Worrying about what other people think at work is something women have to contend with far more than men, a small new study suggests.

一项新的小型研究表明，女性在工作时比男性更担心别人的看法。

The experiment included only 32 participants, but e-conomists in Germany say their "clear and consistent" findings are thorough evidence of a newly-identified gender¹ discrepancy².

实验对象只有32人，但德国经济学家说他们的研究结果“明确而且禁得起时间考验”，是新发现的性别差异的充分证据。

Experiments have found that when people are placed in pairs, the contributions of both male and female workers depend on how they feel about their female partner. Basically, the authors explain, in pretty much every interaction a woman has in the workplace, 'likeability' is either an asset or a hurdle³.

实验发现人们被分成两人一组时，男性和女性员工的表现取决于他们对女性搭档的看法。作者解释说，基本上在女性的所有互动中，“受欢迎度”要么是资本，要么是障碍。

"For men, on the other hand, likeability matters only if they interact with the opposite sex," they add.

他们补充道：“而男性只有在和异性互动时才看重‘受欢迎度’。”

In all-male groups, being likeable was neither an asset nor a hurdle. In the study, male participants cooperated and coordinated⁴ to the same extent, regardless of their feelings towards one another. Only in mixed groups did they appear more sensitive to the perceptions of others.

在成员都是男性的群组中，“受欢迎”既不是资本，也不是障碍。在这项研究中，不管男性对彼此有何看法，他们都一样合作、配合。只有在男女混合的群组中他们才在乎别人的看法。

"As soon as one of them (or both) is a woman, however, the situation changes," the authors describe.

作者描述道：“但只要其中有一位女性（或者双方都是女性），情况就不一样了。”

"Then, likeability considerations become relevant, turning low likeability into a disruptive factor - in a sense an exogenous 'hurdle' - that impedes⁵ successful co-operation and reduces performance outcomes. Women always face this potential hurdle, men don't."

“看重‘受欢迎度’有很大影响，不太受欢迎就成了破坏性因素，从某种意义上说，就是外来‘障碍’，这会影响成功合作和最终表现。女性总是要面对这种潜在障碍，而男性就不会。”