职场双语：办公室人缘到底有多重要

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　　你或许以为高中毕业就告别了拉帮结派和成群结队的生活。

　　You'd be wrong. The benefits of being popular extend all the way into the adult workplace, based on research in the latest issue of the Journal of Applied² Psychology³。

　　你或许错了。最新一期《应用心理学》(Journal of Applied Psychology)刊登的一项研究结果显示，良好人缘带来的好处会一直延续到成年人的职场生涯。

　　Just like children on the playground, co-workers not only agree on who's popular, but they also afford those lucky few more favorable treatment. This includes more help and courteous⁴ conduct, and less rudeness and withholding⁵ of helpful information, based on a study of 255 employees and their co-workers in hospital, restaurant, sales and administrative⁶ jobs。

　　就像儿童在操场玩耍一样，同事之间不仅会就谁受欢迎达成一致，还会给那些少数幸运儿更多友善对待。研究显示，这些幸运儿会得到更多的帮助和善待，还会遭受 较少的粗鲁对待和信息隐瞒。在这项研究中，密歇根大学(Michigan State University)的斯科特(Brent Scott)和佛罗里达大学(University of Florida)的贾奇(Timothy Judge)对医院、餐馆、销售和行政职位上的255名员工以及同事进行了调查。

　　The researchers, Brent Scott of Michigan State University and Timothy Judge of the University of Florida, said popular workers drew more co-worker support regardless of their status on the organization chart. They also may gain an unfair advantage over less charming colleagues, the researchers suggest, which may hinder a meritocracy. "By valuing popularity, organizations may be promoting a certain ‘clubby' atmosphere that mimics⁷ school culture" rather than rewarding merit, the researchers write。

　　研究人员表示，无论在组织中的地位如何，人缘好的员工总是会得到同事们更多的帮助。两位研究者暗示，这些员工还会比魅力较弱的员工获得不公平的优势，这可 能会阻碍唯才是举。研究人员写道，如果以受欢迎程度为评判标准，组织可能就会推崇一种类似学校文化的俱乐部气氛，而非任人唯贤。

　　I've been fortunate in working in meritocracies most of my life, but that's not the norm. Among fictional⁸ examples, consider the television comedy "The Office:" Who in his or her right mind would promote the cold, manipulative Angela Martin over the amiable⁹ Jim Halpert? The popular paper salesman proves the study's point, rising fast on the Dunder Mifflin organization chart with his smart "people skills," despite his indifference¹⁰ to his job。

　　我很庆幸自己大多数时间都工作在唯才是举的环境，但这不是普遍现象。如果要找个虚构的例子，可以想想电视喜剧《办公室》(The Office)里的情况：思维正常的人谁会提拔冷漠苦干的安吉拉?马丁(Angela Martin)而不是和善亲切的吉姆?哈本特(Jim Halpert)?这位广受欢迎的纸品推销员以自身经历验证了上述研究结果：尽管对工作漠不关心，但哈本特却以聪明的"为人处事"在Dunder Mifflin公司迅速窜升。

　　In fact, what these researchers call popularity, career coaches might call savvy¹¹ office politics the art of getting people in your corner. And it's clearly a big deal in many workplaces. A Salary.com survey last fall found dealing¹² with office politics was one of the top two time-wasters at work, after "fixing someone else's work."

　　实际上，这些研究人员所谓的人际关系，职场教练可能会称之为"办公室政治"——让人站到你这边的技巧。这在很多工作场所显然非常重要。Salary.com去年秋天的一项调查发现，应对办公室政治排在"替他人收拾烂摊子"之后，成为职场第二大分散工作精力的烦心事。

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