经济学人:Bartleby专栏:保持冷静 下班回家吧(2)

 Open-plan offices are particularly bad at providing an environment for calm, creative work, they argue. So "library rules" are imposed at Basecamp. 尤其是敞开式的办公室，更难为创造性工作提供一个安静的环境，他们争论到。因此，Basecamp强制实施图书馆制度。

Conversations are kept to a whisper and there are separate rooms when meetings are needed. 交流对话要压低声音，需要开会的时候，也有单独的房间。

Meetings are avoided, especially those involving lots of people. 公司要避免会议，尤其是那些涉及很多人的会议。

As the authors rightly point out: "Eight people in a room doesn't cost one hour, it costs eight hours". 两位作者适时指出：“房间里8个人浪费的不是一个小时，而是八个小时。”

Workers do not need to be kept abreast¹ of every single corporate² development via memos³ or all-staff emails. 员工们不需要通过会议纪要或全员邮件了解公司的每个最新发展。

The firm encourages JOMO, the "joy of missing out", so employees can concentrate on their own work projects. 公司鼓励JOMO，即“错过的乐趣”，这样员工们可以专注于他们自己的工作项目。

Another way to reduce stress is to avoid turning deadlines into "dreadlines"— 另一种减压方法是避免将截止日期变得“妖魔化”—

unrealistic targets for project completions accompanied by ever-changing requirements. 不现实的项目截止目标伴随而来的是变化无常的要求。

"Goals are fake," the authors write. In their telling, made-up numbers function as a source of unnecessary stress until they are either achieved or abandoned. “目标是假的”，作者们写到。在他们的叙述中，捏造的数字是不必要压力的源头，除非要么实现这些数字，要么放弃。

Nor should workers demand that their colleagues deal with a query⁴ straight away. 员工们也不应该要求他们的同事立即处理某个问题。

In almost every situation, the expectation of an immediate⁵ response is unrealistic. 在几乎每种情况中，对立即回应的期待都是不现实的。

Allowing workers more time means they can come up with a more considered and helpful answer. 给员工们更多时间意味着他们可以想出一个更加深思熟虑且更有帮助的方法。

The overall aim of the firm should be couched in modest terms. Too many businesses talk about "changing the world" and becoming a "disrupter". 公司的全面目标应该用适度的方式表达。有太多的公司说要“改变世界”并成为一名“颠覆者”。

Such aims are far too grandiose⁶ and put everyone under too much pressure. As a manager, if you set out to do a good job for your customers, 这样的目标太过浮夸，也将每个人都置于巨大的压力之下。作为一名管理者，如果你要做好客户给的工作，

and to treaty our employees fairly, things will probably turn out fine. 并和你的员工公平谈判，那么事情将会取得好的结果。

In short, the book aims to persuade managers to take their "mission" less seriously and to take their employees more so. 总之，本书旨在说服管理者不要把他们的“任务”看的太重要，而要重视自己的员工。

Furthermore, executives should stop equating⁷ the work ethic⁸ with the practice of working long hours. Work should not be frantic⁹. 此外，高管们应该停止将职业道德和工作时长划等号。工作不应该是疯狂的。

A calm company can be good for employees and very profitable as well. 安静的公司对员工是有利的，也是非常有利可图的。

Whether or not it is as nice to work at Basecamp as the authors make it sound is hard to tell from the outside. 在Basecamp工作是否真如两位作者所说的那么美妙，很难从表面判断出来。

It was voted one of America's best small companies in 2017 by Forbes, a magazine. It helps that the group is private and has no activist¹⁰ investors¹¹ to please. 该公司被《福布斯》杂志选为2017年美国最佳小型企业之一。该公司属于私营企业，无需取悦积极投资者，这一点对公司也有帮助。

Some of its practices might not be possible at a giant, listed firm. But a lot more executives ought to reflect on its message. 该公司所践行一些政策不可能在大型上市公司中执行。但管理层应该将这些反映在其传达的信息中。

A relaxed ethos in the office might work better in the long run than the hard-charging approach that, at the moment, is all too common. 从长远角度来看，办公室中的轻松理念或许比当下公司普遍采用的积极进取政策更有效。

 

1 abreast   

adv.并排地；跟上(时代)的步伐，与…并进地

参考例句：

• She kept abreast with the flood of communications that had poured in.她及时回复如雪片般飞来的大批信件。
• We can't keep abreast of the developing situation unless we study harder.我们如果不加强学习，就会跟不上形势。

2 corporate   

adj.共同的，全体的；公司的，企业的

参考例句：

• This is our corporate responsibility.这是我们共同的责任。
• His corporate's life will be as short as a rabbit's tail.他的公司的寿命是兔子尾巴长不了。

3 memos   

n.备忘录( memo的名词复数 )；（美）内部通知

参考例句：

• Big shots get their dander up and memos start flying. 大人物们怒火中烧，备忘录四下乱飞。 来自辞典例句
• There was a pile of mail, memos and telephone messages on his desk. 他的办公桌上堆满着信件、备忘录和电话通知。 来自辞典例句

4 query   

n.疑问，问号，质问；vt.询问，表示怀疑

参考例句：

• I query very much whether it is wise to act so hastily.我真怀疑如此操之过急地行动是否明智。
• They raised a query on his sincerity.他们对他是否真诚提出质疑。

5 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

6 grandiose   

adj.宏伟的，宏大的，堂皇的，铺张的

参考例句：

• His grandiose manner impressed those who met him for the first time.他那种夸大的举止给第一次遇见他的人留下了深刻的印象。
• As the fog vanished,a grandiose landscape unfolded before the tourists.雾气散去之后，一幅壮丽的景观展现在游客面前。

7 equating   

v.认为某事物（与另一事物）相等或相仿( equate的现在分词 )；相当于；等于；把（一事物） 和（另一事物）等同看待

参考例句：

• [ Ray ] I definitely started equating crossword puzzles with songwriting. 我已经干脆开始把字谜游戏等同于歌曲写作了。 来自电影对白
• But they have a hard time equating plural marriage with those evils. 但是他们很难把这种多妻婚姻与上面说的那些坏事联系起来。 来自互联网

8 ethic   

n.道德标准，行为准则

参考例句：

• They instilled the work ethic into their children.他们在孩子们的心中注入了职业道德的理念。
• The connotation of education ethic is rooted in human nature's mobility.教育伦理的内涵根源于人本性的变动性。

9 frantic   

adj.狂乱的，错乱的，激昂的

参考例句：

• I've had a frantic rush to get my work done.我急急忙忙地赶完工作。
• He made frantic dash for the departing train.他发疯似地冲向正开出的火车。

10 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

11 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会