????目前的就業(yè)市場(chǎng)哀鴻遍野。所以，上班一族即使郁郁寡歡也很難喚起人們的同情之心，因?yàn)樗麄冏钇鸫a還能領(lǐng)到醫(yī)療福利。但實(shí)際上，人人都有難言之隱，即便是職場(chǎng)高薪一族一樣有自己的煩心事。

????自從2007年12月經(jīng)濟(jì)衰退以來，“離職率”或者主動(dòng)辭去帶薪職位的人數(shù)一直偏低，目前依然在1.5%左右徘徊。大部分經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)家認(rèn)為，這么低的比例是一種不正常的現(xiàn)象。

????經(jīng)濟(jì)形勢(shì)良好時(shí)，對(duì)工作不滿意的員工可以辭掉令他不爽的工作，但對(duì)未來還是相對(duì)樂觀。他們要么是已經(jīng)找到一份更有前途的工作，要么就是非常自信，相信自己能夠在幾周內(nèi)就可找到一份不錯(cuò)的工作，并且相對(duì)而言，不會(huì)經(jīng)歷太痛苦的過程。但就業(yè)市場(chǎng)低迷時(shí)，即便自己并不喜歡，甚至永遠(yuǎn)也談不上熱愛，人們還是會(huì)選擇堅(jiān)守自己的崗位。

????低迷的“離職率”問題還有其他負(fù)面影響。由于擔(dān)心哪怕一點(diǎn)點(diǎn)不稱職的表現(xiàn)都會(huì)砸了飯碗，年輕人在職場(chǎng)中的表現(xiàn)更是如履薄冰，不敢跟同事和老板討論工作中遇到的難題。（20歲左右年輕人的失業(yè)率是總體失業(yè)率的兩倍左右。）

????還有一些人即便面對(duì)近乎惡劣的工作環(huán)境，依然會(huì)選擇沉默，原因自然還是擔(dān)心丟掉飯碗。如果自己的抱怨太多，誰知道上司會(huì)不會(huì)炒自己的魷魚？畢竟，還有一群20多歲的小青年正愁沒工作呢，他們當(dāng)中肯定有人更能容忍這樣的工作環(huán)境。

????我曾經(jīng)與一家著名圖片社的客戶經(jīng)理交流過。她提到，有一次公司的人力資源總監(jiān)對(duì)她說，關(guān)心個(gè)人健康是“她自己的事”，但公司更希望她不要頻繁地去看醫(yī)生（為了治療一種慢性病）。而實(shí)際上，她每次都會(huì)把耽誤的工作時(shí)間補(bǔ)回來。她的三位上司彼此之間從不進(jìn)行交流，所以，如果她自己不說，他們也就從來不會(huì)知道其他兩位對(duì)她提出的要求。但她又擔(dān)心，一旦說出來，也許會(huì)被當(dāng)成哭哭啼啼的怨婦。她的升職計(jì)劃推遲了幾個(gè)月之后才最終如愿。但在這個(gè)過程中，她學(xué)會(huì)了把日積月累的焦慮隱藏起來，做一只“沉默的鴕鳥”。

????但《高風(fēng)險(xiǎn)情境中的溝通技巧》（Tools for Talking When Stakes Are High）一書的合著作者約瑟夫?格雷尼卻認(rèn)為，在職場(chǎng)中保持沉默往往伴隨著沉重的代價(jià)。格雷尼認(rèn)為，在職場(chǎng)中，面對(duì)自己并不滿意的狀況，不與其他人當(dāng)面交涉，表面看來是一種“安全的”策略，但實(shí)際上卻并不安全。他認(rèn)為，經(jīng)濟(jì)低迷導(dǎo)致的職場(chǎng)沉默會(huì)使越來越多的年輕人無法獲得進(jìn)行具有挑戰(zhàn)性的、充滿情感的對(duì)話技巧，他認(rèn)為如今只有這種技巧才能帶來真正的職場(chǎng)安全感；也就是說，員工作為無價(jià)資產(chǎn)得到認(rèn)可所帶來的安全感。

????It's hard, given how swollen the unemployment ranks are these days, to conjure up much sympathy for those who are unhappily employed with health benefits. But even the gainfully employed have their job troubles.

????The "quits rate," or the number of voluntary leave-taking from paid positions, has been low since the economic downturn began in December 2007 and still hovers around 1.5% -- a number that most economists consider unhealthily low.

????When an economy is humming along, unsatisfied employees can quit cruddy jobs with relative gusto. They either have a more promising job lined up, or are confident they'll be able to find one within a few relatively painless weeks of pavement pounding. But when jobs are scarce, people keep showing up for jobs they don't like, perhaps never liked.

????The low "quits rate" problem suggests other side effects. Young people are often wary of approaching colleagues and bosses to discuss on-the-job dilemmas out of fear that the slightest whiff of incompetence will get them canned. (The unemployment rate for people in their 20s is nearly double that of the general population.)

????Others stay silent in the face of work situations that border on hostile because, again, who's to say that managers -- staring at a vast pool of available 20-something labor -- wouldn't rather fire the squeaky wheel and replace her with someone more accommodating of inter-office nonsense?

????I talked to an account manager at a prominent photo agency who once sat and listened to the head of HR inform her that while taking care of herself was "her decision," the company would prefer she not have to visit the doctor so often (to control a chronic medical condition), even though she made up the lost hours every time. Her three supervisors did not communicate with one another, and would not hear of other demands placed on her unless she said something -- at which point she worried whether she sounded like a whiner. A promotion was dangled and delayed for months. Meanwhile, she learned to suck her mounting anxieties up and keep quiet.

????But keeping silent on the job comes with considerable costs, says Joseph Grenny, coauthor of Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking When Stakes Are High. Grenny argues that the seemingly "safe" strategy of never confronting an unsatisfactory job situation is actually not safe. According to Grenny, downturn-induced reticence means that more young people are not gaining the skills of conducting challenging, emotionally charged conversations -- a skill he believes ultimately fosters the only kind of job security available these days; namely, the security that comes from being regarded as an invaluable asset.