Office life not all fairytale drama

杜拉拉：榜样还是传说？

4月7日，时尚爱情大片《杜拉拉升职记》在北京举行首映礼。徐静蕾、莫文蔚、黄立行、吴佩慈、李艾亮相首映礼发布会。

DU Lala is the hottest career coach in the country. The fictional character in the acclaimed novel Du La La`s Promotion shows others how to take the high road to success in a multinational company. But does her story depict a real or distorted picture of work life? The answer is as complicated as office life itself.

《杜拉拉升职记》可以说是目前国内最火的一部职业向导影片。同名畅销小说《杜拉拉升职记》讲述了主人公在跨国公司采取积极行动得到晋升的故事。但是，她的故事到底是不是职场生活的真实写照呢？答案之复杂仿佛职场生活本身一样。

Over one million copies of the book have been sold since its release in 2007. Go Lala Go!, a movie adaptation of the novel set to hit cinemas next weekend, has stirred up even more interest in the story. The film stars Xu Jinglei and Stanley Huang, but fans seem to be more excited about seeing the story unfold on the big screen.

自2007年出版以来，该书的销量已超100万本。下周末，由该书改编而成的同名电影《杜拉拉升职记》将在各大影院上映。电影本身使人们对故事的兴趣激增。该电影由徐静蕾、黄立行领衔主演。但比起这个，该故事终于搬上大银幕的消息似乎更让粉丝们兴奋。

According to a recent Sina.com survey, 45 percent of the 6,810 netizens polled said they have drawn career pointers from the novel. Other office novels, such as In and Out of the Loop, Win and Lose and Drowning and Floating, seem to have been received with similar interest.

新浪网一最新调查显示，参与调查的6810名网民中，45％的参与者表示从该书中得到了职业指针。其他职场类小说，例如：《圈子圈套》、《输赢》、《浮沉》同样大受欢迎。

"These books show me the life of white collars, and they teach me career rules and jargon that are not offered in class," said Zhang Shanshan, a 22-year-old senior at Beijing Forestry University.

“这些书让我了解了白领的生活，教会我书本上所没有的职场规则和术语。”22岁的北京林业大学大四学生张珊珊说。

Zhang says the competition, humor and office gossip in the book intrigued her. "I can`t wait to embark on my own career," she said.

张珊珊还说，书中所描写的竞争，诙谐幽默的语言和办公室八卦深深吸引了她。“我迫不及待地想开始自己的职场生涯，”她说。

The popularity of office novels does not surprise Chen Ning, a senior career consultant at Zhaopin.com.

对于职场类小说的畅销，智联招聘网的高级职场顾问陈宁并不感到意外。

"Novels about office fights and struggles satisfy the psychological demands of an ordinary office worker," Chen said. "The leading characters face great pressure, fierce competition and an uncertain future. This is a real scenario in many readers` daily life."

“描写办公室斗争的小说满足了普通办公室一族的心理需求，”陈宁说，“主人公面临巨大的压力，激烈的竞争以及不可预知的未来。这很符合众多读者的日常生活情景。”

Li Ke, the author of Du Lala`s Promotion, has been stressing the significance of her fiction. "I want to provide real and useful common sense, knowledge and experience to office workers," Li told the Qianjiang Evening News last year.

《杜拉拉升职记》的作者李可强调了这本书的重要性。“我要为办公室一族提供一个真实且实用的常识、知识和经验。”李可去年接受《钱江晚报》采访时表示。

Polarized characters

角色过于极端

Recent graduates say they have found the basic work principles highlighted in the novel to be instructive.

在刚刚走出校园不久的毕业生们看来，小说中强调的基本职场法则让他们获益匪浅。

"If these books had been published five years earlier, I might have avoided some problems," said Xu Jun, an HR manager at Guangqi Honda Automobile Company. "They often discuss basic office principles, which are relevant for staff working under the middle management level. They also help readers to see the importance of basic problem solving and organizational skills."

“如果该书在5年前出版，我或许就能避免一些错误的发生。” 广汽本田汽车有限公司人事经理徐君说。“他们经常讨论基本的办公室原则，这些原则与在中级管理层下工作的职工相关。它们还能让读者了解到解决基本问题和组织管理技巧的重要性。”

But some veteran employees warn that the novels are not always realistic. They say this is especially true of the characters.

但是，一些老员工却表示，书中的部分内容有不切实际之嫌，某些角色尤是如此。

"[The protagonists] appear to be unbeatable," said Hou Zhendong, an HR manager at General Electric. Du Lala`s team leader quit in an irresponsible way; her boss is inept; and the staff around her is either stupid or overly-sophisticated. Du stands out in emergencies and makes all the right decisions.

“主角似乎是无敌超人，”通用电气的人事经理侯振东说。杜拉拉的组长毫不负责地拍屁股走人，老板根本就指望不上，而身边的同事要么愚蠢之极，要么过于世故。危难之时，杜拉拉站出来，作出了一个个正确的决定。

"The truth is, real-life colleagues are not that polarized," Hou said. "You seldom get to negotiate your salary with a big boss. And, most of the time, you make wrong decisions far more than you make correct ones."

“然而事实是，现实生活中的同事并非书中描写的那么极端，”侯振东说，“也很少有人会和大老板商议工资问题。而且，大多数时候，做错决定的次数要高于正确的次数。”

The career principles in the books are also of limited use.

此外，书中所说的职场原则也鲜少有用武之地。

"Most of the stories happen in Fortune 500 companies with a long history. Their cultures are well-established, and their rules are scientific," Hou said. "But if you work for a small foreign company, or a local enterprise, some principles are useless."

“书中的故事大都发生在有较长历史的财富500强企业。它们的企业文化已经得到认可，职场规则也很科学，”侯振东说。“但如果你所在的是一家小型外企或地方企业，有些规则就根本没用。”

Liu Rui, a project manager at IBM, suggests fans of these books focus on the little bits of wisdom they provide.

IBM项目经理刘瑞建议，粉丝们应该吸取职场类书籍中的智慧。

"The novels give rookies some inspiration," he said. "They emphasize the importance of observation, practice and self-examination. These tips are precious and universally true."

“这些小说能给职场菜鸟们很多灵感，”他说，“它们强调观察、实践和自我反省。这些都是宝贵且普遍真实的职场秘诀。”