So it came as a bit of a shock, when I attended my 15th reunion last summer, to learn how many of my former classmates weren’t overjoyed by their professional lives — in fact, they were miserable.
當我去年夏天參加第15次同學會時，我感到有些震驚。因為我發現，以前的同學中有許多人對自己的職業生活并沒有欣喜若狂——事實上，他們很痛苦。

Most of us were living relatively normal, basically content lives. But even among my more sanguine classmates, there was a lingering sense of professional disappointment. They talked about missed promotions, disaffected children and billable hours in divorce court. They complained about jobs that were unfulfilling, tedious or just plain bad.
我們中的大多數都過著相對正常、基本滿足的生活。但即使在我那些比較樂觀的同學中間，職業上的失望情緒也揮之不去。他們談論著錯失的晉升機會、疏遠的孩子以及離婚法庭的可計費時數。他們抱怨工作沒有成就感、單調乏味，或者干脆就是糟糕。

Why? Based on my own conversations with classmates and the research I began reviewing, the answer comes down to oppressive hours, political infighting, increased competition sparked by globalization, an “always-on culture” bred by the internet — but also something that’s hard for these professionals to put their finger on, an underlying sense that their work isn’t worth the grueling effort they’re putting into it.
為什么會這樣呢？根據我跟同學的對話，以及開始查閱的研究，答案可以歸結為難以忍受的工作時數、政治內耗、全球化帶來的競爭加劇、互聯網孕育出的“永遠在線文化”——但還有這些職場人士也說不清的原因，那是一種隱隱的感覺——他們的工作不值得他們投入那么多辛苦。

For those who do find themselves miserable at work, it’s an important reminder that the smoothest life paths sometimes fail to teach us about what really brings us satisfaction day to day. According to studies, additional salary and benefits don’t reliably contribute to worker satisfaction. Much more important are things like whether a job provides a sense of autonomy — the ability to control your time and the authority to act on your unique expertise. People want to work alongside others whom they respect (and, optimally, enjoy spending time with) and who seem to respect them in return.
對于那些感覺在工作中很痛苦的人來說，這是一個重要的提示：一帆風順的人生道路有時并不能教會我們，什么才是每天都能帶來真正滿足感的東西。根據多項研究，一旦你能為自己和家人提供經濟上的支持，額外的工資和福利并不一定會提高員工的滿意度。更重要的事情是，諸如工作是否能提供自主權——能夠控制時間的能力，以及根據自己的獨特專長行事的權力。人們希望與他們尊重的人一起工作（最好還能一起消磨時間），以及對方似乎也尊重他們。

And finally, workers want to feel that their labors are meaningful. We want to feel that we’re making the world better, even if it’s as small a matter as helping a shopper find the right product at the grocery store. You can be a salesperson, or a toll collector, but if you see your goal as solving people’s problems, then each day presents 100 opportunities to improve someone’s life, and your satisfaction increases dramatically. Finding meaning, whether as a banker or a janitor, is difficult work. Usually life, rather than a business-school classroom, is the place to learn how to do it.
最后，員工想要感到他們付出的勞動是有意義的。我們想要感到我們在讓世界變得更好，即便只是像幫購物者在雜貨店找到對的產品這樣的小事情。你可以是一名銷售，或收費員，但如果你把你的目標看成是幫人解決問題，那么每天都會有100個機會幫助他人改善生活，而且你的滿足感會大幅提升。無論是銀行家還是清潔工，尋找人生意義都是一項艱難的工作。這通常要在生活中去學習，而不是在商學院的課堂里。