The presenteeism premium

出勤的代價(jià)

詞匯

Presenteeism/出勤

Japanese offices struggle to adapt to social distancing

日本的辦公室難以適應(yīng)間隔式社交

Many companies still put a strong emphasis on physical presence

許多公司仍然非常重視線下溝通

May 9th 2020 | TOKYO

IN 57AD a Chinese emperor, Guangwu, gave an envoy from the kingdom of Wa, as Japan was then known, a solid gold seal, with a handle in the form of a coiled serpent. Such seals, or hanko, are still commonly used in Japan in place of signatures on official documents and contracts. During the covid-19 pandemic, with many workers forced to defy social-distancing guidelines and trudge to their offices to put ink to paper, the hanko captures corporate Japan’s struggle to modernise its anachronistic workplace culture.

公元57年，中國(guó)皇帝光武帝給了一位來(lái)自西瓦王國(guó)【也即為那時(shí)的日本】的使者一枚純金印章，印章上有一個(gè)蛇形的把手。在日本，這種印章(或稱(chēng)“簽章”)仍被普遍用于取代在正式文件和合同上的簽名。在新冠病毒 (covid-19)大流行期間，許多員工被迫違抗與社會(huì)保持距離的指導(dǎo)方針，長(zhǎng)途跋涉到辦公室于紙上簽文，圖章凸顯了日本企業(yè)在努力將其原有過(guò)時(shí)（保守）的企業(yè)文化現(xiàn)代化時(shí)所面臨的困難。

詞匯

Envoy/ ?使者；全權(quán)公使

Serpent/蛇

Hanko/[はんこ]，印鑒，圖章

Defy/藐視；公然反抗

Anachronistic/時(shí)代錯(cuò)誤的，過(guò)時(shí)的，保守的

Despite its reputation for hi-tech wizardry, Japan can be stubbornly analogue. When the pandemic hit, only 40% of Japanese firms had used digitised contracts at all and just 30% had systems in place to enable remote working. Faxes remain ubiquitous; in many prefectures, doctors have been faxing coronavirus test results to public-health officials.

盡管日本以魔法般的高新技術(shù)聞名，但其也是一個(gè)相對(duì)保守頑固的國(guó)家。當(dāng)大流行來(lái)襲的時(shí)候，只有40%的日本公司使用了數(shù)字化合同，只有30%的公司擁有能夠遠(yuǎn)程工作的系統(tǒng)。傳真仍遍布企業(yè);在許多縣，醫(yī)生通過(guò)傳真將新冠病毒檢測(cè)結(jié)果匯報(bào)給公共衛(wèi)生官員。

詞匯

Wizardry/巫術(shù)，魔法

Prefecture/縣；管區(qū)

The pandemic has also exposed Japan Inc’s unusually heavy reliance on face-to-face communication. Meeting clients or business partners in person is de rigueur. The Japanese style of collective decision-making depends on people huddling in a room together. Salarymen and women put in long days in the office to demonstrate their dedication to their company and colleagues—and then late nights of sake-fuelled carousing to build camaraderie.

大流行還暴露出日本企業(yè)對(duì)面對(duì)面交流的嚴(yán)重依賴(lài)。親自會(huì)見(jiàn)客戶(hù)或商業(yè)伙伴是社交禮節(jié)不可缺少的。日本的集體決策方式是人們擠在一個(gè)房間里。工薪族男男女女在辦公室里工作很長(zhǎng)時(shí)間，以展示他們對(duì)公司和同事的奉獻(xiàn)精神——然后在深夜的醉酒狂歡中建立友情。

詞匯

de rigueur/【法語(yǔ)】禮節(jié)需要的；社交禮儀上必要的

sake/日本清酒

carousing/狂歡痛飲

camaraderie/友情；同志之愛(ài)

In Japan gaiatsu, or external pressure, often provokes deep changes. It took the arrival of America’s Black Ships in 1853 to end more than 200 years of Japanese isolation. A collision between Japanese and Chinese vessels near disputed islands in 2010 prompted a revamp of the armed forces. The pandemic, argues Miyake Kunihiko of the Canon Institute for Global Studies, a think-tank in Tokyo, is gaiatsu for corporate Japan.

在日本，外部壓力通常會(huì)引發(fā)深刻的變化。直到1853年，美國(guó)的黑船抵達(dá)日本，才結(jié)束了日本200多年的孤立狀態(tài)。2010年，日本和中國(guó)船只在中國(guó)島嶼附近相撞，促使日本翻新了武裝部隊(duì)。東京智庫(kù)佳能全球研究所(Canon Institute for Global Studies)的Miyake Kunihiko認(rèn)為，這場(chǎng)大流行是日本企業(yè)界的外壓。

詞匯

Gaiatsu/【日語(yǔ)發(fā)音】外部壓力

Revamp/修補(bǔ)；翻新

Some firms are responding. Covid-19 is a headwind for revenues, but a tailwind “in terms of culture”, says Hagiwara Shinichi, boss of Mitsui Foods, a big wholesaler. He has instructed staff to hold regular Zoom meetings. Many firms are shifting to digital contracts. Virtual drinking parties, or Zoom-nomi, are all the rage; as Honda Masakazu, a columnist, recently put it on Toyo Keizai, a business-news site, “You don’t have to worry about catching the last train.”

一些公司正在做出回應(yīng)。新冠病毒是收入的逆風(fēng)，但在“文化方面”卻是順風(fēng)，大批發(fā)商三井食品公司的老板Hagiwara Shinichi說(shuō)。他指示員工定期召開(kāi)Zoom公司的會(huì)議。許多公司正在轉(zhuǎn)向數(shù)字合同。虛擬飲酒派對(duì)，或稱(chēng)虛擬Zoom會(huì)議，且正受歡迎;正如專(zhuān)欄作家本田真宗(Honda Masakazu)最近在商業(yè)新聞網(wǎng)站東洋經(jīng)濟(jì)(Toyo Keizai)上所說(shuō)的那樣，“你不必?fù)?dān)心趕不上最后一班火車(chē)?！?/p>

詞匯

Headwind/逆風(fēng)；tailwind/順風(fēng)

Wholesaler/批發(fā)商

Nominal/名義上的

Columnist/專(zhuān)欄作家

So far the changes have been halting and uneven. Large Japanese companies are shifting to flexible work regimes more rapidly; they were more likely to have computer systems in place, as well as cash on hand to make up for lost revenues and pay for investment in hardware and software. Small and medium-sized firms “don’t have that luxury”, admits Mr Hagiwara.

到目前為止，這些變化是斷斷續(xù)續(xù)和不平衡的。大型日本公司正更迅速地轉(zhuǎn)向靈活的工作制度;他們更有可能擁有合適的計(jì)算機(jī)系統(tǒng)，以及手頭的現(xiàn)金，以彌補(bǔ)損失的收入和支付硬件和軟件的投資。但Hagiwara先生承認(rèn)，中小型企業(yè)“沒(méi)有那種好的條件”。

詞匯

Halting/猶豫的；蹣跚的

And the evolution may not endure. Once restrictions are relaxed, managers may demand to see their subordinates back at their desks. Perhaps, though, without their hanko. On April 27th the prime minister, Abe Shinzo, called for a rapid review of the practice. Even his minister of technology policy, who also heads a parliamentary group for the protection of hanko culture, conceded that the seals present an obstacle to teleworking.

但這種改進(jìn)可能不會(huì)持久。一旦限制放松，經(jīng)理們可能會(huì)要求看到他們的下屬回到他們的辦公桌前。不過(guò)，也許他們不會(huì)再帶著各自的章印。4月27日，日本首相安倍晉三(Abe Shinzo)呼吁對(duì)這一做法進(jìn)行快速審查。就連他的領(lǐng)導(dǎo)著致力于保護(hù)章印文化的議會(huì)團(tuán)的技術(shù)政策部長(zhǎng)，也讓步承認(rèn)章印文化的確是對(duì)電子化辦公的一種阻礙。

詞匯

Teleworking/電子辦公；在家中上班