職場雙語:職場惡霸是如何出人頭地的

It can pay to be a bully.

職場惡霸是很划得來的。

In a rather disheartening study, a team of researchers led by Darren C. Treadway, of the University at Buffalo School of Management, found that many workplace bullies receive positive evaluations from their supervisors and achieve high levels of career success, despite organizational efforts to curtail bullying.

在一項相當令人沮喪的研究中，紐約州立大學布法羅管理學院(the University at Buffalo School of Management)的達倫•C.特雷德韋(Darren C. Treadway)領導的一個研究小組發現，儘管企業努力減少欺凌行爲，但許多職場惡霸都得到了上司的正面評價，而且在事業上平步青雲。

The researchers sought to study the relationship between workplace bullying and job performance. They collected behavioral and job-performance data from 54 employees of a U.S. health-care firm, and found a strong correlation between bullying, positive job evaluations and social and political skill in the workplace.

研究人員試圖研究職場欺凌與工作業績之間的關係。他們收集了來自一家美國衛生保健企業的54名員工的行爲與工作業績數據，發現在職場欺凌、正面工作評價和社交與政治技能之間存在着很強的關聯。

The study defines workplace bullying as 'systematic aggression and violence targeted towards one or more individuals by one individual or by a group.'

這項研究將職場欺凌定義爲“一個人或一個羣體對一人或多人進行的系統性侵害與暴力行爲”。

The researchers found that many bullies thrive by charming their supervisors and manipulating others to help them get ahead, even while they abuse their co-workers. Because many bullies can 'possess high levels of social ability, ' they are 'able to strategically abuse co-workers and yet be evaluated positively by their supervisor, ' the authors write.

研究人員發現，許多職場惡霸通過迷惑上司和操縱別人來幫助自己出人頭地，即使他們與此同時正在欺凌同事。研究作者寫道，由於許多職場惡霸可能“擁有高水平社交能力”，因此他們“有能力講究策略地欺凌同事，同時仍然獲得上司的正面評價”。

'If people are politically skilled, they can do bad things really well, ' says Dr. Treadway.

特雷德韋博士：“如果人們有政治手腕，就可以將壞事做得非常漂亮。”

(Political skill, Dr. Treadway says, is 'the ability to effectively understand others at work and to use such knowledge to influence others to act in ways that enhance one's personal and/or organizational objectives.')

（特雷德韋博士說，政治手腕是“在工作中有效理解他人並利用這種知識影響他人的行爲，以促成個人目標和（或）組織目標的能力”。）

The study notes that workplace bullying is prevalent: About half of all U.S. employees have witnessed workplace bullying and more than a third have been the target of bullying, according to past research.

這項研究指出，職場欺凌是很普遍的：根據過去的研究，所有美國員工中，約半數曾目睹職場欺凌，超過1/3的人曾是職場欺凌的對象。

The researchers suggest that firms assess civility and camaraderie as part of performance and help staff develop skills to manage bullies.

研究人員建議，企業應該將禮貌和友愛作爲業績的一部分進行評估，並幫助員工培養對付欺凌的技巧。

The study was published earlier this year in the Journal of Managerial Psychology.

這項研究的論文發表在了今年早些時候的《管理心理學雜誌》(Journal of Managerial Psychology)上。