Work and Money
Why let supervisors see effort when the work is already done?
English translation draft · Based on the Chinese article. This is not a word-for-word translation approved by Master Shengyuan.
Completed work does not guarantee others know what you did. Some tasks show through results or evaluations; less visible processes may leave supervisors unaware of effort or mistaken.
A friend in military clerical work came early to sweep and mop before sorting newspapers and documents. Officers arrived to see him handling newspapers and assumed lazy reading, even scolding him despite his early cleaning.
He later reversed the order, sorting newspapers first and slowly cleaning around arrival time. Officers repeatedly saw him cleaning and considered him diligent. He called it slacking, and I recognized the workplace reality. In my own employment I also felt effort sometimes needed visibility.
Alongside diligence, compare supervisors' impressions with reality. Still take responsibility and properly complete assigned work. Do not merely display busyness while leaving tasks undone.