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The study：Harvard’s Maryam Kouchaki and a colleague, Isaac H. Smith of the University of Utah, enlisted participants for what was ostensibly a decision-making experiment but was really a study of dishonest behavior. If subjects lied, they could earn more money. People’s tendency to be untruthful was greater in the afternoon than in the morning, the researchers found. They attributed this result to the “psychological depletion” people experience as a day wears on, which makes them cognitively weaker.
研究：哈佛大学的马里亚姆·库什基及其同伴、犹他大学的艾萨克·史密斯（Isaac H. Smith）招募了一些参与者，名义上是进行关于决策制定方面的实验，实则考查他们的不诚实行为。如果参与者撒谎，他们能赚到更多钱。结果发现，人们在下午比上午更易于说谎。他们将此归因于参与者的“心神疲惫”，即随着一天时光的消逝，人们道德感减弱。
The challenge：Could the stresses of an ordinary day really turn us all into liars after lunch? Should companies be extra vigilant about unethical behavior in the afternoon? Dr. Kouchaki, defend your research.
挑战：午餐后，一天的压力真能让我们都变成说谎者？企业是否应在午后格外警惕这种不道德行为？
Kouchaki：We replicated the finding in four experiments. It was clear: People were 20% to 50% more likely to be dishonest in the afternoon—we chose 3 to 6 PM for our afternoon sessions—because they were depleted of the resources they needed for self-control.
库什基：我们从4项实验中得出了同样的结论。显然，20%-50%的人在下午（我们将具体时间设定为下午3点至6点）更有可能撒谎，因为他们耗尽了用于自控的精力。
Gradually increasing fatigue from unremarkable activities can lead to systemic moral failure. Even ethical people can’t avoid it. In fact, the effect was strongest for people with a lower propensity for moral disengagement. That is, people who usually behave more ethically were the most susceptible to the negative consequences.
平淡的工作逐渐令人心神疲惫，从而导致道德感的沦丧，即使那些品德高尚的人也不能例外。其实，这种情况在那些道德感强的人身上表现得最为明显。换句话说，平时最讲道德的人，最易被负面因素影响。
HBR：It’s hard to believe that a day of meetings, phone calls, and other office work would be so tiring that it would push an employee into making an unethical choice.
People certainly have good days and bad days, and good days aren’t very depleting. In fact, they can be energizing. If someone says your efforts are really appreciated or you successfully conclude a contract, you might feel so good that you suffer no cognitive depletion in the afternoon. But we looked at averages. On average, people tend to get tired out by the stresses and strains of the day. And a lot of people’s days, in the current business climate, are very stressful.
HBR：难以置信，一天中开会、打电话和处理其他案头工作能让员工如此心神疲惫，以至于让他们做出不道德选择。
当然，每天的工作都有好有坏，赶上好日子，人们并不觉得身心俱疲，反而精力充沛。要是有人说，你的表现值得嘉奖，或你成功签下了一份合同，或许你就会感觉很好，不会在下午时道德感薄弱。不过，我们看的是平均情况。在当今商业环境下，很多人处于高压状态。一般来说，经过一天的工作，人们容易因压力和紧张而疲惫不堪。
HBR：Does that mean project managers shouldn’t be allowed to fill out progress reports in the afternoon? That accountants should be kept away from the books?
It’s important to be practical. I wouldn’t advise companies to establish burdensome rules, but they should take deliberate action to avoid systemic pitfalls, and there are simple ways to limit opportunities for immorality. For example, tasks with a moral component can be shifted to the morning and after breaks, when managers and employees are less depleted. At the very least, try to avoid scheduling those activities at the end of the day.
HBR：这是不是意味着企业下午不该让项目经理填进度报告，让会计碰账本？
面对现实很重要。我不是在建议企业为此出台繁琐的规章制度，而是提醒它们谨慎行事，避免落入系统性陷阱。有很多简单的办法可以减少不道德行为的发生。比如，将涉及道德因素的任务放到上午和午休后完成，要尽量设法避免在下班前安排此类任务。
HBR：I still have trouble accepting that people are less depleted in the morning. If you gave me a moral choice before I’ve had my coffee, there’s no telling what I might do.
Of course, there are individual variations. “Morning people” tend to be more alert in the AM, and “evening people” perk up late in the day. You may be right—you may make your best moral choices after you’ve had your coffee, after lunch, or even late at night. But again, we’re talking about averages.
HBR：我还是不太相信，人们早上不会心神疲惫。要是你让我在喝咖啡前作一个关乎道德的决策，我还真说不好会怎么做。
当然，人们的做法各不相同。习惯早起的人上午比较清醒，习惯晚睡的人傍晚会充满活力。或许你是对的，你可能在喝完咖啡，用过午餐甚或午夜时分，会做出最佳道德抉择，但我再强调一遍，我们说的是平均情况。
HBR：If being depleted makes us revert to unethical behavior, doesn’t that imply that humans are naturally unethical? Is everyone really corruptible given the right circumstances?
There is debate over that question in psychology. Some studies have shown that people default to their own self-interest; others show that they default to cooperative—in other words, ethical—behavior. What matters is that when self-interest conflicts with the motivation to be ethical, a person usually requires self-control in order to stick with the moral behavior. And when you’ve been thrown for a loop by your manager’s criticism, a customer’s complaint, or a call from the car dealership saying that replacing your side mirror is going to cost $900, you may not have the mental resources to maintain your self-control. That applies especially to people who are generally the most morally engaged—people who pride themselves on doing the right thing.
HBR：心神疲惫能让我们道德感缺失，这难道意味着人类的道德感不是与生俱来的？在特定状况下，每个人都会堕落吗？
心理学上有这方面的讨论。一些研究显示，人们会优先考虑自身利益；其他一些研究则表明，人们会优先考虑与他人合作，也就是讲求道德。重点是，当个人利益与讲求道德二者发生冲突时，人们通常需要通过自控来坚持道德行为。当你被经理狠狠训斥了一通，或接到客户的投诉，或接到汽车经销商的电话，告诉你换侧视镜要花900美元，你可能根本就没有心力自控。这一点尤其适用于那些平时道德感很强并引以为傲的人。
HBR：But wouldn’t the most moral people have the strongest motivation to behave ethically? Doesn’t motivation count for something?
Yes, it does, and I agree that the finding about the effect on people who are the most morally engaged is counterintuitive. But the way to look at it is not so much that highly moral people are overly depleted by the day’s activities, or that they are less motivated to be ethical, but that people who are low in moral engagement are less affected by depletion simply because they don’t have much morality to lose. They are less likely to draw on self-regulatory resources to begin with.
HBR：道德感最强的人不是最循规蹈矩的吗？难道个人意愿不值一提？
是，它起作用。我承认，我们从最有道德感的人身上发现的规律有悖常识。但我们并不是说，道德感强的人格外容易被一天的工作累垮，或他们不想坚持自己的道德底线，而是说那些道德感弱的人受疲累的影响相对要小，这仅仅是因为他们本就不太讲道德，因此反差不大。他们也不太可能变得自律。
HBR：So after a long, trying day, moral people become like their immoral colleagues.
Sort of. I should point out that in corporations, ethics or the lack thereof extends way beyond the obvious transgressions such as cooking the books, embezzling, and lying about credentials. Most jobs have an ethical component. You’d be hard-pressed to think of one that didn’t. There are many situations in which we must make small moral choices. Should I leave that mess for someone else to clean up? Should I write my report in such a way as to make my coworker appear less competent than she really is? Should I conceal my own incompetence? And so on up the ladder of ethical magnitude. By the way, when your psychological resources are depleted, you’re less likely to even recognize that an intended action (or inaction) has moral implications.
HBR：也就是说，漫长艰辛的一天后，那些道德感强的人会变得不讲道德。
某种程度上是这样。我要说的是，在企业里，道德感较强和稍差的人都可能会干些违法的事情，比如做假账、挪用公款以及伪造证书。多数工作都对员工有道德方面的要求，你很难找到哪份工作是没有这方面要求的。很多场合下，我们必须在道德方面做取舍：我该把这个乱摊子交给其他人清理吗？我该用这种方式写报告，以便让同事看上去比她的实际能力差吗？我该隐藏自己能力不足的一面吗？这些问题的取舍皆源自员工的道德维度。顺便说一句，当你精神疲惫时，甚至都不太可能意识到所做的工作包含道德选择的成分。
HBR：Maybe we should all stop working after 3 PM.
In some cultures, afternoon breaks or siestas are an accepted part of the business day. In the West people tend to take a dim view of them, but breaks can serve the valuable purpose of restoring our depleted energy, positioning us to make better choices. Self-control is like a muscle—we need to restore its strength after use. Rest, relaxation, meditation, prayer, a snack—all those things can help restore us.
HBR：或许我们都该在下午3点后停止工作。
在一些文化中，企业允许员工喝下午茶或午休。在西方国家，人们对这些看得比较淡。但短暂休息能够带来巨大好处，可以让人从疲惫中恢复过来，令我们更好地做选择。自控就像肌肉，我们在使用肌肉后需要恢复其弹性。休息、放松、冥想、祷告或吃点点心，都有助于提神。
HBR：Or maybe we should just stop working so hard.
People do work hard. People I know in financial services and in Silicon Valley have told me how exhausted they are by the end of the day. Some even take pride in maintaining an almost nonstop intensity over the course of long days. They feel that working brutal hours is part of fulfilling the company’s mission. That’s fine, but they should know that factors beyond our control can influence our behavior. Exhaustion has costs, and one is a loss of control over the ability to make ethical choices. Are you really fulfilling your company’s mission if you can’t maintain your moral bearings?
HBR：或者我们应该别干得太卖力。
人们的确都在努力工作。我认识一些在金融领域和硅谷工作的人，他们告诉我每天下班后，自己极其疲惫。一些人甚至以自己马不停蹄的工作状态为傲。在他们看来，如此高强度的工作是达成公司使命的一部分。这么说也许没错，但他们应该知道，那些超出我们控制的因素能影响我们的行为。心神俱疲是要付出代价的，比如在做道德选择时丧失自控能力。要是你无法控制自己的道德判断，又怎么能真正达成公司使命？
马里亚姆·库什基（Maryam Kouchaki） | 文
安德鲁·奥康奈尔（Andrew O’Connell） | 访
万艳 | 译 刘铮筝 | 校 时青靖 | 编辑
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发表于 2018-12-16 12:28:50