【四级】弹性工作

Hello. This is 6 Minute English from BBC Learning English. I'm Georgina.

大家好。这里是 BBC 学习英语栏目的六分钟英语。我是乔治娜。

And I'm Neil.

我是内尔。

In this programme we're going to be talking about the world of work.

在本期节目中我们要谈论职场。

Ah, yes, travelling to an office five days a week, sitting at a desk all day, and then going home.

啊，是的，一周去办公室五次，在办公桌旁坐一整天，然后回家。

Neil, it's not always like that.

内尔，并不总是这样的。

Office work doesn't have to be such a routine - the usual, fixed way of doing things - it is much more flexible these days.

办公室工作并不总是这么例行公事的 —— 做事情的常用固定方式 —— 如今它灵活多了。

That's true.

确实。

During the pandemic, we've all had to have a more flexible approach to work.

在疫情期间，我们的工作方式都变得更灵活了。

Yes, we have.

没错。

And it has, perhaps, changed our attitude to working flexibly.

而且这也许改变了我们对于弹性工作的态度。

But even before coronavirus, there was an opportunity to work flexibly, and we'll be discussing that soon.

但是即使是在新冠之前，仍然是有弹性工作的机会的，我们马上就来讨论这个。

But there's one thing that can't be changed and that's you setting a quiz question!

有一样东西是不会变的，那就是你的问题！

Ah, yes, I hadn't forgotten.

啊，是的，我没忘记。

So, Neil, I know you work very hard.

所以，内尔，我知道你工作很认真。

But according to data from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, the OECD, workers from which country work the longest hours?

但是根据经济合作和发展组织，即 OECD，的数据，哪个国家的工人工作时长最长呢？

Is it a) South Korea, b) Germany, or c) Mexico?

是 A. 韩国，B. 德国，还是 C. 墨西哥？

Well, as I'm not on the list, let's go for c) Mexico.

嗯，因为我不在此列，那我就选 C. 墨西哥吧。

OK, Neil, we'll find out if that's right at the end of the programme.

好的，尼尔，我们会在节目结束的时候揭晓答案。

But let's talk more about flexible working now.

但是我们现在再来谈谈灵活工作吧。

Different countries have different laws about working flexibly, but here in the UK, for the last 14 years, employees - workers - have had the right to request flexible working.

不同的国家对于灵活工作有不同的法律，但是在英国，在过去的 14 年里，雇员 —— 员工 —— 有权利要求弹性工作。

But what does it mean to work flexibly?

但是弹性工作是什么意思呢？

Sarah Jackson is a workplace consultant and visiting professor at Cranfield University School of Management.

莎拉·杰克森是一位职场咨询师，也是克兰菲尔德大学管理学院的客座教授。

She spoke to BBC Radio 4's Woman's Hour programme about what it means exactly.

她在 BBC 电台 4 频道的节目《女性一小时》中谈论了它的确切意思。

Because of the pandemic, now everybody thinks flexible working means working from home.

由于疫情，现在每个人都认为弹性工作意味着在家工作。

It doesn't.

并非如此。

It's about common sense.

这关乎常识。

What does the job need in terms of when, where, how long, and what do you need and what does your family need - and how do the two match?

工作要求的时间、地点、时长以及你所需要的东西，还有你的家庭需要的东西 —— 这两者匹配吗？

So, flexibility really means having some choice and control over when, where, and how long you work, and agreeing that with your manager.

所以弹性意味着可以选择并控制你工作的时间、地点和时长，并且跟你的管理者就这一点达成共识。

So, flexible working is not just working from home - something we've got used to during the pandemic.

所以弹性工作不仅仅是在家工作 —— 我们在疫情期间已经习惯了。

It is about common sense - using our judgment to make sensible decisions.

这关乎常识 —— 用我们的判断来做出合理的决定。

So, requesting to work for two hours a day is not sensible - but being able to work from 12 until 8 instead of 9 to 5 might be.

所以要求一天工作两小时是不合理的 —— 但是能够从十二点工作到八点而不是朝九晚五是可以的。

Of course, this depends on the needs of the business.

当然了，这取决于工作的需要。

And as Sarah said, you need to match your needs with that of the business.

而且正如莎拉所说，你需要把你的需求和工作的要求匹配。

Match here means to work equally on both sides.

这里的匹配指的是兼顾两边。

Getting the working conditions that suit you does require some negotiation with your manager.

获得适合你的工作环境确实需要跟你的管理者进行协商。

You need agreement from him or her, and that can be difficult if your manager is inflexible, not willing to change.

你需要他或她的同意，而如果你的管理者不灵活，不愿意改变的话，那么这可能会很难。

But of course, in the UK at least, an employee has a right to request flexible working, and this must be considered by the employer.

但是当然了，至少在英国，雇员有权利要求弹性工作，而雇主必须考虑这一点。

This law initially was just for parents with a child younger than 6 years old, or a disabled child less than 18.

这项法律最初只是针对孩子在 6 岁以下或者 18 岁的残疾孩子的父母的。

But since 2014, everyone has the right to request flexible working.

但是从 2014 年开始，每个人都有权要求弹性工作了。

And that includes men.

而这包括男性。

Which is an important point, as Sarah Jackson explains.

正如莎拉·杰克森解释的那样，这很重要。

Fewer men seem to have their requests for flexible working accepted.

男性提出弹性工作的要求被接受的情况更少一些。

Let's find out why.

我们来看看原因。

Men, when they do ask, are more likely to be turned down.

男性在提出要求的时候更有可能会被拒绝。

So there's a real bias there in the system and the most important thing that needs to happen here, I think, is for employers to really actively say to their men, 'we know you want to be active fathers' because there's a whole generation of young men who do want to be active fathers.

所以这个系统中确实存在着偏见，而我认为现在最重要的事情是雇主们真正积极地对他们的男性员工们说：“我们知道你想要成为负责的父亲”，因为现在年轻一代的男性都很想成为负责的父亲。

'Please use the right to request flexible working.

请使用要求弹性工作的权利。

Work flexibly, if you can', because until men are enabled to be active fathers, we won't get equality at home and we certainly won't get equality in the workplace either.

如果可以，请弹性工作，因为只有当男性能够成为负责的父亲了，我们才能在家里获得平等，同时在职场也能获得平等。

OK, so men are more likely to have their request turned down, or rejected.

好的，所以男性的要求更有可能被拒绝。

And Sarah says there is a bias in the system - unfairness, treating one group of people more favourably than another.

而且莎拉说系统中存在这偏见 —— 不公平，相对于某一个群体更优待另一个。

And this is unfair because it can prevent some men being active fathers - actually being involved with childcare.

而这是不公平的，因为这会阻止男性成为负责的父亲 —— 真正参与到育儿中。

But having more active fathers can lead to equality, or fairness, at home and in the workplace.

但是有更多负责的父亲会给家庭和职场带来平等，或者说公平。

It sounds like something that needs to be looked at.

这听上去似乎是需要被关注的问题。

But now, Neil, let's get the answer to my question.

但是现在，内尔，我们来看我的问题的答案吧。

According to official data, in which country do workers work the longest hours?

根据官方数据，哪个国家的工人工作时长最长？

And I said Mexico.

我说的是墨西哥。

Which is correct, well done!

回答正确，干得漂亮！

According to the OECD, the average Mexican spends 2,255 hours at work per year - the equivalent of around 43 hours per week.

根据 OECD 的数据，墨西哥人平均每年工作 2255 个小时 —— 相当于每周工作大约 43 个小时。

Germans, on the other hand, clock up the fewest hours.

另一方面，德国人的工作时间是最短的。

Well, my working day is nearly over, so let's just recap some of the vocabulary we've discussed.

好的，我得工作日快要结束了，所以我们来回顾一下今天我们讨论的一些词汇吧。

Starting with routine, the usual, fixed way of doing things.

先从例行公事开始，常见的，固定的做事方式。

Common sense is our judgment to make sensible decisions.

常识是我们做出理性决定的判断。

When you need something to match, it has to work equally on both sides.

当你需要匹配某事时，你需要两头兼顾。

And when someone is inflexible, they are unwilling to change - sometimes we say they won't budge!

而如果某个人不灵活，那么他们不愿意改变 —— 有时候我们可以说他们不愿意变通！

Bias is unfairness, treating one group of people more favourably than another.

偏见指的是不公平，相对于某个群体更优待另一个。

And being active with something means being involved with it.

而对某事积极意味着参与其中。

Well, there's no flexibility in our 6 minutes, so we're out of time.

好的，我们的六分钟不存在弹性，所以我们没有时间了。

We have plenty more 6 Minute English programmes to enjoy on our website at bbclearningenglish. com.

我们的网站 bbclearningenglish. com 有更多分钟英语的节目。

And check us out on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

请在脸书、推特和 INS 上查看我们的内容。

Don't forget that we have an app too, which you can download for free from the app stores.

还有不要忘记我们的 APP，你可以从应用商店免费下载。

We help you learn English on the move!

我们一直帮助你学习英语！

Grammar, vocabulary, and interesting topics - we have them all!

语法、词汇和有趣的话题 —— 我们都有！

Bye for now.

再见。

Goodbye.

再见。

—END—

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