Hidekazu Nishikido, a 24-year-old agent at a staffing company, recently got promoted to help manage a small group of employees. The new job means a higher salary and a better title.
日本东京-24岁的Hidekazu Nishikido是一家劳务派遣公司的职员，最近得到晋升，协助管理一小组员工。新岗位意味着更高的工资和更好的头衔。

But he isn't happy about it. Now he often works past 10 p.m., leaving him less time with his girlfriend. So Mr. Nishikido flatly told his bosses at R-live Inc. he isn't interested in further promotions.
但他并不开心。现在他经常要加班到夜里10点，跟女友相处的时间减少。于是，Nishikido直截了当地对R-live Inc.的老板说，他以后再也不想升职了。

'My job is important, but it's not what makes me tick,' Mr. Nishikido says.
“我的工作很重要，但并不是我生活的根本，” Nishikido说道。 

In a country once proud of its success-driven 'salarymen,' managers are grappling with a new phenomenon: Many young workers are shunning choice promotions -- even forgoing raises -- in favor of humdrum jobs with minimal responsibilities.
日本曾经以其拥有不断进取的“上班族”而自豪，但现在，企业管理者正与一个新现象做斗争：许多年轻员工在避免最佳晋升机会－－甚至放弃提薪－－而选择那些需要承担最少责任的平淡工作。

The Hodo-Hodo Work Force “不好不坏”族

Even as Japan faces a sharp recession, civil servants are opting out of career-advancing exams and information-technology workers are flocking to headhunters to switch to less-demanding careers. A study this year by the consulting firm Towers Perrin found just 3% of Japanese workers say they're putting their full effort into their jobs -- the lowest of 18 countries surveyed.
尽管目前日本正面临严重的经济衰退，仍有公务员不愿参加职业晋升考试，而IT业的员工也纷纷到猎头公司那里寻找轻松一点的职业。Towers Perrin咨询公司在2008年的一项研究中发现，只有3%的日本员工表示他们在尽全力工作－－这在18个受访国家中比例最低。

That's prompting companies to craft delicate strategies to nudge young workers up the corporate ladder. 'I tell them to break news of promotions gently,' says Makoto Iwade, a lawyer who advises companies on labor relations. 'They should feel employees out first to see if they're ready. Don't shock them.'
这种现象促使企业采取一些微妙的策略来推动年轻员工同意升职。“我告诉他们，宣布晋升消息要慢慢来，”为企业提供劳资关系咨询服务的律师Makoto Iwade说。“公司应该先试探一下员工，看看他们准备好了没有，别吓着他们。”

Employment experts have begun to call these workers hodo-hodo zoku, or the 'so-so folks.' They say these workers, mostly in their 20s and early 30s, are sapping Japan's international competitiveness at a time when the aging country must raise its productivity to keep the economy growing.
就业专家开始把这类员工称作“hodo-hodo zoku“，即“不好不坏一族”。他们说，这些多为二十多岁或三十岁出头的员工削弱了日本的国际竞争力，而此时这个老龄化国家所需的是提高生产力以保持经济增长。

'They'll ruin Japan with their lax work ethic,' says labor consultant Yukiko Takita. 'They're supposed to be leaders of the next generation.'
“他们这种懈怠的工作态度会毁掉日本，”劳资关系顾问Yukiko Takita说。“他们本该是下一代的领导者。”

Japan's once widespread practice of lifetime employment used to make loyal workers unlikely to reject promotions. In the 1990s, the country began grappling with the emergence of 'freeters,' young workers who hop from one casual job to the next. But the so-so folks are an even greater concern because, as full-time employees, they're at the heart of corporate Japan, Ms. Takita says.
日本兴盛一时的终身雇佣制曾经使忠诚的雇员不太可能拒绝晋升机会。20世纪90年代，日本开始面临“飞特族”(Freeters)所带来的冲击，“飞特族”是一群喜欢从一个临时工作跳到另一个临时工作的年轻员工。然而，“不好不坏一族”引起人们更大的担忧，因为他们是全职员工，属于日本企业体制的中坚力量，Takita说道。

Signs of hodo-hodo are widespread. The Tokyo Metropolitan Government, a destination for the city's elite, says only 14% of eligible employees took higher-level exams for management positions in 2007 -- down from 40% three decades ago. The electronics giant Sanyo Electric Co. says it's having an increasingly harder time filling demanding management positions like supervisors for overseas factories.
“不好不坏一族”现象比比皆是。东京市政府可谓精英荟萃，但市政府表示，在够资格的员工中，只有14%参加了2007年的管理岗位晋升考试--而30年前这一比例为40%。电子产品巨头三洋电机株式会社(Sanyo Electric Co.)表示，要为海外工厂主管这类高要求的职位找到合适人选是越来越困难了。

Information-technology job consultants at Intelligence Ltd., one of Japan's top recruitment agencies, report a recent rise in people looking to switch jobs not to get ahead, but to get out of positions they say are too demanding. 'They find responsibilities a chore,' says consultant Yoshihiko Fujita.
Intelligence Ltd.是日本最大的职业介绍公司之一，那里的IT就业顾问说，最近有更多人想换工作，其目的并非为了能够升迁，而是要离开他们认为压力太大的现有岗位。“他们觉得责任是一种负担，”就业顾问Yoshihiko Fujita说道。

In a sign of the times, 'Otaryman,' a comic-book series about a less-than-driven salaryman, has become one of this year's surprise hits. In the book, the protagonist passes his days worrying about his colleagues' files spilling onto his desk rather than trying to impress bosses. 'He just plods along (in) life, and has very small ambitions,' says Makoto Yoshitani, the series's 28-year-old author. 'I think people my age find that comforting.'
作为这种时代的一个表现，《Otaryman》这部讲述无进取心上班族的漫画系列出乎意料地成为2008年的热门书。在漫画中，主角每天担心的是同事把档堆在他的桌子上，而不是努力工作争取给老板留下好印象。“他得过且过，没什么理想和抱负，”该书28岁的作者Makoto Yoshitani说。“我认为我的同龄人觉得这样挺好。”

Some authors even have started condoning this laid-back approach. 'Slow Career: Job Survival for People Not Rushing Career Advancement' is one popular tome, with chapters like 'Forget goals, just stay true to yourself' and 'Not everybody needs to become a leader.'
一些作者甚至开始宽恕这种懒散的作风。《慢事业：不急于晋升者的生存手册》(Slow Career: Job Survival for People Not Rushing Career Advancement)就是这样一本流行书，里面有这样的章节标题：“忘记目标，听从本心”和“不是每个人都要成为领导”。