办公室人缘到底有多重要

 　　You might think you left the world of cliques¹ and in-crowds behind when you left high school。

　　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。

1 cliques   

n.小集团，小圈子，派系( clique的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• All traitorous persons and cliques came to no good end. 所有的叛徒及叛徒集团都没好下场。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They formed cliques and carried arms expansion and war preparations. 他们拉帮结派，扩军备战。 来自互联网

2 applied   

adj.应用的；v.应用，适用

参考例句：

• She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
• This cream is best applied to the face at night.这种乳霜最好晚上擦脸用。

3 psychology   

n.心理，心理学，心理状态

参考例句：

• She has a background in child psychology.她受过儿童心理学的教育。
• He studied philosophy and psychology at Cambridge.他在剑桥大学学习哲学和心理学。

4 courteous   

adj.彬彬有礼的，客气的

参考例句：

• Although she often disagreed with me,she was always courteous.尽管她常常和我意见不一，但她总是很谦恭有礼。
• He was a kind and courteous man.他为人友善，而且彬彬有礼。

5 withholding   

扣缴税款

参考例句：

• She was accused of withholding information from the police. 她被指控对警方知情不报。
• The judge suspected the witness was withholding information. 法官怀疑见证人在隐瞒情况。

6 administrative   

adj.行政的，管理的

参考例句：

• The administrative burden must be lifted from local government.必须解除地方政府的行政负担。
• He regarded all these administrative details as beneath his notice.他认为行政管理上的这些琐事都不值一顾。

7 mimics   

n.模仿名人言行的娱乐演员，滑稽剧演员( mimic的名词复数 )；善于模仿的人或物v.（尤指为了逗乐而）模仿( mimic的第三人称单数 )；酷似

参考例句：

• Methods:Models were generate by CT scan,Mimics software and Abaqus software. 方法：采用CT扫描，Mimics软件和Abaqus软件的CAD进行三维有限元模型的创建。 来自互联网
• Relaxing the mind and body mimics the effect that some blood-pressure pills would have. 放松身心会产生某些降压药才能产生的效果。 来自辞典例句

8 fictional   

adj.小说的，虚构的

参考例句：

• The names of the shops are entirely fictional.那些商店的名字完全是虚构的。
• The two authors represent the opposite poles of fictional genius.这两位作者代表了天才小说家两个极端。

9 amiable   

adj.和蔼可亲的，友善的，亲切的

参考例句：

• She was a very kind and amiable old woman.她是个善良和气的老太太。
• We have a very amiable companionship.我们之间存在一种友好的关系。

10 indifference   

n.不感兴趣，不关心，冷淡，不在乎

参考例句：

• I was disappointed by his indifference more than somewhat.他的漠不关心使我很失望。
• He feigned indifference to criticism of his work.他假装毫不在意别人批评他的作品。

11 savvy   

v.知道，了解；n.理解能力，机智，悟性；adj.有见识的，懂实际知识的，通情达理的

参考例句：

• She was a pretty savvy woman.她是个见过世面的漂亮女人。
• Where's your savvy?你的常识到哪里去了？

12 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。