When it comes to the roles of the office, managers talk and employees listen.

每当谈论办公室地位的时候，总是经理侃侃而谈，而员工只能竖起耳朵听。

Right?

对吗？

In many situations, that’s true. Managers give instructions, provide coaching, and convey department and individual goals.

在很多情况下，这是对的。经理给予指令，对员工进行培训，还有传达部门和个人的工作目标。

But listening as a manager is just as important. Listening is your key to finding out what makes your employees excited to come to work — or what is pushing them out the door. Listening reveals the truth behind your employees’ workloads², as well as what you can do to help them succeed.

但作为一名管理者，去听取他人的意见也是同样重要的。倾听员工意见是探寻员工工作动力的关键——或者找出逼迫他们离开工作的原因。倾听意见可以了解员工工作量背后的真实情况，以及你所能为他们事业成功给予的帮助。

So, I find it’s better to proactively listen to what your employees are saying — even if it involves a little detective work — so you can get to the bottom of it and better manage your team. Here are some key issues to listen for.

所以，笔者认为很应该听取员工的需求——即使这需要一点点的侦查工作——不过你的确可以深入地了解员工的情况，从而有助更好地管理团队。下面这些就是员工最想表达的想法，你应该重视。

1. “I’m bored”

1. “我累了。”

It’s a risky³ move to come right out and tell your boss that you’re bored — at least, that’s how it can seem to employees who are worried about being marked for the next round of layoffs⁴ for not being a top-contributing employee.

直接告诉老板你很累的这一举动有点危险，不过至少，这反映了员工们有多么担心在下一轮的解雇名单，而不是最佳员工的名单中榜上有名。

But employees who don’t have enough work or who aren't being challenged can bring down the productivity and attitude of your entire group. Plus, bored employees are often unhappy — and consequently, are looking elsewhere to advance their career.

但是那些没有完成足够工作量，或没有感觉到工作的挑战的员工，有可能会把团队整体的创造力水平和精神面貌拉低。再者，疲惫不堪的员工通常都惴惴不安——并且频繁地寻找其他能够有助事业发展的渠道。

Listen for it

请倾听。

Bored employees are often the ones asking for more work. They want to know if there’s anything you — or anyone else on the team — needs help with. They’re not just trying to suck up or get in your good graces; they’re desperate for something to do. On the lightly more direct (and surly) side, they may just announce, “I don’t know what I’m supposed to be doing.”

疲惫的员工们通常都是最积极工作的。他们很急切想帮助团队中的任何人。他们并不只是想在你面前拍马屁或给你留下好印象，他们只是想要做些事情。他们可能会很直接（或暗地里）表示，“我并不知道我该做什么。”

Also listen for the mutters of, “I've done this all before,” or “I've been doing this for so long, I couldn't mess up if I tried.” This will clue you in that your employees need more challenges and opportunities to stretch their skills.

还有这些嘟囔，“我之前都做过这些工作了。”或“我做这些工作已经很久了，我已经不可能再搞砸了。”这样的话就暗示了你的员工需要更多的挑战和机遇以扩展自己的技能。

2. “I need your intervention⁵”

2. “我需要您的参与。”

Generally, your employees want you to know that they’re fully capable of making smart decisions and dealing⁶ with the tough stuff. So when something isn't going according to plan — like a big sale that’s clearly going downhill or a client situation that’s about to explode — they may not be completely upfront about the situation with you, for fear of coming across as incompetent⁷. But, that can often lead to escalated⁸ situations that put you both in a tough spot.

一般来说，员工们都希望老板知道他们是完全有能力做出明智决定和处理难题的。所以当计划中出现变化的时候（正如超市的清仓大减价，或与客户关系不协调），他们也许不能与你在前线并肩作战，以防遇到自己无法处理的难题。但是，这样也会让情况升级，让你们双方都处于困境。

Listen for it

请倾听。

Your employees may not come out and ask for your help directly, but they’ll often allude⁹ to it when you ask for a status update: “I think this client is getting really angry. I keep telling her we’re looking into the situation, but she doesn't want to hear it.”

员工们也许不会直接请求你的帮助，但他们会在你要求反映情况的时候暗示：“这位客户感觉很不满意。我已经跟她反馈我们正在跟进情况了，但是她似乎不想听我们的解释。”

What this employee is telling you is, “I need you to step in and defuse this situation.” Would it be easier if she just asked, point-blank, for your assistance? Sure. But as a manager, you can also be proactive in offering your expertise¹⁰.

而实际上这位员工想表达的是，“我需要你的介入帮忙缓解目前的状况。”如果她能够直截了当地寻求你的帮忙，你会觉得更好对吗？肯定的。但是作为一名管理者，你也可以积极地利用个人专长为员工们提供帮助。

3. “I’m being overworked”

3. “我已经过度劳累了。”

Some employees will come right out and say when their workload¹ has become too much to handle. Some, however, will exhaust themselves, working long hours to try to accommodate the workload — and burning themselves out along the way.

有些员工就会直截了当地表示他们的工作量太大以致无法处理。但也有一些，会竭尽所能，花费长时间以适应繁重的工作——随之也会让自己精疲力尽。

Listen for it

请倾听。

“I think I’m just going to work through lunch today,” may mark the beginning stages, when employees are simply accepting the work as a challenge. As it progresses, though, you’ll hear the exhaustion¹¹ in their voices as they say, “I just don’t know what do prioritize,” or “No matter what I do, something is getting dropped.”

“我觉得我今天午餐的时间也要花费在工作上了。”这句话也许就预示了问题的开始，也就是员工们只把工作当作挑战的时候。随着事情的发展，你就会听到他们声音中透露着疲惫：“我不知道该先做什么事情。”或“无论我做了哪件事，总有一些事是被落下的。”

When you hear this, that’s your cue to step in to have a one-on-one conversation about how realistic your staffer’s workload is. Look at ways to more evenly distribute the workload, or if there’s just an abundance of work all around, work on prioritizing projects to give your employee a chance at a better work-life balance.[/en]

当你听到这些话，就意味着你需要跟员工们进行一对一的访谈，去了解他们的工作量是如此庞大。从多方面考虑，更公平地分配工作量，或如果的确有很多任务需要处理，那么让你的员工先完成最急切的任务，让他们有一个工作与生活平衡的休息机会。

4. “I need some coaching”

4. “我需要指导。”

Few people like to admit that they need help. Employees won’t necessary come to you to announce their areas of weakness, asking for your help and expertise. Instead, they’ll go with the flow and hope their weaknesses or uncertainties¹² go unnoticed.

很少人愿意承认自己需要帮忙。员工们不会在非必要的时候跟你谈论自己的弱点，或请求你帮助和专业指导。相反，他们会任其发展并希望自己的弱点或不确定性悄悄地溜走。

Some managers prefer to have their employees learn by trial and error, but in the end, that can cause a lot of frustration¹³ for both the employee, who feels like he or she isn't getting the necessary training, as well as you, who has to deal with the later effects of a poor performance.

有些管理者希望员工从反复的尝试和失败中获取经验，但最终，对于员工，他们会认为自己获得不必要的训练，以及管理者自己，还需要处理后续的反效果，都会造成很多不必要的麻烦。

Listen for it

请倾听。

Employees who don’t want to be caught doing something they’re unsure of will often volunteer others in their place: “I can do that if you need me to, but Alex really has more experience in that area.”

员工们都不希望被上司看到自己对任务存在不确定的表现，他们通常都会自愿帮助他人：“如果你需要我，我愿意为你完成，不过某某的确在这个领域有更多的经验。”

Or, they’ll evade¹⁴ it by suddenly becoming too busy: “I really don’t think I can take anything else on.” It can also manifest itself in frustration: “How am I supposed to know how to do this?” or “I have no idea where to start.” In any case, all good signs that you may want to carve out some time for additional one-on-one coaching.

或者，他们会以突如其来的忙碌回避：“我实在无法抽出时间处理其他事情了。”或表现出焦虑不安的情绪：“我为什么一定就知道如何完成这件事呢？”或“我实在不知道如何开始着手。”无论在什么情况下，这些迹象都表明你需要跟他们进行一对一的额外培训。

In an ideal world, everyone would be open and upfront about what’s going on in the office. But as you work on creating that kind of trusting environment with your employees, it’s important to listen for deeper meanings and the chance for you to step in and fulfill¹⁵ your role as a manager.

在一个理想的情况下，每个人都很愿意接受和面对职场中的各种情况。但如果你正在建立与员工间的互信互助的工作环境，那么你就要认真地听取员工们的想法，这也是一个让你不断充实和塑造一名出色的管理者角色很好的机会。