Is time spent on grooming time well spent?

人们花在梳妆打扮上的时间合理吗？

Getting ready for work in the morning, looking primped and polished, can be a major time suck. Earlier this year, at the Economy conference, banking executive Sallie Krawcheck quipped that even if women spent just 15 minutes each workday morning on hair and makeup, that's more than 60 hours a year or about two and a half full days ─ just getting ready for work. So are those hours worth it?

每天早上要为上班做好准备，让自己看起来光鲜亮丽，这个过程可能会很耗时。银行业高管克劳切克(Sallie Krawcheck)在今年初“女性与经济”(Women in the Economy)大会上打趣说，即使每个工作日早上女性仅花15分钟来打理发型并化妆，一年也要花掉60多个小时，大约相当于整整两天半的时间，而这仅仅是上班的准备工作。 那么，花在梳妆打扮上的时间到底值不值呢？

For a man, it can help. For a woman, not so much.

对于男人来说可能有点帮助，而对于女人则没有太多效果。

A study cited in the Harvard Business Review found that for women, an increase in personal grooming time is associated with lower earnings. (The data comes from federal time-use surveys; grooming is defined as time spent washing and dressing oneself, including brushing, shaving, getting dressed, choosing and changing clothes, combing hair, applying moisturizers, etc. ) For instance, if a white woman doubles her daily grooming from 45 minutes to a whopping 90 minutes, her earnings drop an average of 3.4%, found the study by researchers at Elon University. The researchers in the paper say the earnings drop may have to do with the negative stereotypes associated with an overly groomed woman in the workplace.

曾被《哈佛商业评论》援引过的一份研究报告发现，女性打扮时间的增多与其收入降低有关。(该数据来自联邦政府对时间使用的调查，其中梳妆的定义是指人们在梳洗和穿衣方面所花的时间，包括刷牙、剃须、穿戴整齐、选择和调整着装、梳头发及涂抹润肤霜等。)美国伊隆大学(Elon University)研究人员经调查后发现，如果一名白人女子每天的梳妆时间从45分钟增加一倍，达到90分钟，她的收入平均会下降3.4%。研究人员在报告中说，这种收入减少可能与职场中往往对“过度打扮”的女性有成见有关。

For men, it depends on race. Grooming has no effect on white men's earnings, but for minority men, going from 40 to 80 minutes of grooming increases earnings by some 4%. The researchers say grooming may counter negative stereotypes of minority men.

对男性来说，打扮时间与收入之间的关联受到人种的影响。打扮时间的长短对白人男子的收入没有影响，但对少数族裔的男性来说，将打扮时间从40分钟增至80分钟，其收入可增加大约4%。研究人员说，适当修饰自己可能会抵消人们对少数族裔男性的成见。

The bottom line. It's important to look neat, clean and professional. But, at least for women, try to speed up the process.

说到底，让自己看起来整洁大方和干练职业固然重要，但至少对女性来说，应尽量将这一过程缩短。

Readers, how fast is your morning-grooming routine? Any grooming shortcuts or tips? Do you think women are penalized in the workplace if they are 'overly groomed'?

读者朋友，你早上一般要花多长时间梳洗打扮呢？有没有什么省事的好方法或小贴士？你觉得如果“打扮过头”的女性在职场会吃亏吗？