評論
打印
Business
商業版塊
Bartleby
巴托比專欄
Achilles goes to the office
阿喀琉斯去上班
How white-collar warriors gear up for the day.
白領戰士如何為新的一天披掛上陣。
"The Iliad" is a story of glory and gods, revenge and mercy, death and immortality.
《伊利亞特》是關于榮耀與眾神、復仇與仁慈、死亡與不朽的故事。
Squint hard enough and it is also a workplace saga.
但只要使勁瞇著眼睛，也可以把這部作品看成是一部職場傳奇。
The epic kicks off with a big row between a pair of co-workers called Agamemnon and Achilles.
這部史詩以兩個名叫阿伽門農和阿喀琉斯的同事之間的大型爭吵開篇。
The gods are the senior leadership team, descending from on high to cause complete chaos.
眾神是高級領導團隊，從天而降，然后造成徹底的混亂。
For most of the book Achilles, a prototype of the talented jerk, is on strike.
在這本書里，恃才傲物者的原型阿喀琉斯大部分時間都處于罷工狀態。
This is a big problem for the Greek management team, who have lost their best performer.
這對希臘管理團隊來說是個大問題，因為他們已經失去了能力最強的員工。
A delegation from HR fails to win Achilles over.
人力資源部門的代表未能讓阿喀琉斯回心轉意。
Eventually, however, he returns to the office, and all is well (Trojans may disagree).
然而，最終他還是回到了辦公室，一切結局圓滿(特洛伊人可能不會同意)。
The parallels between the 21st-century workplace and “The Iliad” are admittedly inexact.
將21世紀的職場與《伊利亞特》進行類比的確是不準確的。
There are fewer swords and spears glinting in the rosy-fingered dawn today; there is a bit less brain matter on the floor.
如今，在玫瑰色的黎明中沒有那么多熠熠發光的劍和矛，地上也沒有那么多腦漿。
But to see the modern connections to Homer’s epic, look at Achilles’s preparations to go back to work.
但要想看到現代職場與荷馬史詩之間的聯系，只需看看阿喀琉斯為重返工作所做的準備。
“Now I shall arm myself for war,” he says in Book 19.
“現在我將披甲赴戰?！彼诘?9卷中說道。
The arming of Achilles is the forebear of gearing-up scenes ever since, from Chaucer to Rambo.
阿喀琉斯全副武裝的情節成了從英國詩人喬叟到《第一滴血》等作品里披掛上陣場景的濫觴。
But it also has echoes of current daily rituals.
但這個情節也與當前的日常儀式遙相呼應。
Achilles puts on bronze greaves and shining breastplates; employees choose clothes that they don’t wear at the weekend.
阿喀琉斯穿上青銅脛甲和閃亮的胸鎧，上班族穿上他們周末不會穿的衣服。
Achilles puts on his golden-plumed helmet; commuters don their Bose headphones.
阿喀琉斯戴上他那飾有金色羽毛的頭盔，通勤人戴上他們的Bose耳機。
The Homeric hero takes up a shield forged by Hephaestus, the god of fire.
荷馬筆下的這位英雄拿起火神赫菲斯托斯鍛造的盾牌。
The office worker stuffs a laptop and charger into a rucksack.
打工人把筆記本電腦和充電器塞進雙肩包。
Most of this white-collar arming takes place inside the home, but not all.
白領的這種武裝過程大都在家里完成，除了其中的一小部分。
It also happens en route to the battlefield, as compacts emerge and make-up is applied on the Tube.
在前往戰場的途中也可以武裝，有了帶鏡子的粉餅盒，在地鐵上就能化妝。
Sometimes the transformation takes place in the office itself.
有時，這種變身就在辦公室里進行。
Trainers are swapped for heels.
運動鞋換成了高跟鞋。
Lycra-clad colleagues disappear from view and emerge in something less off-putting.
穿著萊卡緊身衣的同事從視線中消失，然后換上了一些沒那么討人厭的衣服。
Battle may be close but it does not arrive instantly, whether you are the king of the Myrmidons or Barry from accounts.
戰斗可能就在不遠處，但不會立即到來，無論你是米爾彌冬人的首領還是來自會計部門的巴里。
Both have thresholds to cross before the real action begins.
在真正的行動開始之前，二者都有要跨越的門檻。
In Homer’s epic, Achilles has been sitting out the war in an encampment; his appearance on the seashore is when the Greeks learn that he is going to rejoin the fray.
在荷馬史詩中，阿喀琉斯一直在營地里坐著，不參加戰爭，當希臘人得知他將重新加入戰爭時，他才出現在海邊。
There is a feast before the fighting starts (Achilles refuses to eat; perhaps there wasn’t a vegan option).
戰斗開始前有一場盛宴(阿喀琉斯拒絕進食，也許是因為沒有素食可選)。
Once armed, he gets on his chariot and goes to the front “resplendent as the sun-god Hyperion”.
一旦全副武裝，他就會跨上戰車，“像日神許佩里翁一樣光彩奪目地”走上前線。
For remote workers the gap between their personal and professional lives may be narrow: the walk from the fridge to the living room (and back again, and back again).
對于遠程工作者來說，他們的個人生活和職場生活之間的距離可能很短：從冰箱走到客廳(再走回來，然后再走回去)。
That is a problem.
這確實是一個問題。
Entering the workplace means putting on a different persona as well as different clothes—you, but with added self-control.
因為進入工作場所不僅意味著穿上不同的衣服，也意味著換上不同的人格面具--你還是你，但多了一些自控力。
The transition is easier to make when there are clear boundaries separating home and work.
當家庭和工作之間有明確的界限時，這種過渡更容易實現。
Office-goers have many more thresholds to cross.
上班族需要跨越的門檻要多得多。
They emerge onto the street in the morning and make the journey towards their desks.
他們清晨出現在街上，然后朝自己的辦公桌走去。
They enter a café for their morning coffee; carrying a cup and walking briskly is the simplest way to let fellow citizens know you are gainfully employed.
他們走進一家咖啡廳買早上的咖啡，端著杯子，輕快地走著，這是讓社會上的其他人知道你在上班掙錢的最簡單的方式。
At some point they will have their first encounter with a fellow employee.
在某個時刻，他們會遇到第一個同事。
If they are very unfortunate, this meeting will occur at the start of the commute and involve excruciating small talk on public transport for 40 minutes.
如果是這種非常不幸的情況，即在通勤剛開始時就相遇了，那么他們需要在公共交通上進行長達40分鐘的痛苦寒暄。
Normally, it will just mean that the office is close.
一般情況下，遇見同事只是意味著快要到辦公室了。
Workers must then make their entry into the office itself.
然后，員工必須走進辦公室。
There are security guards to greet, passes to swipe and lift buttons to press.
需要和保安打招呼，需要刷通行證，需要按電梯按鈕。
Visitors to the office will participate in an extra arming scene at this point, in which they sign their names illegibly into a register and are given a lanyard.
在這個時候，辦公室訪客還有一個額外的武裝場景，他們要在登記簿上用難以辨認的字跡簽上自己的名字，然后會得到一個能掛在脖子上的通行證。
Hyperion, indeed.
這很許佩里翁。
The moment for action is now imminent.
現在作戰行動一觸即發。
Outside the walls of Troy, Achilles springs forward like “a fierce lion”; a cycle of carnage begins that will end with the death of Hector.
在特洛伊城墻外，阿喀琉斯像“兇猛的獅子”一樣一躍而上，接著大屠殺開始了，最終將以特洛伊王子赫克托的死亡告終。
The white-collar worker must make final preparations for the day ahead, too.
白領上班族也必須為即將開始的一天做最后的準備。
The rucksack comes off, and the computer switches on.
取下雙肩包，打開電腦。
The salaried hero springs forward, jaws foaming, to take a last bite of croissant; crumbs fleck the keyboard and the carpet.
身負工資的英雄一躍而上，嘴角冒著白沫，咬下最后一口牛角面包，面包屑撒落在鍵盤和地毯上。
The password is entered, the loading wheel spins, the heart rate remains exactly the same. It’s time.
密碼輸入了，加載圖標在旋轉，心率穩定不變。就是現在。
Homer would never have made a name for himself with an office-based epic: death and glory guarantee a more dramatic narrative than email and meetings.
荷馬永遠不會因為一部以辦公室為背景的史詩而留名青史：死亡和榮耀一定是比電子郵件和會議更具戲劇性的敘事。
But when you put on your work clothes, change into your professional self and pitilessly strike your first key, you are more than just a foot-soldier.
但是當你穿上工作服，換上你的職業人格，無情地敲下了第一個按鍵時，你就不僅僅只是一個卒子。
You are a tiny Achilles.
你是一個小阿喀琉斯。
