你只有四分之一秒:老闆如何對員工外表進行評判

Do not underestimate a first impression. According to 2011 research by Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital, people assess your competence and trustworthiness in a quarter of a second (250 milliseconds)–based solely on how you look.

不要低估第一印象的重要性。哈佛醫學院和馬薩諸塞州總醫院在2011年進行的調查顯示，人們會在四分之一秒（250毫秒）內單從你的外表來評判你的能力和信用。

While appearance was deemed less important than gravitas and communication skills, it’s the very first thing people see. So a major grooming mistake can instantly undermine your chances of showing just how good you really are. From the CTI researchers’ interviews with high-level leaders, these emerged as the top seven physical traits that you’re being judged on.

雖然人們認爲外表在重要性方面比不上舉止和溝通能力，但它卻是人們首先看到的東西。因此，在外表上的重大失誤會立刻降低你展現出自己真正有多麼優秀的機會。CTI研究人員對高層領導者的採訪揭示了老闆評判員工外表的七大特徵。

1. Grooming

1. 整潔

According to the research, good grooming habits—looking “polished” or “pulled together”—is a professional’s Most important physical asset. Moreover, women’s professional polish includes tasteful accessories, manicured nails and a hairstyle versus a haircut. Whereas, a man’s polished look is based on clean nails, shiny shoes, a clean shave and manicured facial hair, according to the report.

調查顯示，良好的整潔習慣（看起來“有教養”或“得體”）是專業人士最重要的外貌資產。這份調查顯示，女性的整潔外表包括了有品位的飾品，修剪整齊的指甲和好看的髮型，不能只是理髮了事。而男性的整潔外表包括了乾淨的指甲、光亮的皮鞋、刮乾淨的鬍鬚和修剪過的面部毛髮。

2. Posture

2. 姿勢

Sitting and standing tall is considered the second-most important leadership signifier, no matter what type of office environment you work in. Good posture—meaning planted feet, shoulders back and head straight—reflects confidence and authority. On the other hand, shuffly feet and shifty eyes or a slumped-over torso are often perceived as a lack of respect, energy or engagement.

坐姿和站姿被視爲第二個最重要的領導形象，無論你處在哪種辦公環境裏都是如此。良好的姿勢（雙腳放平，昂首挺胸）折射出自信和威嚴。反過來，拖着腳走路、賊眉鼠眼或身體傾斜常常被認爲是缺乏尊重、缺少活力或不夠敬業。

3. Physical Attractiveness

3. 身體吸引力

Studies show that attractive people are more likely to be viewed as smart, happy, interesting and successful. Among the executives surveyed, 16% said physical attractiveness contributes to a woman’s executive presence and 14% said the same for men. The researchers note, however, that it’s “less about being stereotypically pretty and more about consciously highlighting your best attributes and features and taking the time to appear well groomed.”

調查顯示，具有身體吸引力的人更有可能被視爲聰明、快樂、有趣和成功的人。在接受調查的高管中，16%的人說身體吸引力有助於提升女性的高管形象，14%的人說對男性也是如此。但研究人員指出，身體吸引力“不是通常所說的美麗，而是有意識地突顯你的最好品質和能力，花時間使自己顯得整潔得體。”

4. Slimness

4. 苗條

In the study, 21% of executives said being overweight looks bad for a woman and 17% said it hurts a man. Those numbers more than doubled when it came to obesity (45% and 43%, respectively). Additionally, several executives interviewed said that being in good physical shape implies you know how to take care of yourself and, by extension, important projects.

調查顯示，21%的高管說過重有損女性的形象，17%的人認爲這也會有損男性的形象。如果是肥胖，那麼這兩個數字會增加一倍多（分別爲45%和43%）。另外，幾位受訪高管說，保持良好的身形說明你知道如何照顧自己，言外之意就是你懂得如何處理重要的項目。

5. Height

5. 身高

While women are judged more critically by their weight, men are more likely to be sized up by their height. Of those surveyed, 16% said it’s important for men to be tall, compared to just 6% for women. Real estate executive Tim Melville-Ross told the CTI researchers that being 6’6” has been “a huge advantage” in his career.

雖然女性在體重方面受到了更加嚴苛的評判，但男性更有可能受到身高方面的評判。在受訪者中，16%的人說身材高對男性來說很重要，只有6%的人說身材高對女性來說很重要。房地產公司高管蒂姆·梅爾維爾-羅斯對CTI研究人員說，六英尺六英寸（約198cm）的身高爲其職業生涯帶來了“巨大的優勢”。

6. Expensive Clothing

6. 昂貴的服裝

Perhaps unsurprisingly, wearing expensive, or at least expensive-looking, clothing was rated as more important for those who work in formal business cultures. However, looking chic but not trendy proves to be more difficult for women, the researchers found, who have infinitely more style choices than men. Executives said that signature accessories—a great shoe or nice watch—go a long way, but flashy jewelry undermines your appearance. Similarly, they said brand names suggest stature, but too many labels are distracting.

昂貴的服裝或者至少看起來昂貴的服裝對那些工作環境較爲嚴肅的人來說顯得更加重要，這一點或許並不令人意外。但研究人員發現，在衣着高雅時尚的同時卻又不顯得盲目追趕潮流，這對女性來說更加難以做到，因爲她們的時尚選擇總是多於男性。高管們表示，特色鮮明的配飾（好鞋或好表）大有好處，但浮華的珠寶會貶低你的形象。同樣，他們說品牌表明了社會地位，但很多品牌會令人產生迷惑。

7. Youthful Appearance

7. 年輕的外表

Ironically, women are judged for looking too young and for looking too old, but more critically for the latter. Junior women confided that they secretly hoped for a couple gray hairs to look more experienced, and women in focus groups agreed there is only a small window for not looking too old or too young.

具有諷刺意味的是，女性會因爲外表過於年輕或過於年老而給人留下不好的印象，但對後者的評判更加苛刻。年輕女性承認，她們偷偷地希望能有兩三根灰白的頭髮，以便使自己顯得更有經驗。但受訪女性認爲，看起來不太老和不太年輕之間的餘地很小。