什么才是一份“好工作”？

America's Professional Elite:

?Wealthy, Successful and Miserable

美國職業(yè)精英：財富，成功和痛苦

So?it came as?a bit of a shock, when I attended my 15th?reunion?last summer, to learn how many of my former classmates weren’t?overjoyed?by their professional lives — in fact, they were miserable.

當我去年夏天參加第15次同學會時，我感到有些震驚。因為我發(fā)現(xiàn)，以前的同學中有許多人對自己的職業(yè)生活并沒有欣喜若狂——事實上，他們很痛苦。

Most of us were living relatively?normal, basically?content?lives. But even among my more sanguine classmates, there was a?lingering?sense of professional disappointment. They talked about?missed promotions,?disaffected?children and?billable hours?in divorce court. They complained about jobs that were unfulfilling, tedious or just?plain bad.

我們中的大多數(shù)都過著相對正常、基本滿足的生活。但即使在我那些比較樂觀的同學中間，職業(yè)上的失望情緒也揮之不去。他們談論著錯失的晉升機會、疏遠的孩子以及離婚法庭的可計費時數(shù)。他們抱怨工作沒有成就感、單調乏味，或者干脆就是糟糕。

Why? Based on my own conversations with classmates and the research I began?reviewing, the answer?comes down to?oppressive hours, political infighting, increased competition sparked by globalization, an “always-on culture” bred by the internet — but also something that’s hard for these professionals to?put their finger on, an?underlying?sense that their work isn’t worth the grueling effort they’re putting into it.

為什么會這樣呢？根據(jù)我跟同學的對話，以及開始查閱的研究，答案可以歸結為難以忍受的工作時數(shù)、政治內耗、全球化帶來的競爭加劇、互聯(lián)網(wǎng)孕育出的“永遠在線文化”——但還有這些職場人士也說不清的原因，那是一種隱隱的感覺——他們的工作不值得他們投入那么多辛苦。

1、it came as a bit of a shock? 令人震驚的= it’s shocking to find sth.

??it comes as a bit of a surprise 令人奇怪的= it’s surprising...

2、reunion? 團聚；團圓? e.g.? family reunion? 家人團聚class reunion? 同學聚會

?? 補充：national renewal/revitalization/rejuvenation? 中華民族偉大復興； 農村振興只能用 vitalization

3、be overjoyed by sth.? 對...過度開心，欣喜若狂

1、normal? 正常的，一般的，這個詞不要輕易用。e.g. I am a normal person. 我是正常人（精神正常的人）。

?? e.g. I am an ordinary person. 我是一個普通人。

?? e.g. China’s economy has entered a new normal.中國經(jīng)濟進入新常態(tài)。2、content? 滿足；滿意? be contented with sth.? 對...很滿意

?? e.g. People live and work in peace and contentment. 人民安居樂業(yè)。 contentment? (n.) 滿足感

3、sanguine? 充滿信心的，樂觀的

4、lingering? 徘徊的，揮之不去的? sth. still lingers...物做主語

be hunted by...人做主語

?? e.g. sb. is hunted by the idea of doing sth. 做...的想法一直縈繞心頭

5、missed promotions? 錯過的晉升機會

e.g. access to education? 受教育的機會

6、disaffected children? 疏遠的孩子?? affect 影響?? affection 愛意

7、billable hours in divorce court? 離婚法庭的律師費

?? billable hours 一般指律師或會計師按小時收費

8、complain? 抱怨?? complaint handle? 信訪工作

9、unfulfilling? 不令人滿意的，不令人稱心的? fulfilling? 滿足感；成就感?? unpopular? 不得人心的

?? e.g. This idea is unpopular. 這個想法不得人心。

10、just plain bad? 糟糕透了? just plain? 干脆的；完全的+壞的東西

e.g. just plain stupid 蠢到家了? just plain poor 窮的叮當響

e.g. just plain ugly 丑的沒法看

11、review? 作動詞較多，譯為回顧；總結；論證? as we review this case? 我們論證這個案例

e.g.? review the past and plan the future? 回顧過去展望未來

12、come down to...歸結為= boil down to...

13、oppressive 壓迫的；高壓的

14、political infighting? 政治內訌? infighting? 內訌

15、increased competition 競爭增加

e.g. provide more financial support? 加大資金支持力度

韓老師補充：像改善；完善；提高；減少；加大等詞，翻譯時用比較級。

e.g. We will work for improved bilateral relations. 我們?yōu)楦纳齐p邊關系而努力。翻譯原則：動詞形容詞化。

16、always-on culture 永遠在線文化

17、put their finger on ?搞明白；弄清楚= figure out

18、underlying sense 潛在的感覺? underlying reason? 深層次的原因

e.g. There is an underlying sense behind sluggish global economy. 全球經(jīng)濟蕭條的背后有深層次的原因。

underlie (V.)作為...的原因? A underlie B? A是B的基礎

e.g. What underlies your poor performance is laziness. 你的表現(xiàn)不好是因為懶惰。

19、grueling? 千辛萬苦；繁重而累人的

For those who do find themselves miserable at work, it’s an important reminder that the smoothest life paths sometimes fail to teach us about what really brings us satisfaction day to day. According to studies, additional salary and benefits don’t?reliably contribute to?worker satisfaction. Much more important are things like whether a job provides a sense of autonomy — the ability to control your time and the authority to act on your unique expertise. People want to work alongside others whom they respect (and, optimally, enjoy spending time with) and who seem to respect them in return.

對于那些感覺在工作中很痛苦的人來說，這是一個重要的提示：一帆風順的人生道路有時并不能教會我們，什么才是每天都能帶來真正滿足感的東西。根據(jù)多項研究，一旦你能為自己和家人提供經(jīng)濟上的支持，額外的工資和福利并不一定會提高員工的滿意度。更重要的事情是，諸如工作是否能提供自主權——能夠控制時間的能力，以及根據(jù)自己的獨特專長行事的權力。人們希望與他們尊重的人一起工作（最好還能一起消磨時間），以及對方似乎也尊重他們。

And finally, workers want to feel that their?labors are meaningful.?We want to feel that we’re making the world better, even if it’s as small a matter as helping a shopper find the right product at the grocery store. You can be a salesperson, or a?toll?collector, but if you see your goal as solving people’s problems, then each day presents 100 opportunities to improve someone’s life, and your satisfaction increases dramatically. Finding meaning, whether as a banker or a janitor, is difficult work. Usually life, rather than a business-school classroom, is the place to learn how to do it.

最后，員工想要感到他們付出的勞動是有意義的。我們想要感到我們在讓世界變得更好，即便只是像幫購物者在雜貨店找到對的產(chǎn)品這樣的小事情。你可以是一名銷售，或收費員，但如果你把你的目標看成是幫人解決問題，那么每天都會有100個機會幫助他人改善生活，而且你的滿足感會大幅提升。無論是銀行家還是清潔工，尋找人生意義都是一項艱難的工作。這通常要在生活中去學習，而不是在商學院的課堂里。

1、 life paths? 人生道路

2、 additional salary and benefits? 更好的薪酬福利

3、 reliably? 可靠地

4、 contribute to 對...有積極促進作用；推動；提高；導致；造成

5、 autonomy? 自主權

6、 optimally? 最佳地；理想地

1、 labors 勞動力

2、 meaningful 有意義的

e.g. make a meaningful cut to your taxes. 在你的稅收上大幅縮減

e.g. do sth. in a meaningful way 切實的做某事

補充：lip service 空話

3、 toll 收銀員? death toll 死亡人數(shù)

e.g. take a heavy toll on... 對...造成不利影響。

e.g. Floods took a heave toll on crops. 洪水對農作物造成了嚴重影響。

4、present 提供? sth. presents sth for sb to do sth.? 提供...

e.g. This project presents us with great opportunity to do....這個項目給我們提供了很好的機會...

5、increases dramatically 大幅提高

6、finding meaning? 賦予意義? give meaning to life 賦予人生意義

?? e.g. give sth. a new face 賦予一個新面孔

?? e.g. give a human face to sth. 賦予人性的一面

7、janitor 清潔工?

本課總結： No pain, no gain. No cross, no crown.