It Doesn’t Have to Be This Stressful压力不必这么大

莱卡·巴利塔 葛娇娇

The Oxford dictionary defines empathy as the ability to understand and share the feelings of another. It’s basically putting yourself in the other person’s shoes， and it’s a game-changer： It reminds us that other people are humans， too， and not just a faceless student， employee， or statistic.

Working from home is weird. Home is no longer refuge， plus many higher ups seem to believe that working from home means more free time， so e-mails after work hours become normalized and more Zoom meetings are held on a daily basis. For students， the scenario is similar： extended hours， makeup classes， and more assessments.

Then we open social media and see our friends showing off the sheer1 volume of paperwork， readings， or meetings they endure， and we tend to react with a mix of well-wishing for them and relief for ourselves since we don’t have to go through all that. But relating to these scenarios just shows one important thing： we all agree that stress isn’t fun. So why is it being romanticized？

There’s a joke saying you can determine that a law student is a freshman if their social media frequently shows off the piles of readings they have to finish for just one class. I used to do that， too， as did many of my batchmates2. Maybe it also applies to other fields and new employees. Maybe it’s an unspoken rite of passage3 in high-stress environments， who knows？

But it gets to the dangerous point where we talk about caffeine addictions and sleep deprivation as if these were trophies4， and this influences others into thinking that this is how it should be. We hear， “man， I only got four hours of sleep last night，” in a tone of exhaustion and a strange hint of pride from people fuelled5 by iced coffee and no breakfast， as if all is perfectly normal. So， stressful and heavy workloads become something to attain because when we suffer and are eternally busy， we are on the same level as the productive and successful. But is it not a truer sign of success to have time to rest and enjoy the fruits of what we’ve worked for？

Busyness and productivity are not the same thing. A reasonable level of work may be beneficial to some： there’s a sense of accomplishment after fulfilling responsibilities， and procrastinators6 sometimes need some pressure to finally begin working. But too much can ser-iously damage our health physically and mentally， worsening work performance along the way. This is backed up by science and known to all. So， for the sake of our health and careers， maybe we should start glamorizing7 rest instead of stress and heavy workloads. Rest once in a while. According to Matthew Walker， a 20-minute nap is enough to boost one’s mood and energy， so sneak them in when needed. We are humans before we are our occupations.

Of course， not everyone has the privilege of extra time. Many of us work multiple jobs， are working students， or have family troubles and responsibilities. Some have physical or mental health issues or illnesses that can make rest difficult. We all know this， so why aren’t we more empathetic？

We’re still in a pandemic. Again， we are still in a pandemic. It may feel normal now， but pandemics are not normal in the grand scheme of things. This pandemic has killed and affected people we know， so what is normal is wanting to rest once in a while. People are dying， it’s still dangerous to leave the house， and the virus is mutating8， with the vaccine still inaccessible to most. So， shouldn’t we be trying to create a less stressful environment， all things considered？

Many employers and professors admit feeling more exhausted due to the pandemic. Many workers and students share the same sentiments. It’s interesting how， despite this， not much has changed. Ironically， more work is being given， since somehow we all are supposed to have adapted perfectly to this pandemic already.

Yes， the economy has to keep going， students have to keep studying to retain information， and at some point we have to resume our lives. But surely， we can achieve these with reasonable empathy. We can patiently simplify concepts and systems and allow more time for others to rest and recharge， then we give our best when it’s our time to work. We’re all tired of the pandemic and conversations about it， but ignoring the pandemic-induced changes and insisting on old ways for the current days is counterproductive9. What’s the point of complete output when no one enjoys it anymore？ Once in a while， rest and let others rest. At the end of the day， we are all better off happy and well rested anyway. We are all humans stuck in this pandemic， so a little empathy from each one of us will go a long way.

牛津詞典把共情定义为理解他人感情并感同身受的能力。这本质上就是设身处地为别人着想，能彻底改变局面：它提醒我们其他人也是人，而不仅仅是身份不明的学生、员工或数据。

在家办公很奇怪。家不再是一个避风港，而且很多上级似乎也认为在家办公意味着更多的自由时间，因而下班后发电子邮件成了常态，每天在Zoom上开的视频会议也更多了。对学生来说，情况类似：延长学时、补课、增加测试。

然后我们打开社交媒体，看到朋友们展示要完成的大量文书工作、阅读材料或会议，我们的反应往往充满了矛盾，在祝福他们的同时，又为自己不必经历这一切而庆幸。以上这些场景只表明了一件重要的事：我们一致认为压力并不有趣。那么压力为何会被理想化呢？

有一个笑话说，如果一位法科生在社交媒体上频繁展示他仅为一堂课所必须读完的大量阅读资料，你就能断定他是大一新生。我也曾这么做，我的很多同学也是。或许其他专业的学生和新员工也是如此。或许这是高压环境中一项心照不宣的通过仪式，谁知道呢。

但是，当我们像谈论战利品那样谈论咖啡因成瘾和睡眠不足时，就到了危险的地步。这会影响别人，让他们以为理当如此。我们听那些没吃早餐、靠冰咖啡提神的人说“天啊，我昨晚只睡了四个小时”，疲惫的语气中透着一丝奇怪的骄傲，好像一切完全正常。于是，繁重而让人倍感压力的工作量成了人们所追求的，因为当我们受苦受累、无休止地繁忙时，我们就与那些高效的成功人士处在同一层次了。但是，有时间休息并享受我们的劳动果实，难道不是成功更名副其实的标志吗？

繁忙和高效并非一回事。合理的工作量可能對一些人有益：履行职责后会有一种成就感，惯于拖延者有时需要一些压力才能开始工作。但太多的工作量又会严重损害我们的身心健康，从而使工作表现越来越糟。这是有科学依据的，也是众所周知的。因此，为了我们的健康和事业着想，或许我们应该开始倡导休息而非压力和沉重的工作负担。时不时休息一下。据马修·沃克所言，20分钟的小睡足以让人打起精神、精力充沛，所以，必要时就偷偷休息一下吧。我们首先是人，其次才是从业者。

当然，并不是每个人都有条件拥有额外的时间。我们很多人要打多份工，或半工半读，或有家庭问题和责任。有些人有身心健康问题或疾病，因而很难休息。我们都知道这一点，那么我们为何不多一点儿共情呢？

我们仍然处于疫情之中。重复一遍，我们仍然处于疫情之中。可能现在的情形人们觉得很正常了，但总体看，出现大规模流行病并不正常。此次疫情让我们认识的人或丧生或被感染，因此想偶尔休息下才是正常的。总有人死去，离开家依然很危险，病毒正在变异，大多数人还没能打上疫苗。那么，从各方面考虑，我们难道不应该努力创造压力较小的环境吗？

很多雇主和教授都承认，由于这场疫情，他们感到更加疲惫不堪。很多员工和学生也有同感。有趣的是，尽管如此，情形并无多大变化。讽刺的是，布置的工作反而更多了，因为不知怎么，我们被认为已经完全适应了这场疫情。

的确，经济得继续发展，学生得继续学习来掌握知识，在某一刻，我们还得恢复我们的生活。但毫无疑问，我们可以通过合理的共情来做到这些。我们可以耐心地简化概念和系统，让其他人有更多的时间可以休息、恢复精力，工作时就可以拿出最佳状态。我们都厌倦了疫情和关于疫情的讨论，但是，忽视疫情所带来的改变，坚持用过去的方式应对当前的形势，那只会适得其反。如果再也无人享受，最优产出又有何意义呢？时不时地休息一下，也让别人休息一下吧。最终，我们都会过得更好，至少既能得到快乐又能充分休息。我们同是受困于这场疫情的人，每一个人的一点点共情都会大有帮助。

（译者为“《英语世界》杯”翻译大赛获奖者）

1 sheer用来强调事物的大小、程度或数量。

2 batchmate同年级同学。  3 rite of passage（标志人生重要阶段的）通过仪式，重大事件。  4 trophy（获胜者的）奖品;战利品。  5 fuel给……提供燃料。此处喻指“给……提神”。

6 procrastinator拖延者。  7 glamorize使有魅力;美化。  8 mutate变异，突变。

9 counterproductive产生相反效果的;事与愿违的;适得其反的。

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