Why Are We So Bad at Choosing the Right Job?

托馬斯·查莫羅-普雷穆季奇（Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic）? | 文

What would be your perfect job? Although there are well-defined parameters around what people actually want from work, our career-related choices are not always consistent with those parameters — even when we are consciously aware of them.

你最理想的工作是什么？盡管人們對(duì)于從工作中真正希望得到的東西有明確的標(biāo)準(zhǔn)，但是與職業(yè)生涯相關(guān)的選擇并不總是滿足這些標(biāo)準(zhǔn)——哪怕是在我們對(duì)那些標(biāo)準(zhǔn)有清醒意識(shí)的時(shí)候。

Consider that most of us want just?three specific things?from our jobs, namely:

細(xì)想一下，我們多數(shù)人只希望從工作中得到三樣具體的東西：

A?sense of competence and mastery:?acquired by being given the chance to perform above the expectation of our role, and to grow through learning opportunities that make us better.

即能力感與掌控感。獲此感覺是因?yàn)槲覀儽毁x予了機(jī)會(huì)，可以超越角色預(yù)期來表現(xiàn)自己，可以通過自我完善的學(xué)習(xí)機(jī)會(huì)而成長(zhǎng)。

A sense of community or affiliation:?the product of fair and respectful relationships with colleagues, and the sense that one is appreciated at work. This is why company?culture?is such a pivotal factor in driving satisfaction or dissatisfaction among employees.

集體感或歸屬感。這是與同事建立公平和尊重關(guān)系的產(chǎn)物，以及在工作中受到贊賞的感覺。這就是企業(yè)文化為何是讓員工產(chǎn)生滿意或不滿意感覺的關(guān)鍵因素。

A sense of meaning and purpose:?a feeling that we are devoted to something that matters, and that aligns with our core values and drivers.

意義感和使命感。這是一種我們投身于某件重要事情的感覺，那件事符合我們的核心價(jià)值和動(dòng)因。

Of course, it would be na?ve to assume that every person in the world has access to a career that ticks all three boxes. But, at the same time, workers?everywhere?are expected to attain these goals, regardless of macro-economic circumstances, potential, and talent. As a result, most people have an innate desire to pursue a version of their perfect job, or at least improve their current role — something academics call “job crafting.”

當(dāng)然，如果認(rèn)為世上每一個(gè)人都可以找到符合上述所有三個(gè)條件的職業(yè)，那就太天真了?？膳c此同時(shí)，任何地方的員工都理應(yīng)實(shí)現(xiàn)這些目標(biāo)，不管宏觀經(jīng)濟(jì)環(huán)境、潛力及才華如何。結(jié)果，多數(shù)人內(nèi)心都產(chǎn)生了追求某種完美工作的欲望，或者至少完善他們當(dāng)前的角色——學(xué)術(shù)界稱之為“工作形塑”。

This is not a bad thing.?Optimizing your job to match your abilities and interests will likely improve how you feel and perform, something that almost seems too obvious to require scientific proof. Still,?studies have been done, and unsurprisingly they show that?job crafting is positively linked to employee engagement and employability, defined as the ability to get and keep desirable jobs and to remain relevant in the market throughout your career. Other?research?shows that job crafting enhances worker wellbeing.

這不是一件壞事。優(yōu)化你的工作，使其與你的能力和興趣相稱，很可能會(huì)讓你的感覺和表現(xiàn)更好，這一點(diǎn)似乎太顯而易見，無需科學(xué)證據(jù)證明。盡管如此，研究已經(jīng)進(jìn)行，而且不出所料地表明，工作形塑與員工的敬業(yè)程度和就業(yè)能力呈正相關(guān)關(guān)系。就業(yè)能力的定義是獲得且持有理想的工作，并在整個(gè)職業(yè)生涯中保持市場(chǎng)價(jià)值的能力。其他研究表明，工作形塑可以提升員工的幸福感。

A more relevant question may therefore be: If people are generally clear about what they want (and need) from work, why do so many of us make the wrong decision when choosing a job, particularly when we?do?have other choices?

因此，一個(gè)相關(guān)性更大的問題可能是：如果人們普遍清楚自己希望（并且需要）從工作中獲得什么，為何我們當(dāng)中還有那么多人在選擇工作的時(shí)候做出了錯(cuò)誤的決定，尤其是當(dāng)我們的確還有別的選擇的時(shí)候？

Research points to a few a reasons:

研究指出了幾個(gè)原因：

Money talks – and people listen.?As?meta-analytic studies?show, there is?almost zero?correlation between pay and job satisfaction. For example, lawyers earning $160,000 per year are as satisfied with their jobs as nurses making $35,000 per year. However, although money doesn’t satisfy, it?still motivates. We make many, many, decisions focused on financial incentives, especially when it comes to our jobs. Even when people?say?that they would happily take a pay cut if they could work less, commute less, or have a more enjoyable job, they often?don’t actually make those choices, and prefer to stick to the higher salary.

有錢能使鬼推磨——言聽計(jì)從。正如綜合分析研究所表明的，薪酬與工作滿意度之間幾乎是零相關(guān)的。比如，年收入16萬美元的律師對(duì)工作的滿意程度與年收入3.5萬美元的護(hù)士相同。然而，雖然金錢不能使人滿意，但它卻可以激勵(lì)人心。我們做很多決定時(shí)都是眼盯著經(jīng)濟(jì)刺激的，尤其是涉及工作決定的時(shí)候。即使有人說假如自己可以減少些工作、減少些通勤時(shí)間或者得到一份更令人愉悅的工作，他們樂意接受減薪，他們通常也不會(huì)真正做出那樣的選擇，而是寧愿繼續(xù)擁有更高的薪水。

People are (too) good at tolerating bad jobs.?We are probably more likely to put up with a bad job than a bad relationship. In fact, despite the popular view that people are happy with uncertainty and disinterested in long-term careers,?the opposite?is in fact true. When it comes to jobs and careers, it is really a case of “better the devil you know.” You can put people in meaningless roles and under bad managers, and they will still be reluctant to try something else, which explains the?pervasiveness?of low employee engagement scores even among the most successful companies in the world.

人們（太）善于忍受不好的工作。我們或許更樂意容忍一份糟糕的工作，而不愿意忍受惡劣的人際關(guān)系。實(shí)際上，盡管大家普遍認(rèn)為人們喜歡接受不確定性，對(duì)長(zhǎng)期的事業(yè)不感興趣，但事實(shí)恰恰相反。當(dāng)涉及工作和職業(yè)生涯時(shí)，這真的屬于“熟悉的魔鬼比不熟悉的更好”的情形。你可以把人放置到毫無意義的崗位和糟糕的管理者手下，而他們?nèi)匀徊辉敢鈬L試其他事情。這就解釋了即使在世界上最成功的企業(yè)中，為何員工的敬業(yè)度得分仍普遍很低。

Poor self-awareness limits smart choices.?As I illustrate in my latest?book, people are generally quite inept at evaluating their own talents. Even when they do decide to “follow their passions” there is just no guarantee that they will end up doing something well, let alone that it is useful or in-demand. This means that there is not always a clear ROI to taking risks and changing careers. A good example is the?recent influx?of entrepreneurial or start-up activity. Despite the appeal of this?“entrepreneurship porn”?to a large number of young individuals who are excited by the idea of being their own boss and solving problems that excite them — the prospects of attaining even marginal success are low. Sure, the tiny minority that may end up creating the next Apple or Google could end up giving a great deal back to society. But for each of those success stories there are millions of major failures. On average, people who quit traditional employment to work for themselves?will end up?working more to earn less and contribute less to the wider economy — when, in many cases, they may have been happier and more successful working for someone else.

自我意識(shí)的欠缺限制了明智的選擇。正如我在最近的新書中闡述的那樣，人們普遍不擅長(zhǎng)評(píng)估自己的才能。即使他們真的決定“隨心所欲”，也不能保證他們最終會(huì)把事情做好，更別提它是否有用或受人歡迎。這意味著承擔(dān)風(fēng)險(xiǎn)和改變職業(yè)并不總是有明確的投資回報(bào)率。一個(gè)很好的例子就是最近涌現(xiàn)的創(chuàng)業(yè)或者說初創(chuàng)活動(dòng)。盡管這部“創(chuàng)業(yè)色情片”吸引了一大批一想到可以做自己的老板并解決讓自己感到刺激的問題時(shí)就興奮不已的年輕人——但獲得哪怕微乎其微的成功的可能性也很低。當(dāng)然，最終可能創(chuàng)造下一個(gè)蘋果或谷歌公司的極少數(shù)人最終可能會(huì)給予社會(huì)大量回報(bào)?？墒敲慨a(chǎn)生一個(gè)成功的故事，都會(huì)有數(shù)以百萬計(jì)的重大失敗。平均而言，辭去傳統(tǒng)工作為自己打工的人最終會(huì)勞碌更多，收入更少，對(duì)整體經(jīng)濟(jì)的貢獻(xiàn)也更少——而在許多情況下，他們?yōu)閯e人打工可能過得更快樂、更成功。

It's hard to know what to expect.?Organizations spend a great deal of time marketing their jobs and careers in a highly desirable and appealing way. Job branding or company branding is an integral part of the war for talent. Look at any company website and you will see convincing statements about their commitment to diversity, innovation, corporate social responsibility, lifelong learning, and agile culture. Even trivial jobs camouflaged with sexy titles can appear quite desirable: “head prioritization ninja,” “director of possibilities,” “chief happiness officer,” and “global identity engineer,” to name just a few. Regardless of your background, expertise, and industry, a successful hiring process requires finding the right person for the right role, which means applicants must have a proper understanding of the role itself. If your expectations for a role are too far off from reality, then it will be very hard for you to make the right career move to begin with.

何以期待難以獲知。企業(yè)花費(fèi)大量時(shí)間以非常理想和誘人的方式推銷他們的工作和職業(yè)。工作品牌或公司品牌的樹立是人才爭(zhēng)奪戰(zhàn)中不可或缺的一部分?？纯慈魏我患夜镜木W(wǎng)站，你都會(huì)看到令人信服的聲明，表明他們致力于多元化、創(chuàng)新、企業(yè)社會(huì)責(zé)任、終生學(xué)習(xí)和敏捷文化。即便是用迷人頭銜偽裝起來的不起眼工作也顯得相當(dāng)誘人：“優(yōu)先級(jí)忍者領(lǐng)班”“發(fā)展?jié)摿χ鞴堋薄笆紫腋９佟薄叭蛏矸莨こ處煛钡鹊?。不管你的背景、專業(yè)知識(shí)和行業(yè)如何，成功的招聘過程需要為合適的崗位找到合適的人選。這意味著求職者必須對(duì)崗位本身有恰當(dāng)?shù)牧私?。如果你?duì)某個(gè)崗位的期待與現(xiàn)實(shí)相差太遠(yuǎn)，那么你一開始就很難做出正確的職業(yè)選擇。

In order to land the job you really want, you need to be clear about what you are good at, what the job in question is really like, and de-emphasize financial incentives to fulfill other values and career drivers. Above all, you will probably benefit from?being?less?resilient?so you are less likely to put up with a bad job or a bad boss. The important thing to remember is that?only a minority of people?ever regret quitting a job. This implies that people tend to stay in jobs for longer than they should. As Hippocrates famously noted,?Ars longa, vita brevis. It takes a long time to develop expertise and become skilled. Life is short — so don't be afraid to choose the path you actually want.

為了得到你真正想要的工作，你需要清楚自己擅長(zhǎng)什么，考慮中的工作究竟是什么樣子，不再強(qiáng)調(diào)金錢刺激，以實(shí)現(xiàn)其他價(jià)值和職業(yè)動(dòng)因。最重要的是，適應(yīng)力的降低很可能讓你受益，這樣你就不太可能忍受糟糕的工作和糟糕的老板。要記住的重要事情是，只有少部分人曾為辭職感到后悔。這意味著人們堅(jiān)守工作的時(shí)間往往長(zhǎng)于他們應(yīng)該從事的時(shí)間。正如希波克拉底(Hippocrates)的名言所示，藝術(shù)長(zhǎng)遠(yuǎn)，生命短暫(Ars longa, vitabrevis)。 培養(yǎng)專業(yè)知識(shí)、擁有技能需要很長(zhǎng)時(shí)間。生命是短暫的——因此不要害怕選擇你真正希望走的路。

托馬斯·查莫羅-普雷穆季奇是萬寶盛華公司的首席人才科學(xué)家，倫敦大學(xué)學(xué)院和哥倫比亞大學(xué)的商業(yè)心理學(xué)教授，哈佛大學(xué)創(chuàng)業(yè)金融實(shí)驗(yàn)室合作伙伴。他著有《為何如此多能力不足的人成為了領(lǐng)導(dǎo)人？》（WhyDo So Many Incompetent Men Become Leaders?）