A major ingredient to taking the pain out of a stressful day at work is a supportive partner at home, a new study has confirmed.

一项新研究证实，家有贤内助确实能较大地减轻工作压力带来的焦虑和疲惫。

It may not seem like a groundbreaking conclusion but the study, from Florida State University, is the first to quantify the effects that a sympathetic ear can have at home and at work.

这看起来也许并不是什么开创性的研究结果，不过佛罗里达州立大学的这一研究却是首次将怀着同情心倾听在家庭中和职场中的作用进行量化。

Professor Wayne Hochwarter, author of the study, found that highly stressed employees had a 25 percent higher level of concentration levels if they had a harmonious¹ home life.

该研究的作者韦恩•霍赫瓦特教授发现，在高压下工作的员工如果家庭生活和谐的话，注意力水平比其他人高出25%。

They were also 33 percent more likely to have positive relationships with colleagues, and a 20 percent higher level of job satisfaction.

此外，这些人和同事保持良好关系的可能性要高出33%，工作满意度也要高出20%。

Previous studies have linked work—related stress to a range of mental and physical illnesses, such as depression and obesity².

先前的研究曾将工作压力和一系列精神和身体疾病联系起来，包括抑郁症和肥胖症。

But this study shows how stress can be a vicious circle — adversely³ affecting the way employees perform at work, which can lead to even more workplace stress.

不过本研究显示，压力也可以造成恶性循环——对员工的工作表现产生负面影响，从而带来更多的工作压力。

Professor Hochwarter said the mental and physical wellbeing of employees were at risk if they came to work still stressed from the day before.

霍赫瓦特教授说，如果员工开始一天的工作时仍受到前一天压力的困扰，那么他的精神和身体健康就会受到危害。

He said: "When you're still angry or upset from yesterday's stress, your workday will likely go in only one direction — down."

他说：“如果你依然因为昨天的压力而感到恼怒或心烦，你这天的工作表现只会向一个方向发展——直线下降。”

And there were obvious benefits at home as well. Professor Hochwarter's paper said employees with strong home support were 25 percent less likely to suffer from after—work fatigue⁴.

家庭对减轻工作压力则有显著的效果。霍赫瓦特教授的论文称，拥有强大的家庭支持的员工下班时感到疲惫的可能性比其他人低25%。

Having an awareness⁵ of a partner's daily work demands — such as deadlines, a lack of adequate resources and bad bosses — could ensure that couples always communicated, and a partner could see when their loved one was underplaying or exaggerating a problem.

了解伴侣日常工作上的一些要求——例如任务完成的最后期限、缺少足够的资源以及苛刻的上司——可以保证伴侣之间保持沟通顺畅，而且其中一方可以看出自己的爱人是对问题轻描淡写还是在夸大问题。

The ability to bring a partner back to the middle — building them up when they feel down in the dumps, or talking them down when they are overly agitated⁶ — also played a crucial role.

让伴侣恢复平和心态的能力——在伴侣情绪低落时帮助其建立信心，或在伴侣过度激动时让其冷静下来——也发挥着关键的作用。