2020年经济学人 巴托比职场专栏--重新思考如何对待生病的员工(1)

Business

来源于《商业》版块

Bartleby

巴托比职场专栏

In sickness and in health

不论生病还是健康

Rethinking attitudes towards employee illness

重新思考对待员工疾病的态度

The global spread of covid-19 has led to calls for those who might be infected with the new disease to “self-isolate” at home. That could prove a threat to economic activity. It also represents a terrible dilemma¹ for workers, some of whom could face financial hardship if they don’t turn up.

covid-19在全球范围内的传播，导致人们呼吁那些可能感染这种新疾病的人在家里“自我隔离”。这可能对经济活动构成威胁。这对工人来说也是一个可怕的困境，如果他们不来上班，其中一些人可能会面临经济困难。

The quandary² is all the greater when the disease is unfamiliar³, with symptoms that are often mild, at first, and resemble common ailments⁴. And if, like a quarter of all Americans working in the private sector⁵, employees get no paid sick leave at all, they are more likely to take the risk and attend. In 2009 the outbreak of swine flu presented workers with a similar decision. Many American ones decided⁶ to turn up for work regardless, further spreading the infection. One study estimated that around 7m coworkers were infected as a result.

当患者不熟悉这种疾病时，他们的困惑就更大了，因为这种疾病的症状往往在一开始是轻微的，与常见疾病类似。如果像四分之一在私企工作的美国人一样，员工根本没有带薪病假，那么他们就更有可能冒险去上班。2009年，猪流感的爆发时，工人们做出了类似的决定。许多美国人决定不顾一切去上班，进一步传播了病毒。一项研究估计，大约有700万名同事因此受到感染。

The most recent global survey of sick pay by the International Labour Organisation⁷, from 2010, showed that 145 countries provided for paid sick leave at the time. Most mandated⁸ replacement⁹ pay of around 50-75% of wages. More than 100 allowed employees to be absent for a month or more.

国际劳工组织从2010年开始对病假薪酬进行的最新全球调查显示，当时有145个国家提供了带薪病假。大多数规定的替代工资约为工资的50-75%。超过100名员工被允许旷工一个月或更长时间。

The fear of employers and governments is that generous benefits will be costly¹⁰ and create the temptation for employees to malinger¹¹. It is true that Britain and America, which have stingy (if any) benefits, see almost no days of absence, on average. But most countries with generous benefits experience fewer than ten days a year of absence. Based on OECD data from 2017 the gap between annual days lost to sickness in France, where 50-100% of income is replaced during sick leave, and in America was a mere¹² 4.4 days.

雇主和政府担心的是，慷慨的福利将是昂贵的，并为雇员创造了诱惑。的确，英国和美国(如果有的话)在福利上很吝啬，但他们平均几乎没有休假的天数。但是，大多数享有慷慨福利的国家每年的缺勤天数少于10天。根据经合组织2017年的数据，法国每年因病损失的天数与美国相差仅4.4天，法国每年因病损失的天数中有50%至100%是在病假期间弥补的。

Other evidence does not suggest that more generous sick pay leads to extra skiving. The Earned Sick Time Act became law in New York in 2014. A survey of 352 employers four years ago found that almost 85% had experienced no increase in costs and only 3% had suffered more than a token rise. Connecticut adopted similar legislation in 2011 in the face of opposition¹³ from business lobbies. A study of companies in 2013 found that many noted¹⁴ benefits such as improved morale¹⁵ and fewer infections in the workplace.

并没有其他证据证明，更慷慨的病假工资会导致额外的翘班。2014年，“带薪病假法案”在纽约成为法律。四年前对352名雇主的调查发现，近85%的雇主没有经历过成本增加，只有3%的雇主经历过象征性上涨。2011年，康涅狄格州在商业游说团体的反对下通过了类似的法案。2013年的一项对公司的研究发现，许多公司都注意到了一些好处，比如提高了士气，减少了工作场所的感染。

1 dilemma   

n.困境，进退两难的局面

参考例句：

• I am on the horns of a dilemma about the matter.这件事使我进退两难。
• He was thrown into a dilemma.他陷入困境。

2 quandary   

n.困惑，进迟两难之境

参考例句：

• I was in a quandary about whether to go.我当时正犹豫到底去不去。
• I was put in a great quandary.我陷于进退两难的窘境。

3 unfamiliar   

adj.陌生的，不熟悉的

参考例句：

• I am unfamiliar with the place and the people here.我在这儿人地生疏。
• The man seemed unfamiliar to me.这人很面生。

4 ailments   

疾病（尤指慢性病），不适( ailment的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His ailments include a mild heart attack and arthritis. 他患有轻度心脏病和关节炎。
• He hospitalizes patients for minor ailments. 他把只有小病的患者也送进医院。

5 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

6 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

7 organisation   

n.组织，安排，团体，有机休

参考例句：

• The method of his organisation work is worth commending.他的组织工作的方法值得称道。
• His application for membership of the organisation was rejected.他想要加入该组织的申请遭到了拒绝。

8 mandated   

adj. 委托统治的

参考例句：

• Mandated desegregation of public schools. 命令解除公立学校中的种族隔离
• Britain was mandated to govern the former colony of German East Africa. 英国受权代管德国在东非的前殖民地。

9 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。

10 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。

11 malinger   

v.装病以逃避工作

参考例句：

• She was told by her doctor that she was malingering.医生告诉她，她这是在装病。
• I'm not going to malinger and I don't want to risk losing my job.我不会装病，我才不想冒丢饭碗的危险。

12 mere   

adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过

参考例句：

• That is a mere repetition of what you said before.那不过是重复了你以前讲的话。
• It's a mere waste of time waiting any longer.再等下去纯粹是浪费时间。

13 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

14 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

15 morale   

n.道德准则，士气，斗志

参考例句：

• The morale of the enemy troops is sinking lower every day.敌军的士气日益低落。
• He tried to bolster up their morale.他尽力鼓舞他们的士气。