2022年经济学人 为什么在工作中可以不完美？（1）

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Bartleby: The perils¹ of perfectionism

巴托比：完美主义的危险性

A backlash against the tyranny of high expectations

苛刻的高期望引起的强烈反对

It is the world’s most tired interview question: what is your greatest weakness?

“你最大的缺点是什么？”这是世界上最陈词滥调的面试问题。

And Rishi Sunak, one of the two remaining candidates in the race to become Britain’s prime minister, gave the world’s most tired answer—perfectionism—when he was asked it at an online hustings² earlier this month.

本月早些时候，英国首相竞选中剩下的两位候选人之一里希·苏纳克在一次网上竞选中被问及这个问题时，给出了世界上最陈词滥调的答案--完美主义。

No interviewee would answer this question with an unambiguous negative (“stupidity”, say, or “body odour”).

没有一个面试者会在回答这个问题时给出一个明确的缺点(比如“糊涂”或“体臭”)。

Like all those who have reached for it before, Mr Sunak will have intended his reply to signal that his flaws are virtues³, especially compared with the shambolic style of Boris Johnson’s outgoing government.

就像之前所有这么回答的人一样，苏纳克的回复意在表明，他的缺点也是优点，这与即将离任的鲍里斯·约翰逊混乱的管理风格形成了尤其鲜明的对比。

But this classic response is riskier⁴ than it once was.

但这种经典回答比从前风险更大了。

In Mr Sunak’s case that is because the job of prime minister is largely to triage problems and make decisions at a relentless⁵ pace; even his supporters worry that his deliberative style would be a problem.

拿苏纳克的例子来说，这是因为总理的工作主要是对问题进行分类，并迅速做出决定；所以就连他的支持者也担心，他的慎重风格会是一个问题。

More generally, perfectionism is increasingly out of step with the ways that products are developed, employees are treated and workforces⁶ are organised.

从更广泛的意义上来说，完美主义与产品研发、员工待遇和员工组织的方式愈发不合拍。

Start with product development.

先来说产品研发。

Lots of digital types embrace the concept of the minimum viable⁷ product (MVP), in which companies ship prototypes that can be refined, or indeed scrapped⁸, on the basis of feedback from early adopters.

许多数码公司都信奉最简可行产品(MVP)的概念，即公司推出产品原型，再根据早期用户的反馈改进原型，甚至废弃原型。

The essence of the MVP approach is anti-perfectionism: don’t procrastinate⁹, don’t spend time sweating the tiniest details, get your product into users’ hands and see how it does.

MVP策略的本质是反完美主义：不要拖延，不要花时间去操心最微小的细节，先把产品送到用户手中，看看效果如何。

Fussing about font sizes and nice-to-have features is a waste of time; the market will hone things for you, dispensing¹⁰ its judgments¹¹ cumulatively¹² and dispassionately.

纠结于字体大小和可有可无的功能是在浪费时间；市场会为你打磨产品，不断给予你客观评价。

A growing emphasis on employees’ well-being¹³ is another reason why perfectionism is out of favour.

对员工心理健康的日益重视是完美主义失宠的另一个原因。

The trait is on the rise: a study published in 2017 found that it had been steadily¹⁴ increasing among American, British and Canadian college students between 1989 and 2016 (before you blame Instagram, one big reason is rising parental¹⁵ expectations).

这种追求完美的趋势正愈演愈烈：2017年发表的一项研究发现，1989年到2016年间，美国、英国和加拿大的大学生在心理健康方面追求完美的这一特征一直稳步上升(先别急着指责Instagram，父母的期望不断提高是很重要的一个原因)。

The tyranny of excessively high expectations is not good for you: a big literature review in 2016 concluded that perfectionism is associated with a string of mental-health disorders¹⁶, from depression and burnout to stress and self-harm.

期望过高带来的苛刻对你没有好处：2016年的一个长篇文献综述得出结论，完美主义与一系列心理健康障碍有关，包括抑郁、崩溃、压力和自残。

1 perils   

极大危险( peril的名词复数 )； 危险的事（或环境）

参考例句：

• The commander bade his men be undaunted in the face of perils. 指挥员命令他的战士要临危不惧。
• With how many more perils and disasters would he load himself? 他还要再冒多少风险和遭受多少灾难？

2 hustings   

n.竞选活动

参考例句：

• With only days to go before elections in Pakistan,candidates are battling it out at the hustings.离巴基斯坦大选只有几天的时间了，各候选人正在竞选活动上一决胜负。
• Most politicians will be at the hustings in the coming week.大多数政治家将在下周展开竞选活动。

3 virtues   

美德( virtue的名词复数 )； 德行； 优点； 长处

参考例句：

• Doctors often extol the virtues of eating less fat. 医生常常宣扬少吃脂肪的好处。
• She delivered a homily on the virtues of family life. 她进行了一场家庭生活美德方面的说教。

4 riskier   

冒险的，危险的( risky的比较级 )

参考例句：

• Now they are starting to demand higher returns on riskier assets. 而今他们开始在风险更高的资产上要求更高的回报。
• The problem with that: RIM's business is getting riskier every quarter. 不过问题也随之而来：RIM面临的业务风险正逐季增大。

5 relentless   

adj.残酷的，不留情的，无怜悯心的

参考例句：

• The traffic noise is relentless.交通车辆的噪音一刻也不停止。
• Their training has to be relentless.他们的训练必须是无情的。

6 workforces   

全体员工( workforce的名词复数 )； （国家或行业等）劳动力； 劳动大军； 劳动人口

参考例句：

• The Web has allowed companies to become more distributed and workforces to become more flexible. 网站已允许各公司更加分散，工作队伍也变得更加灵活。
• They are large centres of business in their own with skilled workforces and business-friendly environments. 从自身条件来说，它们都是大型商业中心，拥有大批技能型劳动力和友好的商业运作环境。

7 viable   

adj.可行的，切实可行的，能活下去的

参考例句：

• The scheme is economically viable.这个计划从经济效益来看是可行的。
• The economy of the country is not viable.这个国家经济是难以维持的。

8 scrapped   

废弃(scrap的过去式与过去分词)； 打架

参考例句：

• This machine is so old that it will soon have to be scrapped. 这架机器太旧，快报废了。
• It had been thought that passport controls would be scrapped. 人们曾认为会放开护照管制。

9 procrastinate   

v.耽搁，拖延

参考例句：

• Most often we procrastinate when faced with something we do not want to do.面对不想做的事情，我们经常拖延。
• It's easy to procrastinate when the deadline seems infinitely far away.当最终期限总是遥遥无期时是很容易延期的。

10 dispensing   

v.分配( dispense的现在分词 )；施与；配（药）

参考例句：

• A dispensing optician supplies glasses, but doesn't test your eyes. 配镜师为你提供眼镜，但不检查眼睛。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The firm has been dispensing ointments. 本公司配制药膏。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 judgments   

判断( judgment的名词复数 )； 鉴定； 评价； 审判

参考例句：

• A peculiar austerity marked his judgments of modern life. 他对现代生活的批评带着一种特殊的苛刻。
• He is swift with his judgments. 他判断迅速。

12 cumulatively   

adv.累积地，渐增地

参考例句：

• Mind has become self-reproducing through man's capacity to transmit experience and its products cumulatively. 通过传递生活经验和积累创造的产品，人类的智慧在不断地进行着自我丰富。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• At first, the drug does no harm, but cumulatively its effects are bad. 这药开始对人没有害处，但连续服用后果就坏了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 well-being   

n.安康，安乐，幸福

参考例句：

• He always has the well-being of the masses at heart.他总是把群众的疾苦挂在心上。
• My concern for their well-being was misunderstood as interference.我关心他们的幸福，却被误解为多管闲事。

14 steadily   

adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地

参考例句：

• The scope of man's use of natural resources will steadily grow.人类利用自然资源的广度将日益扩大。
• Our educational reform was steadily led onto the correct path.我们的教学改革慢慢上轨道了。

15 parental   

adj.父母的；父的；母的

参考例句：

• He encourages parental involvement in the running of school.他鼓励学生家长参与学校的管理。
• Children always revolt against parental disciplines.孩子们总是反抗父母的管束。

16 disorders   

n.混乱( disorder的名词复数 )；凌乱；骚乱；（身心、机能）失调

参考例句：

• Reports of anorexia and other eating disorders are on the increase. 据报告，厌食症和其他饮食方面的功能紊乱发生率正在不断增长。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The announcement led to violent civil disorders. 这项宣布引起剧烈的骚乱。 来自《简明英汉词典》