Like many workers, Ivelisse Rivera, a physician at Community Health Center, Middletown, Conn., feels stressed-out by mounting workloads. And she didn't expect to get much help during her employer's annual staff meeting last November - just the usual speeches on medical issues.

    像很多上班族一样，康涅狄格州Middletown市社区卫生中心的医生里韦拉（Ivelisse Rivera）被越来越多的工作压得喘不过气来。在去年11月单位召开的年度员工大会上，她也没有指望能得到多大的帮助，以为这次会议就是些关于医疗问题的老生常谈。

    Instead, she got a big dose of something new: Happiness coaching. Keynote speaker Shawn Achor - a former Harvard University researcher and former co-teacher of one of the university's most popular courses, Positive Psychology - extolled 90 listening employees to shake off dark moods at work by practicing such happiness-inducing techniques as meditation or expressing gratitude.

    但她获得了某种新颍的"药剂":快乐指导（happiness coaching）.主旨发言人是曾在哈佛大学（Harvard University）做过研究员、并与人一起讲授该校热门课程"积极心理学"的阿克尔（Shawn Achor）.他实施了冥想和表达感谢等快乐引导术，来激励90位听课的员工摆脱工作中的灰暗情绪。

    To her surprise, Dr. Rivera says, she drove home filled with thoughts about cheering up; 'if I assume a negative attitude and complain all the time, whoever is working with me is going to feel the same way.'

    里韦拉说，开车回家的路上，她满脑子都是怎样振作起来的想法，这让她很意外。她说，如果我心态消极，一直不停地抱怨，谁与我一起工作都会有同样的感觉。

    Happiness coaching is seeping into the workplace. A growing number of employers, including UBS, American Express, KPMG and the law firm Goodwin Procter, have hired trainers who draw on psychological research, ancient religious traditions or both to inspire workers to take a more positive attitude - or at least a neutral one. Happiness-at-work coaching is the theme of a crop of new business books and a growing number of MBA-school courses.

    快乐指导课程正在进入各种工作环境。越来越多的雇主都聘请了培训师，利用心理学研究成果、古代宗教传统或两者的融合，激励员工拥有一种更加积极的心态，或至少是一种不消极的心态。这些雇主包括瑞银（UBS）,美国运通（American Express）,毕马威（KPMG）,以及律师事务所Goodwin Procter.针对上班族的快乐指导是一大批商业类新书的主题，也是越来越多MBA课程的主题。

    Critics say that pushing positive thinking is just a way for companies to improve morale while they continue to burden employees with the threat of layoffs and an ever-increasing workload. Barbara Ehrenreich's recent book, 'Bright-sided,' blames 'positive thinking' for enabling people to avoid confronting a wide range of serious problems in the economy and workplace.

    批评者说，公司推行积极思维，不过是为了让员工在继续承担失业威胁和不断加大的工作量之际，还能有更高的士气。埃伦瑞奇（Barbara Ehrenreich）的新书《面向光明》（Bright-sided）指责说，"积极思维"让人们得以逃避面对经济和工作中的一系列重大问题。

    Research shows that employees' positive attitudes can be good for business, too. A 2004 study of 60 business teams in the journal American Behavioral Scientist found teams with buoyant moods who encouraged each earned higher profit and better customer-satisfaction ratings. A 2001 study at the University of Michigan says people who are experiencing joy or contentment are able to think more broadly and creatively, accepting a wider variety of possible actions, than people with negative emotions. And a 2005 research survey in the Psychological Bulletin shows happier people miss work less often and receive more positive evaluations from bosses.

    研究显示，员工的积极心态也可以对工作业绩有益。《美国行为科学》杂志（American Behavioral Scientist）2004年发表的一项针对60个业务团队的研究发现，拥有活跃氛围并相互鼓舞的业务团队，利润和客户满意率都更高。密歇根大学 （University of Michigan）2001年的一项研究说，感觉愉悦或满意的人，比情绪消极的人思路更加开阔，更有创造性，所能接受的行动选项也更多。2005年《心理学公报》（Psychological Bulletin）发表的一项调查研究也显示，人越快乐，在工作中出现失误的机会就越少，老板给予的评价也越积极。

    Of courses, coaches have long tried to instill proactive skills to help clients extract career or personal success from tough situations. What's different now is the emphasis on inner happiness, and controlling your own mood in the face of turbulence or misfortune .

    当然，一直以来就有辅导师努力向客户传授一些积极的处事技能，帮助他们在困境中取得工作或生活的成功。快乐指导的不同之处在于，它强调的是内心的快乐，以及在面临混乱或厄运时控制自己的情绪。

    Indeed, the happiness coaches go beyond traditional positive-thinking approaches, taking new tacks that tend to ring true with workers. Some examples: Write e-mails to your co-workers every day thanking them for something they have done. Meditate daily to clear your mind. Do something for somebody without expecting anything in return. Write in a journal about things you are thankful for; look for traits you admire in people and compliment them. Focus on the process of your work, which you can control, rather than outcomes, which you can't. And don't immediately label events good or bad, but remain open to potentially positive outcomes of even the most seemingly negative events.

    事实上，快乐辅导师超越传统的积极思维方法，采用了一些新手段，往往被员工所接受。举几个例子：每天给同事写电子邮件，感谢他们做过的某些事情。每天都做冥想，理清思绪。为某人做点什么事情，不期望获得任何回报。写一份日记，记下你心存感激的各种事情；在其他人身上寻找你钦佩的优点，并赞美这些优点。把注意力集中于你可以控制的工作过程，而不是你不能控制的结果。不要不假思索地给事情贴上好或坏的标签，哪怕某些极像是负面的事情，也要相信它们可能会产生正面的结果。

    Mr. Achor bases his training on a burgeoning body of research on the positive psychology movement, which emphasizes instilling resiliency and positive attitudes over analyzing mental illness and dysfunction. Srikumar Rao, a Long Island University emeritus professor whose training courses in workplaces and business schools have earned him the nickname 'the happiness guru', draws on tenets common to such religious traditions as Hinduism, Sufism, Buddhism, Christianity and Judaism.

    阿克尔的培训课程的基础，是积极心理学方面所产生的越来越丰富的研究成果。积极心理学更着重于抗压能力和积极心态的灌输，而不是对精神疾病或功能障碍的分析。长岛大学（Long Island University）名誉教授Srikumar Rao面向工作环境和商学院的培训课程为他赢得了"快乐大师"的称号。他利用了印度教、伊斯兰教苏非派、佛教、基督教和犹太教这些宗教传统中的常见信条。

    People who use the principles say they work. Greg Johnson, a Charlotte, N.C., corporate real-estate executive, says Dr. Rao's training helps him avoid rushing to negative conclusions about daily events. Amid staff changes or reorganizations, he has taught himself to think, 'Good thing, bad thing? The reality is, I don't know' how the change will turn out in the long term. That mindset helps him remain open to the possibility that seemingly negative events can produce positive outcomes in the long term, he says.

    践行了这些信条的人们都说管用。美国北卡罗莱纳州夏洛特市的一位商业地产高管约翰逊（Greg Johnson）说，Rao的培训课程有助于他避免对日常事务匆匆忙忙地得出负面结论。当遇到人员更替或部门改革时，他学会了问自己，"好事还是坏事？其实我不知道",使自己不要对某种变化可能的长远结果过早下结论。他说，这有助于他保持"塞翁失马 焉知非福"的心态。