With so much bad news in the workplace, gallows humor is making a comeback.職場老是有這麼多的壞消息 絞架幽默又捲土重來瞭。I 世界之窗－Gallows humor絞架幽默：如何麵對苦難還微笑 - 趣味新聞網

發表日期 2010-08-28T01:22:56+08:00

    With so much bad news in the workplace, gallows humor is making a comeback.

    職場老是有這麼多的壞消息，絞架幽默又捲土重來瞭。

    It may seem like a mistake, or at least in poor taste, to find humor in such dark times. Some co-workers may disprove. But psychologists say that gallows humor can be an important way to relieve stress.

    前景黯淡時去尋找幽默似乎好像不對，或起碼是品味不好。但有些人可能無法苟同。心理學傢們認為，絞架幽默可能成為一種重要的解壓方式。

    Note 　Gallows humors

    「絞架幽默」，是針對自身麵對糟糕處境時所錶達的一種幽默。例如刑犯在行刑前留下遺言時說：「告訴州長，他剛好失去瞭我的選票。」此外，還包括對自己未來的生病、工作被辭退、考試不及格等遭遇使用幽默或開玩笑的，皆屬於此種幽默。

    “Humor makes you feel in control and it can give you that feeling that everything is okay even when it's not,” says James M. Jones, a psychology professor at the University of Delaware.

    幽默令你覺得自己掌控著局麵，並讓你覺得一切都沒問題，就算與實際狀況不符。

    Psychologists say that just because you're laughing doesn't mean you're wasting time. You're actually making yourself─and those around you─better employees. Occasional teasing and banter among colleagues, particularly if it revolves around things associated with the job, can boost creativity, departmental cohesiveness and performance, they say.

    心理學傢說，你笑並不是浪費時間。你其實是讓自己以及周圍的人成為更好的員工。同事之間偶爾開開玩笑，尤其是如果繞著與工作相關的事，可以提高創造力和部門凝聚力，並提升工作錶現。

    Note　 Revolve around 以….為中心

    Revolve原來就是繞著某個東西轉的意思。我發現很多台灣學生不太會用這個字。因為一想到「轉」，我們會用turn。Turn是自己轉，revolve是繞著東西轉。Revolve around第一個意思是繞著某個東西轉。例如:

    The earth revolves round the sun. 地球環繞太陽運行。

    做進一步的延伸，就是以某事為中心：

    My life revolves around my job. 我的工作是我生活的中心。

    A baby's life revolves mainly around its mother. 嬰孩的生活以其母親為中心。

    This is as long as the humor is used for the right purpose. The main point of it should be motivating people─not mocking them. “Anything that would lift morale in terms of the company would be good humor,” says Thierry Guedj, a professor of business and psychology at Boston University. “Before you say or do anything, think about, ‘How is this helping my employees’ morale?’” Unlike when Michael Scott makes jokes on “The Office” (“He gets people demotivated,” Dr. Guedj says), you want to boost the staff's confidence and increase its solidarity.

    幽默用對瞭地方就能達到這樣的效果。關鍵在於激勵人，而不在嘲笑人。隻要能提升公司的士氣，那就是好的幽默。在你說或做任何事之前，想想這樣對員工的士氣有什麼幫助？不要像《辦公室風雲》(The Office)裏開玩笑那樣給洩氣，而應當提高員工的信心、增進團結。

    You want to give your employees and co-workers a sense of belonging, so don't make observations that are aggressive, sarcastic or alienating. “Avoid anything that stereotypes people,” Dr. Guedj says. Most obviously, he says, don't make comments about people's ethnicity, physical appearance, sexual preference or faith. An easy check for what to do or say in murkier territory: If you have any doubt it's appropriate, don't go through with it.

    你得讓員工和同事有歸屬感，因此不要說具有攻擊性、諷刺挖苦或是挑撥離間的話。Guedj說，要避免對人們帶有成見的言論。最顯著的是，不要評論他人的種族、長相、性取嚮或宗教信仰。對於不太明確的領域什麼該說什麼不該說，有一個簡易的衡量方法：如果你對自己想說或者想做的存在疑問，那就彆做。

    Or take aim at the one person you know won't be offended: Yourself. “If there's going to be a butt to a joke or story, it should be you,” Mr. Dunkelblau says. For example, if you're marketing manager reviewing a failed campaign you authorized, begin with a line like, “The guy who signed off on this deal might just be looking for work next week.” That's gallows-humor gold.

    還有一個好方法，找一個你肯定不會得罪的那個人：你自己。Dunkelblau說，要是一個笑話或是故事得有個笑料，那應該是你自己。比如說，你是行銷經理，正在評估一個你批準但失敗瞭的宣傳活動，那這句話就可以是開場白：簽字批準這個活動的傢夥下周可能就得去找新工作瞭。這是絞架幽默的精髓所在。

    Note 　 Sign off

    Sign off有很多意思。第一個是宣布結束一項溝通。例如：

    I'll sign off now, but will write again next week. 我要走瞭，下周再繼續寫吧！

    或是“Give someone a letter to be away from work”

    My doctor signed me off for a month with back problems. 我的醫生開瞭我背痛證明，我可以休假一個月。

    Sign off在加上一個on，在口語上常見，是正式的核準。這篇文章就是用這個意思。

    We got the Congress to sign off on the tax proposal. 國會批準我們的稅款提議瞭。

    “People with the ability to laugh at themselves can give other people permission to laugh at themselves too,” Mr. Jones says. “And if you can laugh at yourself, you feel better about yourself.”

    能夠自嘲的人會讓其他人也可以自嘲。而要是能自嘲的話，你就會對自己感覺好一點兒。

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