At some point in your career, you’re going to need to leave work early. After all, employees are human beings with obligations that can’t always be controlled or delegated to weekends and non-working hours. In most cases, a reasonable supervisor will understand, and grant, a request to leave work early or to come in late, provided your excuse is legitimate, important, or urgent. It’s typically not a big deal.
在你的职业生涯某些时刻,你总会有早退的需要。毕竟,员工们都是难免遇到在周末和非工作时间无法控制或处理的事情的人们。在大多数的情况下,通情达理的主管都能理解,并且通过员工早退或推迟上班,前提是你的理由是合理,重要或紧急的。通常来说早退都不会是一件很大的事儿。

That being said, there are definitely factors that can help or hurt your chances of being able to get out of work early. Organizational culture, your relationship with your supervisor, and your work history in terms of attendance and punctuality will all impact how an early departure will be perceived by your employer. For example, some employers expect workers to report early and stay late in the office to prove their dedication, while others encourage employees to maintain their well-being and keep a healthy work-life balance.
那就意味着,有一些因素会帮助或损害你早退的申请。公司的文化,你与主管的关系,以及你的工作经历当中的考勤与准时率都会影响雇主对你早退的看法。例如,有些雇主希望员工们尽早汇报工作然后在公司呆到很晚以此证明对工作的忠诚度,不过也有些雇主鼓励员工们保持良好的身体状况以及平衡健康的工作与生活。

In general, employees who are viewed by supervisors and colleagues as dedicated are more likely to be treated favorably in the workplace and, in some cases, get special privileges. Company policy may provide for excused absences for part of the work day.
通常来说,被公认是敬业奉献的员工们通常在职场当中都能受到友好的对待,并且在某些情况下,还能得到特权。公司的政策也许会为员工提供工作日因故离岗的机会。

However, employees who skip work, arrive late, or leave early without a solid reason will likely have trouble getting their requests approved.
不过,无故旷工,迟到或早退的员工们通常都很难被允许早退。

Here’s a guide to how to leave work early without your request impacting your standing as an employee.
以下的指南,将会指导你在不损害员工身份的情况下提出早退的申请。

Good Excuses for Leaving Work Early
早退的好理由

Although there are both legitimate and illegitimate excuses to leave work early, remember that your employer’s response will likely depend more on your standing as an employee than on the reason you provide.
虽然早退既有合理也有不合理的理由,但是请记住你的雇主的回应将很可能更着重于你作为员工的身份而不是你的理由。

The more often you attempt to leave early, the more difficult it will be to do so without criticism, whether or not your reasons are valid. Ultimately, you should be honest about why you want or need to leave early. Although it depends on your company’s culture, as long as you are in good standing and your supervisor is a rational, empathetic person, he or she will understand the situation and grant a request to leave early every now and then.
当你早退的申请次数越多,你就很难在不受批评的情况下离开,不管你的理由是否合理。总的来说,你应该坦诚地说明你为什么想要或需要早退。尽管这取决于你所在公司的文化,但只要你的声誉良好,而你的主管也是一个理性、懂得体恤下属的人的话,他/她会理解你的处境,有时候会赋予你早退的权利。

Here are commonly accepted reasons to leave work early:
下面这些早退理由通常都能被主管接受:

Religious obligations or community-related work, such as volunteering at an event offered by a local non-profit community organization (especially if your organization encourages volunteerism).
宗教义务或社区相关的工作,比如参加由当地非盈利社区机构举办的志愿者活动(如果你的公司鼓励员工参与志愿者活动就不必担心了)。

Business networking activities, including participating in a local chamber of commerce meetings, or attending industry events or conventions (particularly if networking with potential business partners is valued by your employer).
商务联络活动,包括参与当地商会的活动,或者参与行业会议或定期大会(尤其在你的雇主非常重视潜在商业伙伴的情况下)。

Client-related obligations, such as traveling to a client assignment that will take place early the next day, or going on an outing with an important client.
与客户相关的职务,比如出差签订一份明天一早就要确定的客户合约,或者参与一次与重要客户的出游。

Professional development pursuits, such as attending a workshop or leaving early for a class or to work on a group project for a course which your supervisor has encouraged you to take.
参与职业发展相关的培训,比如参加工作坊或早退参与一门课程,或参加主管鼓励的为团队项目而设的课程。

Productivity-related requests, including taking your work to a nearby coffee shop or library to focus, or leaving early (when work is complete) after staying in the office very late the night before.
与工作效率相关的请求,比如把你的工作拿到附近的咖啡店或图书馆去集中精力完成,或者前一晚在办公室带到深夜的前提下提早下班(工作已经完成了)。

Employment-related activities, such as a job interview if you have been notified of a future layoff at your current employer.
与招聘相关的活动,比如,你的雇主告知你公司将会裁员,你需要参加求职面试。

Family obligations, including sudden illness, accident or death, or if you need to pick up a child early if their school has closed early or if they are sick. (In some workplaces, you may also be able to leave early to take your child (or pet) to the doctor (or veterinarian). Only you can judge your supervisor’s flexibility and understanding.)
家庭的义务,例如突发的疾病,意外或死亡,或者如果你的孩子的学校很早关门,你要很早去接他们放学,或者他们生病了,你要去照顾。(在某些职场环境,你还可能提早下班去接你的孩子或宠物去看医生。一切都取决于你的主管是否是一位灵活度大和通情达理的人。)

Personal reasons: Illness, for example, or a condition such as severe cramps, migraine, allergic reaction, or a dental emergency such a root canal or a toothache. Doctor’s appointments or medical tests can also be valid reasons to leave the office before closing time, though in general you should aim to schedule these outside of business hours if possible. (If you do need to leave work early for a medical appointment, it may be beneficial to note that you attempted to schedule the appointment before or after work, or during your lunch hour, but no appointments were available.)
私人理由:例如,生病了,或者特殊的情况如严重痉挛,偏头痛,过敏,或牙齿的紧急状况如牙根发炎或牙疼。医生们的预约或医疗检查也能成为你提早下班的合理理由,虽然通常来说你要在可行的时间段里才能安排这些预约。(如果你确实因为医疗诊治提早下班,你注意到了上班前或下班后,或午餐时间安排这些预约是没有办法的,那么提出早退申请是很有效的。)

Urgent or important home and finance issues, including a meeting with a mortgage counselor, attending the closing for the purchase of a new home, emergency problems at your home such as a burst pipe, fire or break-in, or the delivery of furniture, appliances or some other item that requires a signature and must take place during business hours.
紧急或重要的家庭和财政事务,包括与抵押贷款顾问见面,出席新居购买的收盘环节,家里的突发状况,比如水管破裂,火灾或小偷入屋偷盗,或家具,电器或其他需要在上班时间签收的配送物品。

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