每日逃脫賽：上班竟比在家強？

For many people， being on the job might just sound like a picnic compared to a day at home filled with chores， errands， meals and child care. Even for those with a happy family life， home can sometimes feel more 1）taxing than work. After decades of social scientists examining the corporate workplace and studying ways to improve it， experts now say being at work is good for our health. And there are aspects of work we might want to 2）emulate at home.

In a new study， published online in Social Science Medicine， researchers at Penn State University found significantly and consistently lower levels of 3）cortisol， a hormone released in response to stress， in a majority of subjects when they were at work compared to when they were at home. This was true for both men and women， and parents and people without children.

Both men and women showed less stress at work. But women were more likely to report feeling happier there. Men were more likely to feel happier at home. The researchers say this may be because women still do more housework and child care and may feel they have less free time.

Experts say there are other reasons why work is less stressful than home for many.“Paid work is more valued in society，” says Sarah Damaske， assistant professor of labor and employment relations， sociology and women’s studies at Penn State， who was also the lead researcher on the study. “Household work is 5）monotonous and not particularly rewarding.”

We get better at our job with time（hopefully）， and the increased competence means less stress and more rewards. Yet none of us， no matter how long we’ve been doing it， ever truly feels like an expert at parenting or even at marriage.

There is behavioral 6）etiquette at work. No yelling， 7）storming off or crying—at least， not if we want to keep our job and our colleagues’ respect. The support and friendship of co-workers offer stress relief. We may listen to others’ problems， but ultimately they aren’t our concern. At home， meanwhile， stress is 8）contagious. “You can’t pause and say to your 9）toddler， ‘Mommy needs a timeout，’ “Dr. Damaske says.

Much of the advice to families and couples includes the warning to “leave work stress at the office” and even to build in a transition activity， such as a walk around the block， to change our mind-set from work to home. The recent findings， though， suggest our home life， not our attitude， might be due for some change.

Tara Kennedy-Kline， a family advocate and owner of a toy-distribution company， says on an evening or weekend she has been known to go to her warehouse and rearrange 1，500 boxes in a 10）shipping container just to get away from her family’s requests of “What’s for dinner？” and “Where is my uniform？”

“I love my home and family， but there is just something about being able to walk away from the homework， dinner， 11）karate， football， piano lessons， roller-skating transport and laundry folding， and retreat to my cold 12）concrete warehouse，” says the 43-year-old， who lives in Shoemakersville， Pa.

So how can we make domestic life less stressful？ “Make home a little more like work，” says Richard Levak， a Del Mar， Calif. psychologist.

First， learn to set boundaries—just as when we are in our office or cubicle and we say no to a request that isn’t in our 13）domain. Explain to children or a spouse that you need uninterrupted time alone. Help them 14）rehearse what to do while you are unavailable. Create a place where they can write down what they want to tell you when they have the urge to interrupt， so you can read it together later.

Prepare for pushback. “Everyone will resist. They want access to you all the time，”Dr. Levak says. “You have to be mindful that your spouse or kids will feel rejected.”He suggests preparing them by telling them when and for how long you are planning to take a break.

Build down time into everyone’s schedule. Set aside specific times at home to relax and have fun， and make them 15）inviolate. Plan a movie night. Put a regular exercise time on the calendar. Take a walk after dinner every evening.

People who live alone can fall into a stressful pattern of drifting around the house， doing small chores， checking the fridge， flipping through channels on the TV—responding to stimuli but not focusing on a task， Dr. Levak says.“You have to envision some rewarding event and plan for it.”

Create a greater sense of control at home by building in more structure， Dr. Levak says. Don’t watch TV mindlessly； record only what you care about and watch one evening a week. Sit down to meals at the table. Try not to answer email or texts after a certain time. Lastly， the doctors says， “If you want to improve your level of happiness at home， you need to be as mindful of following a structure at home as you are at work.”

對大多數人而言，與在家里充斥著各種家務活、跑腿差事、做飯和照顧孩子的一天相比，工作聽起來不過是小菜一碟。即使對那些家庭生活愉快的人來說，居家生活有時候也會讓人覺得比上班還累。就企業工作環境及改進方法進行數十年調查研究后，社會科學專家們如今表示，上班工作對人們的健康有益，并且工作生活中的好些方面是值得人們在居家生活中效仿的。

在《社會科學與醫學》網站上發布的一項新研究中，賓夕法尼亞州立大學的研究人員發現，大部分被測試者在工作時，體內的皮質醇水平（皮質醇是人體對壓力作出反應時釋放出來的一種激素）由始至終明顯比在家時的水平更低——無論參與測試的志愿者是男是女及是否育有小孩，結果均如此。

男性和女性測試者都在工作時感到壓力減少了。但是女性測試者多數表示在工作時更開心。而男性測試者則更多表示在家里更開心。研究者認為這有可能是因為女性測試者在家里還要做更多的家務活和照顧孩子，且感覺個人自由時間更少。

專家表示還有其他原因可以解釋為什么大部分人會感到工作時比在家壓力更小。“有償工作具有更高的社會價值，”莎拉·達瑪斯克說，她是賓州州立大學的勞動與雇傭關系學、社會學和婦女研究的助理教授，也是這項研究的帶頭人。“家務工作不僅單調乏味，而且不太有滿足感。”

我們通常（在理想情況下）會在工作中越做越好，并提高我們的能力，這意味著更少壓力和更多回報。……