The Tw o Tribes of Work ing Life

Perhaps they are two of the most welcome words in the English language: “Meeting cancelled.”

When they cropped up in Bartleby's message the other day, he experienced a brief moment of elation.1. crop up: 冒出，突然出现；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。In truth, the meeting turned out only to be postponed for two weeks, but procrastination is an under-appreciated pleasure.2. procrastination: 拖延，推迟（尤指不想做的事情）；under-appreciated: 未受到应有重视的。

Workers, and possibly all people, can be divided into two groups. Those who like to be involved in everything and can be dubbed3. dub: 给……起绰号，把……称为。“FOMOS” because they suffer from a “fear of missing out.” And then there are those who w ould ideally w ant to be left to get on w ith their ow n 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 w alk by these gatherings w ithout w ondering w ho 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. hassle: 麻烦。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 certif ied JOMO.

Another test is technology. FOMOS are early adopters, snapping up the latest gadgets and sending documents to colleagues via the latest f ile-sharing programme.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。JOMOS tend to believe that any tech upgrade will be initially troublesome and wonder why on earth their colleagues can't 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. 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。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. solitaire: 单人纸牌游戏； drone on: 喋喋不休。

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 “netw orking,” 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. purgatory: 受难，痛苦的经历。.

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. grumble: 抱怨，发牢骚。about the new s headlines to their spouse. If it is a work meeting, then hold it during w orking hours.

As for business travel, FOMOS can't wait to experience the delight of overseas conferences and visiting new places. It will all look good on their curriculum vitae10. curriculum vitae: 简历，简称CV，通常为英式用法，美式英语常用résumé。. JOMOS know that such travel involves cramped airline seats, jet lag and a long shuラe through immigration.11. cramped: 狭小的，拥挤的；jet lag: 时差反应，飞行时差综合征；shuff le: 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。The f inal destination tends not to be some exotic location but an identikit12. identikit: 千篇一律的。conference centre or hotel that they forget f ive 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. penance: 自我惩罚。not a privilege. Something useful may come out of it, but best not to get their hopes up14. get hope up: 使（对没希望的事）抱有希望。.

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. feline: 猫科动物的。. They w ill spring into action if a mouse is in the vicinity16. vicinity: 附近，邻近地区。but, in the meantime, they are content to sit by the f ire.

The other reason w hy depending on FOMOS is dangerous is that they are naturally restless17. restless: 不满足现状的，求变的。. JOMOS w ill 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.