2018年经济学人 自由交流:福特老板的“驭人之道”(2)

 

Heaps of data about their activities within a work-space are gathered, while their cognitive¹ contribution is reduced.

设备可以收集众多员工在工作场所的活动数据，但员工的认知贡献也会减少。

In both ways, such technologies pave the way for automation, much as the introduction of regimentation² and discipline in factories facilitated the replacement³ of humans by machines.

这类技术为自动化铺平了道路，正如在工厂中引入严格管理和纪律制度促进了人工被机器取代的进程。

The potential for automation increases the power of firms over workers.

自动化的潜能会使得企业权力高于员工。

Anyone thinking of demanding higher pay, or of joining a union in the hope of organising to grab a share of the returns to increased efficiency, can be cowed with the threat of robots.

那些想要加薪，或加入工会以试图分得企业利润一杯羹的员工，会因为机器人的威胁而打退堂鼓。

Who watches the watch, man

谁还看钟点

White-collar workers are not spared oppressive bosses.

白领也无法逃脱老板的压迫。

Indeed, as the New York Times reported in 2015, Amazon has experimented with data-driven management techniques known to drive some white-collar workers to tears.

事实上，2015年《纽约时报》的一篇报道称，亚马逊推行基于数据的管理方法，据说这让很多白领苦不堪言，痛哭流泪。

(Others, though, told the Times that they thrived at Amazon, “because it pushed them past what they thought were their limits”.)

（但其他人告诉《纽约时报》说，他们能从容应对，“因为亚马逊推动他们打破了自己的极限”。）

The high pay of workers with exacting⁴ jobs in finance or technology can reasonably be seen as compensation for their burdensome working conditions.

金融业或科技界的员工工作艰难苛刻，收入也高，这可以看成是他们繁重工作的合理补偿。

And unhappy professionals can usually find less oppressive work that pays a lower but still decent wage.

工作不开心的职员常常可以找一份不那么压抑的工作，虽然工资相对较少却还过得去。

As Amazon and other firms embrace new tools to monitor and direct their workers,

随着亚马逊等企业使用新工具来监督和指导员工，

the difference between progress and dystopia comes down to whether workers feel comfortable demanding raises,

员工是感觉自己在进步还是身处地狱，这就取决于他们能否轻松地要求加薪，

and whether they can quit without fear of serious hardship.

能否随性地辞职且不用担心辞职后的困境。

Indeed, firms could ponder such matters them-selves before the inevitable⁵ backlash.

事实上，在引起不可避免的强烈反应之前，企业可以对这些问题深入思考一番。

1 cognitive   

adj.认知的，认识的，有感知的

参考例句：

• As children grow older,their cognitive processes become sharper.孩子们越长越大，他们的认知过程变得更为敏锐。
• The cognitive psychologist is like the tinker who wants to know how a clock works.认知心理学者倒很像一个需要通晓钟表如何运转的钟表修理匠。

2 regimentation   

n.编组团队；系统化，组织化

参考例句：

• They don't want equality and regimentation.他们不要一律平等和严密的组织。
• Discipline without regimentation was Miss Bulstrode's motto.既注意纪律，又不造成一律化，这就是布尔斯特罗德小姐的座右铭。

3 replacement   

n.取代，替换，交换；替代品，代用品

参考例句：

• We are hard put to find a replacement for our assistant.我们很难找到一个人来代替我们的助手。
• They put all the students through the replacement examination.他们让所有的学生参加分班考试。

4 exacting   

adj.苛求的，要求严格的

参考例句：

• He must remember the letters and symbols with exacting precision.他必须以严格的精度记住每个字母和符号。
• The public has been more exacting in its demands as time has passed.随着时间的推移，公众的要求更趋严格。

5 inevitable   

adj.不可避免的，必然发生的

参考例句：

• Mary was wearing her inevitable large hat.玛丽戴着她总是戴的那顶大帽子。
• The defeat had inevitable consequences for British policy.战败对英国政策不可避免地产生了影响。