英语学习：办公室里这三种人“有毒”

友谊的真诚

Harris Interactive近日做了一项工作压力调查，显示令人讨厌的同事可能导致办公压力增大。后果有哪些？根据韬睿惠悦的全球职场福利态度调研，办公压力变大可能导致缺勤率增加，工作积极性降低，效率也会受影响。
问题是，有些同事不仅是令人讨厌，而是“有毒”到让人没法忍。这种人会拉着身边同事一起堕落，影响他人工作效率，有他们在别想提什么创造力。这些人最擅长让人感觉一无是处。不管怎么说，他们的负能量就像疾病一样传染。


According to the Work Stress Survey, conducted by Harris Interactive, annoying co-workers can create a stressful workplace. The costs of this added stress? Higher absenteeism, lower engagement and less productivity, according to a Towers Watson’s Global Benefits Attitudes survey.
Then, there are co-workers who are more than just annoying, they're toxic. They bring people down with them and affect the productivity of others. They drain creativity. They make you feel unaccomplished. Whatever it is, their negative tendencies spread like a disease.

友谊的真诚

为了保持头脑清醒和正常工作效率，一定要不惜代价躲开这种同事。但要记住一点，如果不特别留意，可能很难发现哪些人是害群之马。Monster网站近日咨询了职场专家，了解到三种常见的负能量同事，以及如何应对。

For the sake of your own sanity and productivity, avoid these toxic co-workers at all costs. But keep in mind these employees may be hard to detect with an untrained eye. Monster has consulted career experts on how to spot three common types of toxic co-workers and how to handle them.

友谊的真诚

逆反者/抱怨者
如何甄别：逆反者可没有固定的名字，所以多留心身边总是说“不”，或者跟身边正常积极同事对着干的人。态度是可以传染的，逆反的态度很快就能搅乱办公室的氛围。
如何应对：有两种办法对付传染性的负能量：要么限制，要么抵制。对逆反者同样道理。
“不要放弃自己的立场，也不要跟着负能量同事的节奏，跟这种同事要客客气气，说话点到即可，” 总部位于康涅狄格州的公关公司Magas Media Consultants副总裁珍妮弗·李·马格斯如此建议。换句话说，通过减少接触限制对方负能量的传播。“一开始可能觉得能随便听听，很快就会发现跟这种人走近了会影响你在办公室的形象。”
说到底就看日常工作中要不要跟这种同事打交道。如果没有交集，避开就很简单（当然具体要看办公室面积大小。）如果必须打交道，马格斯提供了非常棒的建议：不要放弃底线。虽然负能量会传染，同样道理正能量也能感染别人。用积极乐观的态度抵抗对方的负能量，就能将对方带来的阴霾一扫而光。


The contrarian/complainer
How to spot them: Not all contrarians are named Mary Mary, so be on the lookout for someone who is constantly saying “no” or contradicting other normally positive people. Attitudes are contagious, and the contrarian can quickly sour an office.
How to handle them: There are two ways to handle contagious materials: contain or counteract. The same applies to the contrarian.
“Don’t give in and chime in with your negativity, but rather be friendly and keep conversations light with this person,” advises Jennifer Lee Magas, vice president of Magas Media Consultants, LLC, a public relations firm in Connecticut. In other words, keep their negativity contained by limiting your exposure to it. “While you might initially feel obligated to lend an ear, associating yourself too closely with this person can give you a bad reputation at work,”
In the end, it depends whether you have to work with this person on a regular basis. If you don’t, you can somewhat easily avoid them (depending on the size of the office). If you do, Magas offers great advice: Don’t give in. In the same way that negativity is contagious, so, too, is positivity. Counteract the negative with a healthy dose of the positive and watch the toxicity wither away.

友谊的真诚

八卦小人
如何甄别：八卦的人伪装得再好，也还是能看出端倪：例如说话前总要看看背后，喜欢在茶水间窃窃私语，还有个最明显的信号，开头经常来一句“跟你说个事，别告诉别人啊。”只要听到这些话，赶紧躲远远的。搬弄是非有时只是分散点注意力，但有时候破坏力巨大。对这些人来说，在办公室里说闲话就像在中学校园里八卦一样。你要拿出想尽借口也不想打扫厨房的劲头躲开这种同事。
如何应对：学习电视剧《丑闻》里的奥利维亚·波普，让对方乖乖闭嘴。如果八卦的人想拉你一起，礼貌地告诉他们你没兴趣聊公司里的是非。就要这么简单直接。不然即便你没参与八卦，也有可能受到传谣言的人连累。
常驻纽约的职场顾问兼高管培训师罗伊·科恩回忆说，曾经有个客户告诉另一个同事自己怀孕了，不过才第二个月，其实不方便在公司里宣布。
“她一兴奋说漏了怀孕的事。真的是没过几分钟，全公司的人，包括她的老板全都知道了，”罗伊说。“其实她根本没准备谈休产假，结果被迫临时应对各种麻烦。”
说什么，对谁说都要格外注意。老话说得好，开口前要三思。


The gossiper
How to spot them: There are a few tell-tale signs that even the best gossipers let show sometimes: looking over their shoulders before talking, whispering in the kitchen, and the biggest of them all, "Have I got something to tell you." When you hear those words, head for the hills. Sure, gossipers can be sometimes mildly distracting, but other times, they’re totally destructive. For them, it’s middle school all over again. You'll want to avoid the gossiper more than kitchen-cleaning duty.
How to handle them: Pull an Olivia Pope and Shut. It. Down. Should the gossiper try to lure you into their game, politely tell them you don’t want to get involved in company gossip. It should be that simple and straightforward. Otherwise, you risk associating yourself with the person (or people) spreading false information, even if you have nothing to do with the gossip.
Roy Cohen, a career counselor and executive coach in New York City, recalls one of his clients who told a colleague she was pregnant, but it was only in her second month of pregnancy—too soon to announce to the company.
“In her excitement, it slipped that she was expecting, and literally, within minutes everyone, including her boss, knew,” he says. “She wasn't prepared yet to talk about maternity leave, and it forced her to address this issue before its time.”
Be careful what you say and to whom. As the saying goes, think before you speak.

友谊的真诚

健忘者
如何甄别：还在等上周要的报告么？中了。小组项目最后你自己搞定的？中了。收到邮件的开头写着“对不起，我忘了……”？又中了。还在想怎么看出谁健忘？不用了吧。不幸的是，几乎每个办公室里都有少数几个员工工作不上心，任务总是能拖就拖。要是每个人都像你那么努力工作就好了。
如何应对：“如果你敢信任这种同事能帮忙，最后只会措手不及，要么就是被占便宜，”马格斯说。“你以为他们重要会议放鸽子之前会给你打个招呼，真是想多了。”
所以要避免跟健忘者一起做项目，回绝时可以这么说“我知道你建议跟某某（健忘者）合作，但是某某（另一位同事）擅长的领域对项目更有帮助。要不我跟她一起做吧？”这样看上去不像你抛弃了某个同事，只是为了努力为公司做出更好的业绩。如果实在躲不开，一定要想办法划开界限，保护自己的声誉。



The flake
How to spot them: Still waiting for that report you asked for last week? Check. Finishing the group project on your own? Check. Just got an email that begins with, "So sorry I forgot..."? Check. Still wondering how to spot a flake? Nope. Unfortunately, almost every office will have a few employees who don’t pull their weight and flake on assignments. If only everyone was as hardworking as you.
How to handle them: “Trusting this person to help you out will ultimately leave you unprepared or taken advantage of,” Magas says. “You would think they’d at least give you a heads-up before not showing up for the big meeting.”
So try to avoid working on projects with the flake, with lines like “I know you suggested working with [the flake], but [another colleague] would bring a more complementary skill set. Could she and I tackle this together instead?” This way rather than throwing someone under the bus, you’re making it look like your interests are with getting the best results for the company. If that tack doesn’t work, make sure to create defenses that will shield your reputation.

友谊的真诚

举个例子，虽然频繁提醒别人注意项目进度可能招人烦，但是一旦有高层问起为什么某某项目没按时完成，你就能拿出一系列书面证据。又或者，使用合作工作流程工具，例如Basecamp或者Trello，任务每个步骤都能检查完成情况，不过要注意让老板能看到。有时为了避免在老板面前难堪，健忘的人也会积极表现完成工作。起码能加快些进度。
当然了，如果经常要为健忘者收拾烂摊子，总得想办法岔开八卦小人的话题，一看到抱怨者就赶紧掉头走开，可能不仅会讨厌相关的同事，对工作也会厌恶起来。这很正常。负能量的员工最终就是会把办公室文化搞得一团糟。到时你就要认真想想怎么选择了：如果你感觉没问题，可以找领导或者人力资源的同事谈一谈，看看有没办法解决。有时确实能起作用。
或者就换个工作，彻底远离讨厌的同事。评估公司文化可以借鉴Monster网站的建议，也可以上Monster的兄弟网站Kununu研究各家雇主，找找哪里办公氛围比较好。


For example, as annoying as it is, sending the person regular reminders of project expectations will give you a trail of documented evidence should anybody at a higher level ask questions later about why X didn’t get done. Or, suggest using a collaborative workflow tool, like Basecamp or Trello, with steps to be checked off when tasks are completed, and note that you’ll give the boss access for transparency. The risk of looking badly to the manager may prompt the person to shape up and deliver. Or at least semi-deliver.
Of course, after a few times of covering for the flake—or trying to redirect the gossiper or run the other direction when you see the complainer—you may start feeling a little frustrated not just with the person but also with your job. That’s pretty normal. Ultimately, toxic workers can create toxic workplace cultures. And that’s when you’ve got a serious choice to make: If you feel comfortable, you could talk to your manager, or with human resources, to see if they’re willing to get involved. Sometimes that can help.
Or, you can rid yourself of these toxins entirely by finding yourself a new workplace. Take Monster’s advice on how to assess a company's culture and research employers on Monster’s partner site Kununu to find a place where the air isn’t as noxious.