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There are bigger costs than comedy and confusion.
不只是引人發笑和令人困惑，頭銜通脹還會帶來更大的代價。
Handing a heftier title to one person can easily cause resentment among others on a team.
給一個人更高的頭銜很容易引起團隊中其他人的不滿。
And inflated titles can have adverse effects on hiring processes.
夸大的頭銜也可能會對招聘過程產生不利影響。
An analysis of tech recruitment in America by Datapeople, a software firm, found that the proportion of women in applicant pools drops as jobs become more senior.
軟件公司Datapeople對美國科技企業招聘的一項分析發現，頭銜越高級，應聘者中的女性比例就越低。
Puffed-up titles may put good candidates off.
夸大的頭銜可能會讓優秀的應聘者望而卻步。
Title inflation is most associated with specific jobs.
頭銜通脹大多發生在特定工作身上。
But there exists a less-remarked type of naming inflation, which seeks to rebrand entire categories of people.
但還有一種不太引人注意的命名通脹，這種通脹試圖重新命名整個類別的人。
There is, for example, a perfectly good term for buyers of things: “customers”.
例如，形容購買物品的人時，有一個非常好的術語：“顧客”。
But lots of companies are not satisfied with taking people’s cash.
但很多公司并不滿足于只賺取人們的現金。
They want to have a meaningful relationship.
他們還想要和人們建立有意義的關系。
Keen to avoid sounding too transactional, some businesses use the inflated title of “guests” instead.
為了避免聽起來太像在做交易，一些企業會用夸張的“客人”頭銜來代替。
But language that might make sense at a Disney resort sounds very odd if you are in a queue for the checkout at Target; people are trying to leave as efficiently as possible, not settling in for the time of their lives.
但是，有些話在迪士尼度假區可能說得通，在塔吉特排隊付錢時說就會非常奇怪；畢竟人們是想盡快結完賬走人，而不是在這里過日子。
“Member” is another bogus word.
“會員”是另一個偽詞。
No one is wondering whether their application to pay Amazon an annual fee for free shipping is going to be turned down.
沒有人會擔心他們向亞馬遜支付年費來抵免運費的申請是否會被拒絕。
The worst offences in this category are the labels that employers give to their staff.
這種頭銜通脹中最令人反感的是雇主給員工貼上的標簽。
Calling people “colleagues” or “team members” instead of “staff” or “employees” is a common tactic.
用“同事”或“團隊成員”來替代“員工”或“雇員”是一種常見的策略。
People who work in Walmart stores are known as “associates”.
在沃爾瑪門店工作的人被稱為“合伙人”。
Baristas at Starbucks are called “partners” because, the firm’s website explains, “We are all partners in shared success.”
星巴克的咖啡師被稱為“合伙伙伴”，因為該公司的網站解釋說，“我們都是共享成功的合伙伙伴”。
Tech firms are wedded to cutesy names for their employees.
科技公司喜歡給員工取矯揉造作的名字。
When Facebook rebranded itself as Meta, it announced that its workers would henceforth be known as “Metamates”.
臉書將自己更名為Meta后，宣布從今以后它的員工將被稱為“Meta朋友”。
The intent behind this kind of language is again clear: to create a sense of shared endeavour and to disguise the cold reality of corporate hierarchies.
這種頭銜背后的意圖再次顯而易見：創造一種共同努力的感覺，掩蓋企業等級制度的冰冷現實。
But this facade is much easier to maintain when things are going well.
但只有當一切進展順利時，這種虛假的表象才更容易維護。
Meta is now firing more than 11,000 of its mates, which seems a tad unfriendly.
Meta現在解雇了1.1萬多名“朋友”，這似乎有點不友好。
Starbucks doesn’t want its partners to form a union with anyone but itself.
星巴克不希望其合作伙伴與除自己以外的任何人結成聯盟。
A bit of title inflation is excusable.
一點頭銜通脹是情有可原的。
But just like the real thing, it can easily get out of control.
但就像真品一樣，它很容易失控。
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