Their studies show that women who take an aggressive approach are often less likely to get ahead than those who exhibit more feminine traits. If however, they try to conform, promotion comes their way.
The findings, which will dismay feminists, suggest the best way for a woman to succeed in a man’s world is to act like a lady. They tally with past research that showed women oozing with self-confidence, assertiveness and other characteristics linked with successful management can be side-lined at work in favour of meeker types. It is thought that while such traits are highly-prized in men, go-getting women are penalised for not being feminine enough and are seen as less likeable.
都說女強人“不是男人，勝似男人”，然而職場上能“頂半邊天”的女強人們倘若希望能在工作崗位上成功晉陞都需要一些什麼條件呢？殘酷的職場淘汰環境讓女人們工作中“不再可愛”了，似乎“男性化”的女職場白領更能佔有一席之地。事實真的如此嗎？有研究稱，女性倘若真的想在工作中超過男同事，她所要展現的不是她男性化的一面，而是把她的“女人味”盡可能發揮出來。此外，其他所謂職場白領的必備素質，比如：自信、有魄力等等對於女白領來說都是次要條件。真正有女人味、人見人愛的女白領更能在職場生涯中獲得成功！
The study asked 80 young men and women about their personality while they studied for a master’s degree in business administration. Eight years later, the researchers got back in touch to find out how their careers were progressing and found that ‘macho’ women who took an aggressive approach had been promoted less than more feminine sorts. The bossy women who made a conscious effort not to appear too threatening by ‘self-monitoring’ their behaviour had done better than those who had carried on regardless.
研究者通過對80名年輕職場男女白領為其8年的研究調查，這80位男女白領都在進修經濟碩士，期間，研究者通過對他們的性格研究後發現，性格開朗、比較“女性化”有女人味的女性白領相對其他人在職場上的進步最為顯著。能夠切身處地考慮到下屬員工的心情，並不是處處刁難監視員工的女老闆更討人喜歡！
Some had been promoted five times, others just once or twice, a journal published by the British Psychological Society reports. Self-awareness – or the lack of it – did not affect the fledgling careers of men, the research from George Mason University in Virginia found. A previous U.S. study found that pushy women job applicants were the least likely candidates to be employed. Dr Olivia O’Neill, who carried out the latest piece of research, advises assertive women to pick and choose when to be forceful. She said: ‘If they are seen to behave in a stereotypically male way, they may damage their chances of promotion, even if these traits are synonymous with successful managers.’
據調查，這些討人喜歡的女老闆在8年內，獲得5次晉陞機會，而其他人則是1次到2次機會。這項研究調查已經發表在《英國心理社會》期刊上。通常情況，許多用人單位強調“自我意識”，但是這種自我意識並不能充分體現在晉陞機會的分配上。此外，一項很久以前的調查發現，咄咄逼人、或者說是“特別厲害”的女求職者往往得不到用人單位的喜歡，得到聘用的幾率幾乎為0！專家Dr Olivia O’Neill說：“我建議有強烈事業心的女性朋友們，稍微學會選擇時機還表現自己的能力，不要時時刻刻表現出特別幹練、厲害的樣子。如果她們表現得太過於男性化，那麼老闆們會感到自己受到威脅，不會選擇雇傭你的。”
（編譯：韋方苑）