每日逃脫賽：上班竟比在家強？

For many people， being on the job might just sound like a picnic compared to a day at home filled with chores， errands， meals and child care. Even for those with a happy family life， home can sometimes feel more 1）taxing than work. After decades of social scientists examining the corporate workplace and studying ways to improve it， experts now say being at work is good for our health. And there are aspects of work we might want to 2）emulate at home.

In a new study， published online in Social Science Medicine， researchers at Penn State University found significantly and consistently lower levels of 3）cortisol， a hormone released in response to stress， in a majority of subjects when they were at work compared to when they were at home. This was true for both men and women， and parents and people without children.

Both men and women showed less stress at work. But women were more likely to report feeling happier there. Men were more likely to feel happier at home. The researchers say this may be because women still do more housework and child care and may feel they have less free time.

Experts say there are other reasons why work is less stressful than home for many.“Paid work is more valued in society，” says Sarah Damaske， assistant professor of labor and employment relations， sociology and women’s studies at Penn State， who was also the lead researcher on the study. “Household work is 5）monotonous and not particularly rewarding.”

We get better at our job with time（hopefully）， and the increased competence means less stress and more rewards. Yet none of us， no matter how long we’ve been doing it， ever truly feels like an expert at parenting or even at marriage.

There is behavioral 6）etiquette at work. No yelling， 7）storming off or crying—at least， not if we want to keep our job and our colleagues’ respect. The support and friendship of co-workers offer stress relief. We may listen to others’ problems， but ultimately they aren’t our concern. At home， meanwhile， stress is 8）contagious. “You can’t pause and say to your 9）toddler， ‘Mommy needs a timeout，’ “Dr. Damaske says.

Much of the advice to families and couples includes the warning to “l(fā)eave work stress at the office” and even to build in a transition activity， such as a walk around the block， to change our mind-set from work to home. The recent findings， though， suggest our home life， not our attitude， might be due for some change.

Tara Kennedy-Kline， a family advocate and owner of a toy-distribution company， says on an evening or weekend she has been known to go to her warehouse and rearrange 1，500 boxes in a 10）shipping container just to get away from her family’s requests of “What’s for dinner？” and “Where is my uniform？”

“I love my home and family， but there is just something about being able to walk away from the homework， dinner， 11）karate， football， piano lessons， roller-skating transport and laundry folding， and retreat to my cold 12）concrete warehouse，” says the 43-year-old， who lives in Shoemakersville， Pa.

So how can we make domestic life less stressful？ “Make home a little more like work，” says Richard Levak， a Del Mar， Calif. psychologist.

First， learn to set boundaries—just as when we are in our office or cubicle and we say no to a request that isn’t in our 13）domain. Explain to children or a spouse that you need uninterrupted time alone. Help them 14）rehearse what to do while you are unavailable. Create a place where they can write down what they want to tell you when they have the urge to interrupt， so you can read it together later.

Prepare for pushback. “Everyone will resist. They want access to you all the time，”Dr. Levak says. “You have to be mindful that your spouse or kids will feel rejected.”He suggests preparing them by telling them when and for how long you are planning to take a break.

Build down time into everyone’s schedule. Set aside specific times at home to relax and have fun， and make them 15）inviolate. Plan a movie night. Put a regular exercise time on the calendar. Take a walk after dinner every evening.

People who live alone can fall into a stressful pattern of drifting around the house， doing small chores， checking the fridge， flipping through channels on the TV—responding to stimuli but not focusing on a task， Dr. Levak says.“You have to envision some rewarding event and plan for it.”

Create a greater sense of control at home by building in more structure， Dr. Levak says. Don’t watch TV mindlessly； record only what you care about and watch one evening a week. Sit down to meals at the table. Try not to answer email or texts after a certain time. Lastly， the doctors says， “If you want to improve your level of happiness at home， you need to be as mindful of following a structure at home as you are at work.”

對大多數(shù)人而言，與在家里充斥著各種家務(wù)活、跑腿差事、做飯和照顧孩子的一天相比，工作聽起來不過是小菜一碟。即使對那些家庭生活愉快的人來說，居家生活有時候也會讓人覺得比上班還累。就企業(yè)工作環(huán)境及改進方法進行數(shù)十年調(diào)查研究后，社會科學(xué)專家們?nèi)缃癖硎?，上班工作對人們的健康有益，并且工作生活中的好些方面是值得人們在居家生活中效仿的?/p>

在《社會科學(xué)與醫(yī)學(xué)》網(wǎng)站上發(fā)布的一項新研究中，賓夕法尼亞州立大學(xué)的研究人員發(fā)現(xiàn)，大部分被測試者在工作時，體內(nèi)的皮質(zhì)醇水平（皮質(zhì)醇是人體對壓力作出反應(yīng)時釋放出來的一種激素）由始至終明顯比在家時的水平更低——無論參與測試的志愿者是男是女及是否育有小孩，結(jié)果均如此。

男性和女性測試者都在工作時感到壓力減少了。但是女性測試者多數(shù)表示在工作時更開心。而男性測試者則更多表示在家里更開心。研究者認為這有可能是因為女性測試者在家里還要做更多的家務(wù)活和照顧孩子，且感覺個人自由時間更少。

專家表示還有其他原因可以解釋為什么大部分人會感到工作時比在家壓力更小?！坝袃敼ぷ骶哂懈叩纳鐣r值，”莎拉·達瑪斯克說，她是賓州州立大學(xué)的勞動與雇傭關(guān)系學(xué)、社會學(xué)和婦女研究的助理教授，也是這項研究的帶頭人。“家務(wù)工作不僅單調(diào)乏味，而且不太有滿足感?！?/p>

我們通常（在理想情況下）會在工作中越做越好，并提高我們的能力，這意味著更少壓力和更多回報。但我們中沒有人，不管做了多久，能真正感覺到自己是育兒或甚至是婚姻方面的專家高手。

在工作中有行為規(guī)范禮儀。沒有大喊大叫、摔門而去、哭鬧失禮——不想丟掉飯碗或者在同事前顏面盡失至少就得這樣。同事之間的支持和友誼可讓人減壓。我們會聆聽他人的訴苦，但終究這還是他們自己的事。然而在家，壓力則會傳染?！澳悴荒軙和Ｏ聛?，并跟你還在蹣跚學(xué)步的寶貝說，‘媽媽需要暫停休息。’” 達瑪斯克博士說道。

對家庭生活和夫婦相處之道的大部分建議都包括了“別把工作壓力帶回家”這一忠告，甚至建議進行一些過渡活動，如在街區(qū)里散散步以調(diào)整從工作回到家的心理狀態(tài)?？墒切陆贸龅难芯拷Y(jié)果則認為需要做出改變的應(yīng)該是我們的家庭生活，而不是我們的態(tài)度。

塔拉·肯尼迪—克萊恩，是一名家庭權(quán)益倡導(dǎo)人及一家玩具分銷公司的老板，她表示自己曾被發(fā)現(xiàn)在某個晚上或周末跑到倉庫去重新整理一個集裝箱里的1500個盒子，目的只為了躲避家里人那些“晚飯吃什么？”和“我的制服在哪里？”之類的問題。

“我愛我的家和家人，但還是想能夠稍稍離開一下家庭作業(yè)、晚飯、空手道、足球、鋼琴課、溜冰接送、疊衣服這些事情，回到我那清冷的混凝土倉庫里去安靜一下。”這位43歲居住在賓夕法尼亞州舒梅克斯維爾的女士如是說。

那我們?nèi)绾尾拍苁咕蛹疑畹膲毫p少？“讓家變得更像工作的地方，”理查德·里瓦克說道，他是加州德爾馬的一位心理學(xué)家。

首先，學(xué)會設(shè)置界限——就像我們在自己的辦公室或小隔間那樣，我們要對那些超出我們責(zé)任范圍的要求說不。向孩子和配偶解釋你需要不受干擾的獨處時光。幫他們演習(xí)你不在時該怎么做。開辟一個留言欄， 當(dāng)他們想要打斷你時，讓他們能夠把想說的話給寫下來，你可以在有空時把留言集中一起看。

為受阻做好準備?！懊總€人對此都會有所抵觸。他們想隨時都能找到你，”里瓦克醫(yī)生表示?！澳惚仨毩粜呐渑己秃⒆觽兛赡軙械降氖芫芮榫w。”他建議跟他們說明你打算在什么時間休息以及要休息多久，以此幫大家做好心理準備。

在每個人的時間表里做好時間安排。留出在家里特定的放松娛樂時間，并保證這些時間不受干擾。計劃一個電影之夜。在時間表里插入規(guī)律的運動時間。每天晚飯后去散散步。

獨居的人容易陷入這樣的壓力模式：在家中各處徘徊，做點家務(wù)瑣事，不時翻冰箱，不斷切換電視頻道——不斷回應(yīng)各種刺激，而非集中在一件事上，里瓦克醫(yī)生這樣說道?！澳惚仨氼A(yù)想一些有價值的活動，并為此做好計劃?！?/p>

里瓦克醫(yī)生表示，要想更好地掌控居家生活，我們可以建立更多的組織規(guī)范。別漫不經(jīng)心地去看電視；錄下你真正想看的，然后每周只安排一個晚上看。在餐桌旁坐下來就餐。盡量在某個時間后不回復(fù)郵件或短信。最后，里瓦克醫(yī)生說道，“如果你想要提高居家生活的愉悅度，你就需要在家里留心地遵守一定的生活規(guī)則——就像是在辦公室一樣?！?/p>