2019年经济学人 巴托比职场专栏--年会不要太正式(1)

 

Bartleby

巴托比职场专栏

Let them eat Christmas cake

何不食圣诞蛋糕

Don’t make seasonal¹ festivities too formal

不要让年会太正式

Everyone feels like winding² down in December. Even if you do not celebrate Christmas, the New Year is approaching and most people take a few days’ break. In many workplaces this feeling of “mission accomplished” is accompanied by an established tradition: the office party.

每个人都想在十二月放松一下。即使你不庆祝圣诞节，新年即将来临，大多数人都会休息几天。在许多工作场所，这种“任务完成”的感觉伴随着一个既定的传统：办公室派对。

In boom times these can be truly lavish³ affairs. Robbie Williams sang at Deutsche Bank’s global-equities party in 2001. A Bloomberg event in 2000, based on the seven deadly sins, was said to have cost ￡1m (then $1.5m). At the “Googlympus” in 2006, the internet group had tents named after different Greek gods while staff amused themselves at the “wine cork⁴ shooting gallery”.

在繁荣时期，这可能是真正的奢侈。2001年，罗比·威廉姆斯在德意志银行的全球股票派对上演唱。2000年，彭博社根据七宗罪举办的一场活动据说耗资100万英镑(当时汇率约合150万美元)。2006年，在Googlympus 派对上，谷歌互联网集团用希腊诸神的名字为帐篷命名，员工们则在“葡萄酒软木射击馆”自娱自乐。

Few companies today desire the publicity⁵ that tends to follow such events. The natural question is, if you are spending that amount on a party, how much are you charging clients? Companies are rightly more sensitive than they were about the risks involved when workers lose their inhibitions after consuming too much alcohol. A survey of American companies by the suitably named Challenger Gray & Christmas, an outplacement firm, found that 59% had discussed, or planned to discuss, the dangers of “inappropriate celebrating” with staff.

如今，很少有公司希望在此类活动上得到公众关注。一个很自然的问题是，如果你在聚会上花了这么多钱，你会向客户收取多少费用？当员工在饮酒过量后失去自控能力时，企业对相关风险的敏感程度理应高于以往。美国就业顾问公司 Challenger Gray & Christmas 对美国公司进行的一项调查发现，59%的公司已经或计划讨论员工“不恰当庆祝”的危害。

To avoid these dangers, the chief operating officer of BDO, an accountancy firm, has suggested that two chaperones attend seasonal celebrations, along with first-aiders. Other accounting⁶ firms have suggested holding daytime events rather than after-hours drinks parties.

为了避免这些危险，德豪国际会计师事务所的首席运营官建议两名陪同人员和急救人员一起参加季节性庆祝活动。其他会计师事务所建议举行日间活动，而不是下班后进行酒会。

There is a lot to be said for daytime celebrations. First, it makes attendance easier for anyone caring for small children, or elderly relatives, and who thus finds it difficult to stay out late. Second, people are likely to be a bit more restrained in their alcohol consumption at lunchtime than in the evenings. And third, celebrating during working hours feels like a genuine break from duties; attending after work seems more like an obligation.

对于白天进行庆祝活动，有很多可圈可点的地方。首先，需要照顾老人和小孩的人更方便参加，因此他们很难在外面呆到很晚。其次，人们可能会在午餐时间比在晚上饮酒更节制。第三，在工作时间庆祝感觉像是真正地从工作中解脱出来；下班后参加似乎更像是一种义务。

Most workers don’t expect their seasonal event to turn into a Bacchanal; they are just hoping to avoid tedium⁷. A survey of British office workers in 2014 found that only a quarter looked forward to their Christmas event and 71% would rather have a small cash bonus than a knees-up.

大多数工人并不指望他们的年会变成狂欢；他们只希望避免单调乏味。2014年对英国办公室职员的一项调查发现，只有25% 的人期待圣诞节，71% 的人宁愿要小额现金奖金，也不愿狂欢聚会。

1 seasonal   

adj.季节的，季节性的

参考例句：

• The town relies on the seasonal tourist industry for jobs.这个城镇依靠季节性旅游业提供就业机会。
• The hors d'oeuvre is seasonal vegetables.餐前小吃是应时蔬菜。

2 winding   

n.绕，缠，绕组，线圈

参考例句：

• A winding lane led down towards the river.一条弯弯曲曲的小路通向河边。
• The winding trail caused us to lose our orientation.迂回曲折的小道使我们迷失了方向。

3 lavish   

adj.无节制的；浪费的；vt.慷慨地给予，挥霍

参考例句：

• He despised people who were lavish with their praises.他看不起那些阿谀奉承的人。
• The sets and costumes are lavish.布景和服装极尽奢华。

4 cork   

n.软木，软木塞

参考例句：

• We heard the pop of a cork.我们听见瓶塞砰的一声打开。
• Cork is a very buoyant material.软木是极易浮起的材料。

5 publicity   

n.众所周知，闻名；宣传，广告

参考例句：

• The singer star's marriage got a lot of publicity.这位歌星的婚事引起了公众的关注。
• He dismissed the event as just a publicity gimmick.他不理会这件事，只当它是一种宣传手法。

6 accounting   

n.会计，会计学，借贷对照表

参考例句：

• A job fell vacant in the accounting department.财会部出现了一个空缺。
• There's an accounting error in this entry.这笔账目里有差错。

7 tedium   

n.单调；烦闷

参考例句：

• We played games to relieve the tedium of the journey.我们玩游戏，来解除旅行的沉闷。
• In myself I could observe the following sources of tedium. 从我自己身上，我所观察到的烦闷的根源有下列一些。