(本文选自《经济学人》20220305期
)
背景介绍：
邪教是指冒用宗教、气功或者以其他名义建立，神化、鼓吹首要分子，利用制造、散布迷信邪说等手段蛊惑、蒙骗他人，发展、控制成员，危害社会的非法组织。邪教大多是以传播宗教教义、拯救人类为幌子，以秘密结社的组织形式控制群众，一般以不择手段地敛取钱财为主要目的。看到邪教的定义和特征，我们不难发现邪教与公司有着许多共同特征，那么应该如何辨别一家公司是不是“邪教组织”呢？
The dividing line between firm and sect is often thin. How to tell them apart
公司和邪教之间的界线往往很模糊。如何对它们进行区分
Here are some common characteristics of cults. They have hierarchical structures. They prize charismatic leaders and expect loyalty. They see the world as a hostile place. They have their own jargon, rituals and beliefs. They have a sense of mission. They are stuffed with weirdos. If this sounds a bit familiar, that is because companies share so many of these traits.
以下是邪教的一些共同特征。他们有等级结构。他们珍视魅力型领袖并期望忠诚。他们认为世界是一个充满敌意的地方。他们有自己的行话、仪式和信仰。他们有使命感。他们都是怪人。如果这听起来有点耳熟，那是因为许多公司也有这些共同特征。
Some cult-companies are easier to spot than others. Their bosses are more like deities than executives. These leaders have control of the company, and almost certainly founded it. They have name recognition among the masses. They really like rockets and have a brother called Kimbal.
一些邪教般公司比其他公司更容易被发现。他们的老板更像神，而非公司高管。这些领导人控制着公司，而且几乎肯定是，他们是公司的创始人。他们在群众中享有盛名。他们真的很喜欢火箭，还有个兄弟叫金巴尔。
But in other cases it can be hard to tell where a company ends and a cult begins. That is true even of employees. So here is a handy guide to help you work out whether you are in a normal workplace or have fallen into the clutches of an even stranger group.
但在其他情况下，你很难将一家公司与邪教区分开来。即使是员工也是如此。因此，这里有一份简明指南，可以帮助你确定你是在一家正常的公司，还是落入了一个邪教组织的魔掌。
Workforce nicknames. It is not enough to be an employee of a company any more. From Googlers and Microsofties to Pinployees and Bainies, workforce nicknames are meant to create a sense of shared identity.
员工昵称。仅仅成为一家公司的员工是不够的。从谷歌和微软到拼趣和与贝恩，员工昵称旨在创造一种共同的认同感。
If you belong to one of these tribes and use its nickname without dying a little inside, you may be losing your grasp of reality. If you work in the finance team and are known as one of the Apostles of the Thrice-Tabbed Spreadsheet, you already have.
如果你属于这些公司中的一员，并使用公司昵称而内心毫无失落感，那么你可能正在失去对现实的把握。如果你在财务团队工作，并被称为三页电子表格的倡导者之一，那么你应该是陷入了邪教。
Corporate symbols. Uniforms are defensible in some circumstances: firefighters, referees, the pope. And so is some corporate merchandise: an umbrella, a mug, a diary. But it can easily go too far. Warning signs include pulling on a company-branded hoodie at the weekend or ever wearing a lapel pin that proclaims your allegiance to a firm. If your employer’s corporate swag includes an
amulet
or any kind of hat, that is also somewhat concerning.
公司标志。在某些情况下，穿着制服是合乎情理的：消防员、裁判、教皇。一些公司商品也是如此：雨伞、杯子、日记本。但这很容易走偏。警告信号包括在周末也要穿着公司品牌的连帽衫，或者在衣领上佩戴表明你效忠于公司的别针。如果你雇主的公司礼包行头里包括护身符或任何种类的帽子，那么情况也有点令人担忧。
Surveillance. It is reasonable for executives to want to know what their workers are up to. But it is not reasonable to track their every move. Monitoring software that takes screenshots of employees’ computer screens, reports which apps people are using or squeals on them if a cursor has not moved for a while are tools of mind control, not management.
监控。高管们想知道他们的员工在做什么是合理的。但追踪他们的一举一动是不合理的。监控软件可以对员工的电脑屏幕进行截屏，报告人们正在使用哪些应用程序，或者在光标有一段时间没有移动的情况下发出警报声，这些都是精神控制的工具，而不是管理工具。
Rituals. Rites are a source of comfort and meaning in settings from sport to religion. The workplace is no exception. Plenty of companies hand out badges and awards to favoured employees. Project managers refer to some meetings as “ceremonies”. IBM used to have its own songbook (“Our reputation sparkles like a gem” was one of the rhymes; “Why the hell do we have this bloody anthem?” was not).
仪式。从体育到宗教，仪式都是舒适和意义的源泉。职场也不例外。许多公司给受青睐的员工发放徽章和奖励。项目经理将一些会议称为“仪式”。IBM 曾经有它自己的歌集（“我们的声誉像宝石一样闪耀”便是其中一首，“我们为什么会有这该死的企各”则不是）。
Walmart still encourages workers in its supermarkets to
bellow
a company cheer to start the day. Some of this is merely
cringeworthy
. But if you are regularly chanting, banging a gong or working with wicker, it becomes sinister.
沃尔玛仍然鼓励其超市的员工通过大声欢呼迎接新的一天。其作用只是令人尴尬。但如果你经常吟诵或敲锣打鼓，那么情况就很危险了。
Doctrines. More and more firms
espouse
a higher purpose, and many write down their guiding principles. Mark Zuckerberg recently updated his company’s “cultural operating system”—which, among other things, urges Metamates (see “Workforce nicknames”) to defy physics and “Live In The Future”.
教义。越来越多的公司设定了更高的目标，许多公司写下了他们的指导原则。马克·扎克伯格最近更新了他公司的“企业文化指南”——其中包括敦促元伙伴们（参见“员工昵称”）挑战物理、“活在未来”。
Amazon drums its 16 leadership principles (“Customer Obsession”, “Think Big”, “Are Right, A Lot”, and so on) into employees and job candidates alike. Corporate culture matters, but common sense doesn’t become a belief system just because capital letters are being used. If values are treated like scripture, you are in cult territory.
亚马逊将其 16 项领导力原则(“顾客至上”、“胸怀大志”、“正确决策”等) 灌输给员工和求职者。企业文化很重要，但常识不会因为使用大写字母而成为一种信仰体系。如果价值观被当作圣经来对待，那么你一定身处邪教了。
(红色标注词为重难点词汇)
重难点词汇
：
amulet
[ˈæmjələt] n. 护身符
bellow
[ˈbeloʊ] v. 咆哮；惨叫 n. 吼叫声；呼啸声
