson's son and husband recovered from the crash.

Jing Qian, a managing director at Deutsche Bank, said she delegates to staff members at work and to her husband at home. That gives her a little time for herself for things like facials on Sundays. Her husband works in technology at UBS, which requires less overtime.

But it is also important for bosses not to stress out the people who work for them, mentally as well as physically. Ms. Qian says she pauses for two minutes before she sends 'angry emails,' which she usually deletes or rephrases after her cool-off period. Ms. Christianson doesn't call her colleagues or forward emails to them late at night. Otherwise they may feel the pressure to respond immediately, she said.

Eating well while working in China is hard because doing business means attending banquets. Ms. Christianson eats little at these events. She brings her own lunch on planes sometimes, using vegetables grown in her own backyard in Beijing.

Emma Smith, CEO of public-relations firm mhp Communications, says limiting working hours is important. Her staff works from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and no later. That's unusual for the industry, known for its long hours. 'You need people to have good rest and out doing interesting things. Then they can come back with fresh ideas,' Ms. Smith said.

Geoffroy van Raemdonck became CEO of U.S. women's clothing brand St. John Knits International after China's Fosun group bought a minority share earlier this year. He is sticking to his view that taking time off ultimately benefits the company.

'When you look back and assess how you achieved success, it seldom rests on long working days but rather on a few discerning and differentiating ideas that were supported by a high level of energy in their implementation,' said Mr. van Raemdonck. He said he came back from summer holiday with a great sense of what St. John needed to explore before starting the job.

顾蔚

中国经济30多年的高速增长造就了很多机会，媒体和教育界又喜欢渲染各种个人和企业的奇迹，难怪很多中国人把工作目标当成了人生目标。前谷歌中国总裁、风险投资人李开复最近透露自己被查出患有淋巴瘤，称患病可能与长时间工作有关。这使得中国的管理人士将注意力集中到工作和生活的平衡上。

Bloomberg News就算从事很有挑战性的工作，也可以尽量做到这种平衡。摩根士丹利亚太区联席首席执行长孙玮应该是国际投行中位置最高的有大陆背景的银行家，这位成功女性有三个孩子。她认为学会安排时间，同时做几件事很重要，比如她会在车里开会、阅读、思考和用工具卷头发。她在从北京开往上海的高铁上接受电话访问时称，必须同时做多项事情才能提高效率，否则你会连睡觉的时间都没有。

孙玮的丈夫Jon是华尔街知名的世达律师事务所(Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP)的合伙人，也很忙碌。她从丈夫Jon那里学到的一件事是，不要在工作的时候想着家里的事，也不要在家里想着工作。这并不是说在家里就不要查邮件，否则永远都下不了班。关键是将工作和家庭放在心里不同的“格子”里，避免把来自工作中的负面情绪和压力带回家。孙玮称，她很容易全身心投入工作，但重要的是到家里后要把工作“关掉”。

工作和家庭保持平衡确实充满挑战。2010年，当摩根士丹利正努力争取当时全球最大的上市交易──中国农业银行的首次公开募股(IPO)中承销商职位的时候，她的丈夫和小儿子遭遇了一场严重车祸。在那些日子，她作为中国区的一把手白天为拿到交易努力工作，晚上在医院陪床。孙玮说，保持工作和家庭平衡需要很强的意志力。摩根士丹利最终成为了农行的承销商之一，孙玮的丈夫和儿子也从车祸中康复过来。

德意志银行董事总经理钱菁称，她尽量在公司把将工作分给下级，在家里把事情委托给丈夫，这使得频繁出差的她能有一点属于自己的时间，比如周末做一下面膜。她的丈夫在瑞士银行从事和技术有关的工作，相对不太需要加班。

虽然老板不要一个人累垮，但注意让手下员工不要在身体和精神上过度劳累也很重要。钱菁说，她每次在发送“愤怒邮件”之前都会先停两分钟。冷静一段时间后，她通常都会将这类邮件删除或修改其中的措辞。孙玮则尽量不在深夜的时候给同事打电话或转发邮件，否则同事们可能会感到立即回复的压力。


要充满精力，除了经常运动，还需要健康饮食。在中国做到这一点本来就不容易，尤其对于那些经常出席各种宴请和商务晚餐的人士。往往是一桌子菜，而且都不怎么健康，很容易聊着聊着就吃多了，孙玮在这种场合都尽量控制自己少动筷子。她有时还准备自己的饭盒，尤其是要坐飞机和火车的时候，里面装的是在北京院子里种的有机蔬菜。

公关公司从业人员的工作时间一般都很长，做到晚上9点对很多人来说是家常便饭。香港一家公关公司mhp Communication的首席执行长Emma Smith就表示，控制工作时间很重要。她的员工从早上9点工作到下午6点，之后如果还在办公室，她就会去问他们为什么，是白天效率不高，还是工作量太大。Smith女士说，我们的工作是要给客户提供有创意的意见，必须让员工休息好，下班做些有意思的事情，他们才能带着灵感回来。

今年早些时候，中国复星集团收购了美国高档女装品牌St. John Knits International的少数股权后，欧洲人Geoffroy van Raemdonck成为了这家女装品牌的首席执行长。虽然中国公司休假文化比较弱，但他坚信从工作中抽出一些时间最终能让公司受益。他说，当你回过头去看看自己如何取得成功时，基本上都不是靠长时间的工作，而是一些敏锐而独特的想法，而这些想法只有在精力旺盛的时候才会萌发。他说，在结束夏日假期后，他便带着对St. John未来发展策略的清晰计划回来重新投入工作。

（本文作者顾蔚是《华尔街日报》中国财富和奢侈品编辑，并负责该报中文网的原创内容。欢迎追踪她的中文网博客”高净值生活”，和每周五以中英文双语同步发表的专栏。评论请发送邮件至wei.gu@wsj.com，也可以在新浪微博上(顾蔚WeiGu)追踪她。）

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