Bartleby

【專(zhuān)欄名

“和所有的專(zhuān)欄一樣，《經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)人》在起名上還是費(fèi)了一番心思的。在文中作者說(shuō)，Bartleby這個(gè)名字來(lái)自Herman Melville的短篇小說(shuō)Bartleby the Scrivener，余光中先生曾把它譯為《錄事巴托比》。

這個(gè)短篇講的是Bartleby的故事。他在華爾街為一位律師工作，話不多，本分老實(shí)，活兒干得也很漂亮。不過(guò)突然有一天，他開(kāi)始拒絕做老板給他安排的任務(wù)，后來(lái)甚至就在辦公室里呆著，拒絕任何工作。他拒絕的方式也很奇葩，軟硬不吃，每次都幽幽地、語(yǔ)調(diào)乏力地說(shuō)：I would prefer not to （恕難從命）?！?/p>

——摘自https://www.sohu.com/a/233135559_697978】

People are working longer for reasons of choice and necessity

人們工作更長(zhǎng)時(shí)間是出于選擇和需要

The long and winding career

漫長(zhǎng)而曲折的職業(yè)生涯

ACROSS THE developed world, the workforce now comes in 50 shades of grey. Since 2008 the average labour-force participation rate of 55- to 64-year-olds in OECD countries has risen by eight percentage points. Depending on your point of view, that trend can be spun as ruthless capitalism requiring workers to spend more years down the salt mines or as a sign that society that is finally recognising the value of its older employees.

在整個(gè)發(fā)達(dá)國(guó)家，勞動(dòng)力現(xiàn)在處于半灰色地帶。自2008年以來(lái)，經(jīng)合組織國(guó)家55至64歲勞動(dòng)力的平均出勤率上升了8個(gè)百分點(diǎn)。以你而言，這種趨勢(shì)可以被歸因?yàn)闊o(wú)情的資本主義，要求工人在鹽礦坑里多呆幾年，或者是社會(huì)終于開(kāi)始認(rèn)識(shí)到老員工的價(jià)值。

詞匯

Spin（分詞spun）/紡紗；吐絲

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A new OECD report, “Working Better with Age”, points out that the employment of older workers is vital, if prosperity is to be maintained. The median age of citizens in the OECD is set to rise from 40 now to 45 in the mid-2050s; on current trends, by 2050 there will be 58 retired people for every 100 workers, up from 41 today.

經(jīng)濟(jì)合作與發(fā)展組織(OECD)的一份名為《員工越老越值錢(qián)》(Working Better with Age)的新報(bào)告指出，要想保持繁榮，就有必要對(duì)老員工保持雇傭。經(jīng)合組織成員國(guó)公民的平均年齡將從現(xiàn)在的40歲上升到本世紀(jì)50年代中期的45歲;按照目前的趨勢(shì)，到2050年，每100名工人將有58名退休人員，高于目前41這一人數(shù)。

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Many people will be more than happy to work longer. A recent survey of 1,000 British retired people found that a quarter thought they had stopped too early (on average they had quit at 62). A third said that they had lost their purpose in life after they retired.

很多人會(huì)非常樂(lè)意工作更長(zhǎng)時(shí)間。最近一項(xiàng)針對(duì)1000名英國(guó)退休人員的調(diào)查發(fā)現(xiàn)，四分之一的人認(rèn)為自己退休太早(平均而言，他們?cè)?2歲時(shí)就退休了)。三分之一的人說(shuō)他們退休后失去了生活的目標(biāo)。

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Bartleby has reached an age at which many of his contemporaries have stopped working. The appeal is understandable. Retirement gives you the chance to sleep late and avoid the morning commute. On a summer’s day, you can enjoy the sunshine; on a winter’s day, you can avoid the cold and rain. No longer do you have to sit through endless meetings or check email obsessively.

巴托比已經(jīng)到了許多同齡人都停止工作的年齡。這種呼吁是可以理解的。退休讓你有機(jī)會(huì)晚睡，避免早晨的通勤。在夏天，你可以享受陽(yáng)光;在冬天，你可以避免寒冷和下雨。你不再需要坐著開(kāi)沒(méi)完沒(méi)了的會(huì)議，也不再需要癡迷地查看電子郵件。

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But work has many compensations. It keeps the mind active and gives people a purpose in life. The first month of retirement may seem idyllic, but boredom is bound to ensue. Grand plans to learn languages and travel the world can quickly fizzle out. Furthermore, the camaraderie of colleagues provides a social network; spending all week at home can lead loneliness. It will be a while before Bartleby retires to his seaside cottage, “Dunwritin”.

但是工作有很多補(bǔ)償。它使頭腦保持活躍，給人們一個(gè)生活的目標(biāo)。退休的第一個(gè)月似乎是田園詩(shī)般的，但隨之而來(lái)的一定是無(wú)聊。學(xué)習(xí)語(yǔ)言和環(huán)游世界的宏偉計(jì)劃可能很快就會(huì)流產(chǎn)。此外，同事之間的友情提供了一個(gè)社交網(wǎng)絡(luò);整個(gè)星期都呆在家里會(huì)導(dǎo)致孤獨(dú)。巴托比還要過(guò)一段時(shí)間才會(huì)退休，之后他會(huì)住進(jìn)他海邊的小屋“敦文頓”。

詞匯

Idyllic/牧歌的；田園詩(shī)的

Camaraderie/ n. 友情；同志之愛(ài)?????

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Working longer should be easier now that most jobs require mental, rather than manual, labour. But the physical strain of being a fireman, miner or construction worker makes it harder to keep working in your 60s.

既然大多數(shù)工作需要腦力勞動(dòng)，而不是體力勞動(dòng)，那么工作時(shí)間更長(zhǎng)應(yīng)該會(huì)更容易。但消防員、礦工或建筑工人的身體壓力會(huì)讓其在60多歲時(shí)更難繼續(xù)工作。

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Of course, many people are working longer not because they enjoy what they do, but because they cannot afford to quit. That is not solely because governments have been pushing up the state retirement age. In practice, the average age at which people actually retire (the “effective” retirement age) is lower than the official age by several years. In part, that is because rather than rely on a state pension, which kicks in at the official age, as their sole source of retirement income, many people supplement it with work-related pensions, which can be taken earlier.

當(dāng)然，許多人工作更長(zhǎng)時(shí)間不是因?yàn)樗麄兿矚g他們所做的，而是因?yàn)樗麄儾荒苻o職。這不僅僅是因?yàn)檎恢痹谔岣咄诵菽挲g。實(shí)際上，人們實(shí)際退休的平均年齡(“有效”退休年齡)比官方年齡低幾年。這在一定程度上是因?yàn)?，許多人并沒(méi)有把國(guó)家養(yǎng)老金作為退休收入的唯一來(lái)源，而是用可以提前領(lǐng)取的與工作相關(guān)的養(yǎng)老金來(lái)補(bǔ)充，而不是依賴(lài)于國(guó)家養(yǎng)老金。

詞匯

Solely/單獨(dú)地；僅僅

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However, companies have been phasing out pensions linked to final salaries and replacing them with “defined contribution” schemes. Under the latter, workers end up with a pot of savings at retirement that needs to be reinvested. The income from such pots has been reduced by very low interest rates. Women tend to have smaller retirement pots (owing to their years spent raising children). That makes their difficulties particularly acute. They need to keep working.

然而，企業(yè)一直在逐步取消與最終工資掛鉤的養(yǎng)老金，代之以“固定繳款”計(jì)劃。在后一種情況下，工人們退休后會(huì)有一大筆儲(chǔ)蓄，需要進(jìn)行再投資。極低的利率降低了通過(guò)儲(chǔ)蓄得到的收入。女性趨向于得到更少的退休金(由于她們花了數(shù)年時(shí)間撫養(yǎng)孩子)。這使得她們的困難尤為突出。她們需要繼續(xù)工作。???

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This helps explain the long-term trends. The effective male retirement age across the OECD was 68.4 in the late 1960s and then steadily fell to reach a low of 62.7 in the early 2000s. At that point it started to increase, reaching 65.3 by 2017.

這有助于解釋長(zhǎng)期趨勢(shì)。在20世紀(jì)60年代末，經(jīng)合組織國(guó)家男性的實(shí)際退休年齡為68.4歲，隨后在本世紀(jì)初穩(wěn)步下降至62.7歲的低點(diǎn)。從那時(shí)起，這個(gè)數(shù)字開(kāi)始上升，到2017年達(dá)到65.3。

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For women, the pattern has been similar. The effective retirement age fell from 66.5 in the late 1960s to 60.9 in 2000, and then rebounded to 63.7 by 2017. These statistics indicate that age discrimination in the workforce has been reduced, if not entirely eliminated. Some countries now have laws prohibiting discrimination on the grounds of age, although surveys suggest older workers still feel disadvantaged, particularly when it comes to promotion.

對(duì)于女性來(lái)說(shuō)，情況也差不多。有效退休年齡從上世紀(jì)60年代末的66.5歲降至2000年的60.9歲，到2017年又回升至63.7歲。這些統(tǒng)計(jì)數(shù)字表明，勞動(dòng)力中的年齡歧視即使沒(méi)有完全消除，也有所減少。一些國(guó)家現(xiàn)在有法律禁止基于年齡的歧視，盡管調(diào)查顯示年長(zhǎng)的員工仍然感到處于不利地位，尤其是在晉升方面。

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Two issues seem to hold employers back. The first is that older workers tend to command higher salaries, because of the seniority system. The OECD suggests that the premium for long tenure should be reduced. The second is a skills deficit; one in three 55- to 65-year-olds in OECD countries either lacks computer experience or cannot pass technology tests.

有兩個(gè)問(wèn)題似乎阻礙了雇主。首先，由于年資制度，年長(zhǎng)的工人往往要求更高的工資。經(jīng)濟(jì)合作與發(fā)展組織(OECD)建議，應(yīng)該降低長(zhǎng)期聘用的溢價(jià)。第二是技能匱乏;在經(jīng)合組織國(guó)家，55歲至65歲的人中，有三分之一要么缺乏計(jì)算機(jī)經(jīng)驗(yàn)，要么無(wú)法通過(guò)技術(shù)測(cè)試。

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Such deficits can be tackled with proper training, organised by the government or by companies themselves. But the over-55s should take it upon themselves to keep up with technological changes. Become a silver surfer. Your livelihood may depend on it.

此類(lèi)缺口以通過(guò)政府或企業(yè)自身組織的適當(dāng)培訓(xùn)加以解決。但55歲以上的人應(yīng)該主動(dòng)承擔(dān)起跟上技術(shù)變化的責(zé)任。當(dāng)成為一名銀發(fā)網(wǎng)民。你的生計(jì)可能就靠它了

詞匯

Deficit/ n. [財(cái)政] 赤字，虧損【個(gè)人感覺(jué)此處的deficit既指財(cái)政上的問(wèn)題，又以deficiency?缺陷，缺點(diǎn)的引申意講老員工技能的缺陷】

silver surfer/ ( informal ) an old person who spends a lot of time using the Internet 銀發(fā)網(wǎng)民（指經(jīng)常上互聯(lián)網(wǎng)的老年人）