You can pick your friends, but you can’t pick your coworkers. Yet you need these guys in more ways than one.

　　朋友可以选择，但同事无法挑选。而且，在很多方面你还离不开这些同事。

　　First, you need their goodwill and cooperation in order to perform your own job well.

　　首先，你需要他们的友好合作才能更好地完成自己的工作。

　　Second, studies find that disagreements with coworkers and bad interoffice relationshipsdeflate morale and impair performance even more than rumors of layoffs.

　　其次，研究发现，同事之间不合和糟糕的同事关系甚至比裁员这种传言更容易让人们丧失斗志，并影响工作业绩。

　　And third, if you’re like most people, you spend more waking hours at work than anywhere else. Reaching out to your colleagues—or extending an olive branch, if need be—can make your work environment a much nicer place in which to spend eight (or 10 or 12 or 14) hours a day even as it increases your job security. (In the event of a layoff, chances are the office loner or grouch is among the first to go. )

　　第三，如果你像其他大多数人一样，那你醒着的大部分时间就都是在办公室工作，而不是在其他地方。因此，主动与同事处好关系，或者如果需要的话主动伸出橄榄枝，这样你每天就会在更友好的工作氛围中工作八小时(十小时、十二小时甚至十四小时)。不仅如此，良好的同事关系还可以增加工作的保障性。(公司裁员时，解聘的是那些不合群的和爱发牢骚的人。)

　　You don’t have to be friends with your coworkers, but you do need to be friendly. Read on for fresh ways to make work a kinder, gentler place.

　　你不必和同事成为好朋友，但你的确需要对他们友好。读一读下面列出的新方法可以帮你把工作环境变得更亲切、更友善。

　　1.Give a happy “Hello!” in the morning. Do you plod into the office, eyes down, shouldersslumped, and immediately start work? If so, you’re likely to find that coworkers ignore you or avoid you. Get into the habit of smiling and greeting your colleagues as you arrive in the morning or begin your shift. It’s really amazing how fast this little courtesy can thaw chilly workplace relations.

　　早上向同事愉快地问好。走进办公室的时候，你是不是拖着脚，垂着眼，拉耸着肩，紧接着就开始工作?果真如此的话，你可能会发现同事要么是不理你，要不就是躲着你。所以，每天走进办公室或开始换班时，养成向同事微笑、打招呼的习惯。你会惊奇地发现这个小小的举动竟然能缓和冷淡的同事关系。

　　2.Learn the art of small talk. Ask your coworkers about their interests—their favorite music, movies, and books, as well as their hobbies, suggests Larina Kase, Ph.D., a psychologist at the Center for Treatment and Study of Anxiety at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. “Showing a genuine interest in them will make them feel comfortable around you, ” she says. Once you know what floats their boat, clip items from newspapers or magazines to help start conversations.

　　学学聊天的艺术。问问同事的兴趣，比如最喜欢的音乐、电影、书籍以及爱好等，费城宾夕法尼亚大学焦虑症治疗与研究中心的心理学家拉里娜 · 凯斯博士如是建议道。她还说：“对同事的兴趣爱好表示真切的关注会让他们感觉和你在一起非常自在。”一旦你知道了如何取悦他们，就可以从报纸或杂志上剪切相关的信息和他们交流。

　　3.Join the office bowling or softball team. Many offices have them, and they’re a great way to get some exercise while you get to know your coworkers in an informal setting.

　　加入办公室组织的保龄球或垒球队。许多办公室都会组织这些活动，它们不仅可以让你锻炼身体，而且还是你在非正式场合了解同事的方式。

　　4.Accept good-natured teasing. Other workers sometimes play jokes and tease to test what kind of person you are. So if they poke fun at your new shoes or mischievously put a racy screensaver on your computer, don’t get angry. Let them know that you love a good joke—even if it’s sometimes on you.

　　接受善意的逗弄。一些同事有时会和你开玩笑，并戏弄你，以此来测试你属于什么类型的人。所以，如果他们拿你的新鞋开玩笑或者恶作剧似的在你的电脑上放一个下流的屏保，不要生气。让他们知道你喜欢善意的玩笑，即使是针对你也无所谓。

　　5. Ask what they think. People love to be asked their opinion, so go out of your way to ask, “What do you think belongs in this report?” or “How do you think I should handle this situation with client X?” Then give the advice giver a sincere thank-you, even if the ideas are less than helpful.

　　问问别人的意见。人们都喜欢被人征求意见，所以你可以先主动问问别人：“你认为这个报告怎么样?”或者“你认为我应该怎样处理与客户 X 的这种情况?”然后，真诚地向提建议者表示感谢，即使他们的建议对你没有一点帮助。

　　6.Sidestep the gossip mill. You don’t want anyone talking about you behind your back, right? So return the favor. When a coworker sidles up to you bearing a juicy tidbit of gossip about Betty’s office romance or Bill’s impending firing, respond with, “Really?” and then change the subject or get back to work. If you don’t respond, the gossiper will move on—and you’ll retain the trust and respect of your colleagues.

　　躲避流言蜚语。你也不想任何人在你的背后谈论你，对吧?所以对别人也要如此。当有同事悄悄走近你并绘声绘色地给你讲一些小道消息，如贝蒂的办公室情缘或即将解雇比尔的传闻，你应回答说：“真的吗?”然后转换话题或继续工作。如果你不做出回应，传播流言蜚语的人就自会离开，而你则会保留同事们对你的信任和尊重。

　　Vocabulary

　　coworker n. 同事

　　goodwill n. 友好

　　interoffice a. 各部科间的

　　deflate v. 降低

　　morale n. 士气

　　impair v. 损害layoff n. 解雇

　　loner n. 不合群的人

　　grouch n. 心怀不满的人

　　plod v. 沉重缓慢地走

　　slump v. 耷拉着

　　courtesy n. 礼貌

　　thaw v. 使暖和

　　chilly a. 冷淡的

　　Larina Kase 拉里娜 · 凯斯

　　psychologist n. 心理学家

　　Philadelphia 费城

　　genuine a. 真实的

　　bowling n. 保龄球

　　softball n. 垒球

　　good-natured a. 友善的

　　poke fun at 拿 ... 开玩笑

　　mischievously ad. 淘气地

　　racy a. 下流的

　　screensaver n. 电脑屏保

　　sidestep v. 回避

　　mill n. 磨坊

　　sidle v. 悄悄贴近

　　juicy a. 有趣的

　　tidbit n. 趣闻

　　impending a. 即将发生的

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