創業會有損你的身體健康嗎?大綱

Many people who work with startup companies say that entrepreneurs are among the healthiest people they know. The reason, they note, may relate to the disciplined and driven personalities required for entrepreneurship, along with the flexible work schedules self-employment allows.

很多跟初創公司打交道的人都會說，創業者是他們見過的最健康的一羣人。他們認爲，原因可能跟創業所必需的自律與衝勁有關，此外，創業人士的工作日程也比較靈活。

But I know a different startup story. Most of my friends are men who graduated from Stanford in the past few years, which is to say, most of my friends are entrepreneurs. And many have dropped off the map for long stretches of time, only to resurface looking awful, with bags under their eyes and shoulders hunched under the weight of so much responsibility. I have long wondered if my friends were the exception or the rule.

但我也知道不一樣的創業故事。我的大部分朋友都是近幾年剛從斯坦福大學(Stanford)畢業的男人，換言之，我的大部分朋友都在創業。他們中的很多人忙得沒有一點餘裕，好容易出來透口氣時，看起來都是形容憔悴，臉上掛着大大的眼袋，肩膀耷拉下來，一副被責任壓得喘不過氣的樣子。一直以來我都在猜想，我的朋友們究竟是上述說法的例外還是常規。

A new analysis conducted by Gallup-Healthways for The New York Times using data from their Well-Being Index, which assesses everything from physical and emotional health to dietary habits and life purpose, paints a paradoxical picture. Nationwide, entrepreneurs tend to eat more healthful foods and exercise more than other workers. But they also have more stress and are less likely to have health insurance.

蓋洛普-健維(Gallup-Healthways)運用其“身心健康指數”爲紐約時報進行了一項新分析，分析了從身體到心理健康，從飲食習慣到生活目標的各種指數，它描繪了一幅看似矛盾的畫面。從全美來看，相比其他職場人士，創業者往往吃得更健康，運動也更多。但他們同時也要承受更大的壓力，而且有更大的可能沒有購買健康保險。

The data come from random telephone interviews with more than 200,000 employed Americans across all 50 states, conducted on most days from January 2012 through June 2013. Entrepreneurs, defined as both "self-employed" and "business owners," made up about 3 percent of the sample, though the data is not separated by type of small business owner or number of years in business.

分析的數據源自對全美50個洲20多萬受薪人士的隨機電話訪談，調查時間在2012年1月到2013年6月間。在受訪樣本中，同時定義爲“自僱人士”和“企業所有人”的創業人士約佔3%，不過數據未能區分小型企業所有人的類型或開業年數。

Diet emerged as entrepreneurs' greatest health advantage. Compared with other full-time or part-time workers, self-employed business owners were slightly more likely to report they "ate healthy all day yesterday" or regularly eat fruits and vegetables. Fifty-nine percent of entrepreneurs reported they exercise for 30 minutes three or more days per week, versus 54 percent of other workers; and 19 percent reported being obese, compared with 25 percent of other workers.

創業人士最大的健康優勢看來是飲食。與其他全職或兼職的員工相比，自僱企業所有人自稱“昨天一天吃得都很健康”，或者常吃水果蔬菜的可能性要略大一些。59%的創業者自稱每週有超過三天運動，每次時長30分鐘，而其他員工的比例爲54%；同時，有19%的人自稱達到了肥胖標準，而其他員工在這方面的比例爲25%。

"Believe it or not, everyone's not living off high-sodium ramen," said Joey Pomerenke, co-founder of UP Global, a support organization for entrepreneurs that was launched in Seattle in May. He has worked with hundreds of company founders during his career and says "there's a level of freedom you don't have at a corporation" that makes it easier to be active and eat well, and to create a healthy work culture when building a company from scratch. UP Global's employee handbook encourages employees to take advantage if "the snow is deep" or "the lake is calling" and to make up work later.

“信也好不信也罷，不是所有的創業者都在靠吃高鈉的拉麪爲生，”喬伊·波默倫科(Joey Pomerenke)說。他是“UP Global”的聯合創始人，這是一家面向創業人士的支持機構，今年5月創立於西雅圖。在他的職業生涯裏，他跟上千位公司創始人合作過，他說“創業者擁有在公司打工時所沒有的自由度”，因此更便於運動和健康飲食，同時在白手起家創建公司時，也能創造健康的工作文化。UP Global公司在員工手冊裏鼓勵大家在遇到“積雪很深”或者“好想去湖裏遊個泳”的情況下不去上班，然後加個班彌補時間損失。

But Dan MacCombie, a co-founder of Runa, a Brooklyn-based beverage company, said the need to reassure investors of one's commitment can complicate the health picture. He described a "martyr complex" among many entrepreneurs he knows, "the implicit expectation that if you're not wearing yourself a little thin you're not putting enough effort in." He puts a personal priority on sleep, while his business partner "will go out of his way to cook an elaborate, veggie-heavy meal because he believes that's important."

不過，總部位於布魯克裏的飲料公司Runa聯合創始人丹·邁考比(Dan MacCombie)說，努力打拼好讓投資人放心的需求，往往會攪亂健康的前景。他形容說，他認識的很多創業者都有“烈士情結”，“如果你沒有把自己累瘦，言下之意就好像是你沒有全力以赴。”他個人把保證睡眠放在一個最重要的位置，而他的商業夥伴則會“精心烹製一份有很多蔬菜的晚飯，因爲他相信這很重要。”

A new, nationwide online training group called Minimum Viable Fitness was designed specifically to address the unique challenges of people working in the tech industry. It was co-founded by Julie Fredrickson, who saw her health plummet when she started her first company and, as a chief executive, "put on 25 pounds, had terrible habits and was exhausted all the time," she said. "And I grew up as a competitive athlete in Colorado." She and co-founder Dick Talens explained that the scarce breaks and frequent travel required of tech entrepreneurs, along with catered lunches and schmoozing over cocktails, often result in decision fatigue when it comes to diet and exercise.

“極簡可行健身”(Minimum Viable Fitness)是一個新的爲解決科技業界人士面對的獨特挑戰而設立的全美在線訓練小組。朱莉·弗雷德裏克森(Julie Fredrickson)參與創建了這個小組，她在開辦自己的首家公司時，健康狀況急劇下滑，作爲公司首席執行官，她“長了25磅，生活習慣很糟糕，而且無時無刻不感到疲憊，”她說，“而且當年我在科羅拉多長大，打小是個競技運動員。”她和小組的另一位創始人迪克·塔倫斯(Dick Talens)解釋說，科技業界的創業人士往往休息極少，頻繁出差，同時要面對觥籌交錯，結果就是每當碰到節食和鍛鍊時，往往會出現決策疲勞(decision fatigue)。

Entrepreneurship certainly has its upsides. Entrepreneurs are more optimistic about their futures than other workers, according to an earlier Gallup analysis of the Well-Being Index conducted last fall and optimism is correlated with good health in some studies. The same analysis found they are also more likely to experience enjoyment and intellectual stimulation on a daily basis.

當然，創業也有它的好處。蓋洛普去年秋天進行的較早期的身心健康指數分析表明，比起其他員工，創業者對未來更樂觀，而一些研究發現，樂觀與健康狀況良好有聯繫。通過同樣的指數還能發現，創業者每天體會到的喜悅情緒與腦力激盪要更多。

But entrepreneurs also report more stress and worry than other workers do, and slightly more sadness, both of which have been tied to worse health. Edward Marks, co-founder of a mobile app company called Twist, said that, unlike being an employee, "so much of your self-worth is actually invested in a company. I've seen entrepreneurs cry."

不過，創業人士自稱感到壓力與焦慮的程度也甚於其他受薪人士，同時他們體會到的悲哀程度也略高，而這些情緒都與健康惡化有關。愛德華·馬克斯(Edward Marks)是一家叫Twist的移動應用軟件公司聯合創始人，他說，跟普通員工不一樣，創業者“把自己的身家性命都投到了公司裏。我曾親眼見過創業者大哭。”

Lack of health insurance may deepen entrepreneurs' stress. Three-fourths of self-employed business owners reported having health insurance, compared with 9 in 10 among other workers — the most significant difference between the two groups. (Likely related, entrepreneurs are also less likely to visit the dentist.)

缺乏醫療保險可能會進一步加深創業人士的壓力。相比受薪人士90%的醫保覆蓋率，自僱企業所有人中只有75%擁有醫保——這是這兩類人羣最顯著的區別。（創業者看牙醫的可能性也較低，這也許跟上述情況有聯繫。）

"One of the biggest reasons a would-be entrepreneur doesn't become one is lack of health care," said Scott Gerber, founder of the Young Entrepreneur Council, which provides startup mentorship and resources and conducts research on entrepreneurs' needs. To address this problem, his organization is introducing StartupInsurance, an online platform of health insurance plans offered by major health insurers, which will be compliant with the Affordable Care Act by 2014 and are tailored for entrepreneurs.

“之所以有人本來有機會創業，但最後放棄，很大一個原因就在於沒有醫保，”斯科特·葛伯(Scott Gerber)說。他是“青年創業者理事會”(Young Entrepreneur Council)創始人，該機構提供創業指導和資源，並視乎創業者的需求開展研究。爲解決這個問題，他的機構引入了“初創保險”(StartupInsurance)，這是一個由大型醫療保險商提供醫療保險計劃的在線平臺，它將在2014年前根據“平價醫療法案”(Affordable Care Act)完成修訂，專爲創業人士量身打造。

The net effect of all the differences is that slightly fewer entrepreneurs report being diagnosed with health problems like high cholesterol and high blood pressure. But stress remains a constant, and too often ignored, factor in the lives of self-employed business owners, said Carter Coberley, vice president of the Healthways Center for Health Research. He said these "motivated go-getters" either "choose not to pay attention to the stress or are so focused on making their work succeed that unfortunately they ignore it to their detriment."

綜合各種差別產生的淨效果是：自稱得到確診，出現了高膽固醇和高血壓這類健康問題的創業人士，比例要略低一些。但據健維健康研究中心(Healthways Center for Health Research)的副總裁卡特·科伯雷(Carter Coberley)說，在自僱企業所有人的生活中，壓力仍是一個持續存在、而且往往被忽視的因素。他說這些“上進、有進取心的人”要麼“選擇不把壓力擺在心上，要麼完全把注意力放在如何令事業成功上，不幸的是，他們忽略了這樣做帶來的危害。”

"I think that's a picture that's been missing in the workforce over all," he added. "But it appears to be exacerbated in small business owners because of additional demands."

“我認爲在整個勞動力人口中，這都是一個缺失的畫面，”他進一步說，“但看來在小企業業主中問題最嚴重，因爲他們要面對額外的需求。”