Amanda was unhappy with the amount of money she was making at her job, so she went after a position with a competitor and negotiated a higher salary.

    Amanda對目前的薪水不滿意，于是她到一家同行競爭公司求職，該公司可以提供更高薪水。

    When she told her current employer about the higher salary offer, it countered with a considerable increase in her current salary to keep her on board.

    她告訴當前雇主，其他公司開出了更高的薪水。于是當前雇主對她目前的薪水進行了大幅度調整來把她留住。

    Hoping this is what would happen all along, Amanda accepted the new salary and stayed with her employer.

    Amanda希望一直都能這樣走運，便接受了新的薪水并留在了老單位。

    One year later, the company made a round of layoffs because of changing market conditions and Amanda was one of the first to go. Not because she was a bad employee -- because she was overpaid compared to her contributions.

    一年后因為市場環境變化，公司裁了一批員工，Amanda是第一批被裁的人。不是因為她是個糟糕的員工，而是因為她和她作出的貢獻相比獲得的報酬過高。

    In today's society, workers associate earning a high salary as one of the most important aspects of their jobs. They assume making a lot of money equals happiness, satisfaction, less stress and job security. Unfortunately, this is not always the case; Amanda's story is just one of many examples of how having a higher paycheck can backfire.

    在當今社會，勞動者把高工資作為工作中最重要的一個方面，認為賺錢多就等于快樂、滿足、壓力少、工作穩定。不幸地是，情況不一定如此，Amanda的故事僅僅是眾多拿高工資引起問題的其中一例。

    "Our sense of value and self-worth is often tied to how much money we make," says Michael Zwell, human capital expert and author of "Six-Figure Salary Negotiation." "There is an illusion that we live with and believe that a bigger paycheck makes us happier and more valuable."

    《六位數工資談判》一書作者、人力資本專家Michael Zwell說:"我們的價值感和自我價值感往往和拿所少工資密不可分。人們有這樣的錯覺，認為收入越高就越快樂、越有價值。”

    In fact, research shows otherwise. Studies have shown most people feel happier in a five-figure job where they are earning more than the majority of other people in the company than they do in a six-figure job where they are making significantly less than others, says Stan Smith, founder and CEO of Smith Economics Group Ltd., in Zwell's book. Ultimately, he says, people can't rely on short-lived salaries, promotions and raises to keep them happy but rather the contributions they make in the long run.

    事實上，研究的結果卻有所出入。在Zwell的書中，Smith Economics Group公司創始人、首席執行官Stan Smith說，一些人拿五位數的工資，但他們的收入比公司多數人高，另一些人拿六位數工資，但他們的收入比公司多數人少，研究表明，前者比后者更快樂。最后，他說，要保持快樂，人們不能依賴于短期的（高）收入、晉升或提拔，而是要著眼于長期來他們所做出的貢獻。

    Smaller paychecks reap large rewards 收入少、收獲多

    In some situations, having a smaller paycheck than you'd like can actually be a bonus. If you are in a job where there's a steep learning curve, for example, getting a smaller paycheck will buy you time to develop the skills and experience to earn more in long run, Zwell says.

    有些時候，低于期望的收入甚至成為一份獎勵。Zwell說，例如：如果你處于一個需要短時間大量學習的工作中，那么低收入意味著你有更多的時間來培養技能、獲取經驗，幫助你以后賺更多錢。

    Additionally, less money can buy you more flexibility on the job, Zwell says.

    另外，賺錢少能給你在工作中帶來更多靈活度。

    "Compensation is based on an exchange of value for value. Depending on your life circumstances, you may want to contribute less and put in more time on another key area of your life," he says.

    他說：“薪資是基于等價交換。根據你的生活環境，也許你希望對工作貢獻少些，而把更多的時間放在生活其它關鍵領域。”

    If you've always thought a bigger salary was your dream, take a look at how making more money can actually work against you. You might start to appreciate what you currently earn.

    如果你一直都認為自己的理想是拿高薪水，那么下面看一看賺更多錢會給你造成什么實際困難吧，這樣你也許就會樂于接受現在的收入。

    Potential backfire No. 1: You're one of the first ones to be laid off 潛在問題1:你將會是第一個下崗

    When the economy is weak and companies need to cut back on costs, one of the first places they look is the highest-salaried employees, as exemplified in Amanda's story. This is not to say that just because you earn more than others you're a target for layoffs. Nevertheless, if you're earning more than you should be for your market or contributions, chances are that your job could be under scrutiny.

    當經濟疲軟，公司需要削減開支時，首要關注就是領最高薪水的員工，正如Amanda的例子所示。這不是說只是由于你賺的比別人多，就可能下崗。不過，如果你的收入高于市場價或貢獻程度，那么很可能你的工作就要被細細審查了。

    Potential backfire No. 2: The more money you make, the more money you lose 潛在問題2：賺得越多，損失越大

    Let's say you earn $85,000 annually and you received a raise that brought you up to $90,000. Sounds exciting at first -- until you the do the math and realize your new check is only a couple hundred dollars more than your old one.

    假設你每年賺8.5萬美元，在獲得加薪后收入是9萬美元。開始聽上去令人興奮——可是計算后你會發現新的工資帶來的漲幅僅為數百美元。

    One of the negatives to earning a high salary is that your marginal tax rate is higher than other people's. While you might be earning more than your co-worker, he or she might be taking home a similar -- or higher -- amount per check because they aren't taxed as much.

    高工資的一個消極點是你的邊際稅率比別人高。你也許賺到的比同事們多，但是他/她不用交那么多的稅，實際收入可能和你差不多——甚至更高。

    Potential backfire No. 3: You might be priced out of the market 潛在問題3: 你可能因“身價太高”而被擠出市場

    Zwell uses the example of, Joseph, an accountant for one of today's biggest accounting firms. After three years, he got a huge promotion and was making $10,000 more than any of his peers. He was in a dead-end job however, doing accounting work that became routine.

    Zwell舉了Joseph的例子，Joseph在當今最大財會公司就職。三年后，他獲得了一次大的提拔，并且比別的同行都要多掙1萬美元。不過他遇到了工作的死胡同：做著例行公事的會計工作。

    When he looked for another job, he found that all the jobs he was qualified for paid much less than he was making. He didn't want to take a pay cut and even if he was willing to, companies would rather hire someone for whom the move was an increase in pay, not a decrease. In other words, nobody would hire him because he was currently making too much money for his experience -- thus, his high salary backfired.

    當他要尋找別的工作時，他發現他符合條件的一切工作所提供的收入都遠遠低于當前收入。他不想降低收入，即便他情愿，公司也寧愿招一位為了加薪而不是減薪的求職者。換句話說，相對于他的經驗，他賺得過多，所以沒人愿意雇傭他——高薪水反倒帶來了問題。

    Potential backfire No. 4: You could inadvertently trap yourself under a glass ceiling 潛在問題4：你會無意中被“玻璃天花板”困住

    Knowing where you are in a salary range reveals a lot about your career path, Zwell says. A young man is recently hired by a bank, for example, at the highest salary grade for a non-manager. He is already at the top of a salary range for his title, therefore less likely to earn any more money without changing positions or companies.

    Zwell說，你的薪水在整個薪酬體系的位置很好地體現了你的職業發展道路。例如：最近一位年輕人受雇于一家銀行。他獲得了非經理人職位的最高級別工資。對于他的職位頭銜來說他的收入已經處于頂端。因此除非改行或跳槽，否則要有更高收入便不太可能。

    Potential backfire No. 5: Earning more money does not mean more happiness. 潛在問題5: 賺更多錢不代表更快樂

    Sure, you might earn $200,000 annually -- but what does it matter if you're not doing something you enjoy? Many workers find themselves saying, "If only I earned $XX, then I would be happy." Then the day comes when you are earning that amount and -- surprise, surprise -- it's still not enough. Ultimately, the only time you'll really be happy is when you don't care about salary at all.

    你也許每年能賺20萬美元——但是如果你不能做喜歡的事情，那又有什么意義呢？許多人都說：“要是我賺了XX美元，我就會快樂”。當那一天來到，你真的只賺那么點的時候——想不到啊，想不到——那還不夠。最終，只有在你一點也不在乎薪水的時候才會真正快樂起來。

    "The ultimate freedom is the executive who says, 'Pay me $1 a year because my salary doesn't matter. I have all the money I need. I'm here because I want to make a contribution,'" Smith says in Zwell's book. "Based on the intangibles, he's making more than everyone else."

    Smith在Zwell的書中說:“所謂最終的自由，是如某位執行官所說‘付我1美元年薪，因為我的工資不重要。我有的是錢。我在這是為了希望做出一份貢獻’。根據無形資產來計算，他比任何人賺的都多。”