双语职场:为什么你的工作不在状态

http://www.sina.com.cn/   2011年12月30日 15:27   新浪论坛

Performing badly at work? You can blame the 'Tiger Woods effect' where working alongside the employee of the month makes you slack off

工作表现不佳？都是“老虎伍兹”效应在作怪，同事中的月度最佳员工会让你工作懈怠。

A brilliant employee should – in theory – be an inspiration to colleagues。

理论上说，一位十分出色的雇员应该能激发其他同事的工作热情。

But rather than raising their game, workmates put in a worse performance when in the presence of a high-flier, experts say。

但专家的说法却恰恰相反：如果公司有一位员工的表现异常出色，其他人的表现就会大打折扣。

They have called this phenomenon the Tiger Woods Effect after analysing the performances of golfers from 1999 to 2010 while Woods was far and away the world number one。

1999年至2010年间，老虎伍兹称得上是遥遥领先的世界第一高尔夫球手，专家分析研究了在这期间巡回赛上其他高尔夫球手们的表现，发现他们的表现有失水准，专家们把这一现象称作“老虎伍兹效应”。

When he was at the peak of his powers, other top players shot worse scores intournaments in which he participated than they did in similar events if he was absent, as if his presence inhibited them。

在伍兹职业生涯的巅峰期，只要有他参加的比赛，其他顶尖球手就会表现不佳，而如果伍兹没有参加比赛，这些球手就能够正常发挥，如同伍兹的出现限制了他们的发挥。

And because of this, Woods earned around ￡4million more from these contests than he would have done if his rivals had played their normal game, economists found。

经济学家发现，正因如此，如果在这些比赛中，伍兹的对手们能够正常发挥的话，他的奖金恐怕就要缩水400万欧元。

The remarkable effect on golfers could apply just as much in a workplace, according to the researchers at Chicago’s Northwestern University。

芝加哥西北大学的研究人员称，这一显著效应不光仅限于高尔夫球员，还同样适用于工作场所。

In particular, the Tiger factor could affect offices where one worker keeps winning ‘employee of the month’ or regular bonuses for making the most sales。

如果某位雇员总能赢得“本月最佳员工”，或者总能赢得最佳销售业绩奖金，老虎伍兹效应就会在办公室里发生作用。

Instead of trying to compete, other staff – like Tiger’s opponents – simply stop trying as hard because they don’t think they are going to win。

和伍兹的对手们一样，其他员工不会再继续努力、尝试竞争，因为他们知道自己赢不了。

The report, published in the Journal of Political Economy, said: 'His superstar statushobbles the competition.'

如同《政治经济学杂志》报道中所说的：“他无可动摇的巨星地位让竞争变得毫无意义。”

Northwestern economist Jennifer Brown said the same could apply in certain, competitive, office environments。

西北大学经济学家珍妮弗·布朗(Jennifer Brown)称伍兹效应同样适用于某些有竞争的办公场合。

Her study added: 'For example, a company may reward its top monthly salesperson with some extra money or a prize - the idea being that competition increases everybody's effort。

在她的研究中提到：“举例来说，为了增加竞争、激励雇员，公司可能会设立奖金或奖品，奖励每月的销售冠军。”

'But what if one salesperson seems to win every month? The others might slack off, knowing they have little chance to take the prize.'

“如果获胜的总是同一个销售员呢？其他人就会懈怠起来，因为他们知道自己没什么机会赢得奖励。”

On Tiger Woods she said: 'When Woods played in a tournament, other players shot nearly a full stroke higher。

再说回到老虎伍兹：“有老虎伍兹参加的巡回赛上，其他球手完成比赛的杆数要比平常多接近一杆。”

'The effect was strongest among the top-ranked players, who would be in direct competition with Woods for the highest payouts.'

“老虎伍兹效应在排名靠前的球手身上表现的更为明显，因为他们是与伍兹竞争高额奖金的直接对手。”

The stats suggest they did not try harder because a higher number of riskier shots would have shown up in more double bogey and eagles (two over or two under par。)

研究数据表明这些球手并没有在比赛中努力求胜，如果他们求胜心强、冒险出杆，应该会打出更多的双伯忌和老鹰球(高于标准杆两杆或者低于标准杆两杆)。

She said: 'We'd expect to see players hit more eagles and more double bogeys when playing against Woods, reflecting a high-risk, high-reward strategy。

她说道：“我们本以为这些球手在对上老虎伍兹时，会采取高风险高回报的策略，打出更多的老鹰球或双伯忌。”

'But that's not the case。

“但实际情况恰恰相反。”

'There were significantly fewer eagles and double bogeys when Woods played."

“伍兹参加的比赛中，老鹰球和双伯忌的数量明显比平常少。”

She added: 'By my estimates, Woods pocketed nearly $6 million in additional earnings because of the reduced effort of other golfers - prize money that would otherwise have been distributed to other players in the field.'

她补充道：“据我估计，因为其他高尔夫球手无心恋战，伍兹获得了将近600万美元的额外收入——其他高尔夫球手本有机会赢得这些奖金。”

The results suggest business should be more careful when trying to get their employees to be more competitive with each other, the study adds。

研究结果表明，在引入员工竞争机制时，公司应该采取更加谨慎的态度。

(来源：北外诺加)