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——————我是快乐的分割线——————

文本：

PART   a

M: male, tutor, 40s, mild US

* In today’s session, we’re going to discuss the working week. For many people this is nine to five, five days a week, but it varies widely. In fact, a recent survey of countries around the world found that in Germany, employees work the fewest hours, followed by Denmark, Norway and theNetherlands. Luxembourg, which is one of the smallest countries in the world, and where workers spend an average of only 29 hours a week at work, is the most productive. That’s in relation to the population, of course. Mexico and Costa Rica are where workers spend the most time at work.

Recently, researchers have been investigating whether there’s a link between hours spent at work and the amount of work done. Do employees work more effectively if they have more time off, for example? And are there other advantages to consider? For the last two years, a care home in Sweden has trialled a six-hour working day. The results? Overall, their spending increased by20%. However, there was a significant drop in time off because of sickness, and workers reported higher job satisfaction as well – the results are clearly mixed.

A well-known technology company is also experimenting with a shorter 30-hour working week for some employees. It decided not to distinguish between these workers and their full-time colleagues in terms of the benefits they’re given, for example having a company car, but they earn75% of the salary. It’ll be interesting to see the results of this trial when they’re published.

Another example is a New Zealand finance company which is trying out a four-day week. Although no statistics are available yet, workers were interviewed and have provided some interesting feedback. One frequent comment is that their offices are much quieter, and they can concentrate more easily. Many workers hadn’t expected the amount of pressure that the reduced working week caused. However, some indicated they were reluctant about going back to the old routine, and had got used to having a three-day break each week. Another interesting point is what people are doing with their extra day off. Are they just catching up on sleep? In fact, one researcher notes that the opposite seems to be the case. People have been visiting the dentist, getting their cars fixed – doing what he refers to as life administration, in other words all those little things that need to be done but there never seemed to be time to fit them in before. **

PART b

M: male, student, 20ish       F: female, student, 20ish

M: * Have you done any reading for tomorrow’s lecture yet?

F: The one on employment?

M: Yeah.

F: Actually I read about a survey to find out which occupation makes people happiest. What wouldyou guess?

M: I suppose jobs where people feel they’re helping others, like teachers and nurses.

F: They were both in the top three. Behind engineers though, which surprised me. Also, there didn’tseem to be a link between high salary and happiness, because gardeners were quite high on thelist too.

M: Interesting! I’d’ve thought money was fairly important. I mean, so many people struggle to earnenough to pay for rent, food and bills these days.

F: I know. But in the UK, at least we have the minimum wage, which employers have to pay everyoneby law.

M: Apparently even that’s not really enough to survive on. There’s a campaign here for more peopleto be paid what’s called a living wage. That’s supposed to be much more realistic.

F: Though I guess lots of employers say they can’t afford it.

M: Well, there are other things employers can do – it’s not just money that makes people happy.Some workers prefer having a sense of security in their job. But if they thought they’d be doingexactly the same thing for the next 30 years, their motivation would soon disappear. So, knowingthere’s the opportunity for growth is essential, whether that’s in terms of the level of their job orwhat they are expected to do in their job.

F: I agree! Also, who you work with must affect things. You’ve got to get on with your colleagues,haven’t you?

M: Of course!

F: I think employees need to feel they’re part of a team, that their efforts are recognised. I read thatlots of people decide to apply for a new job when they’re not in a positive culture like that. And it’snot hard to create one – simple things like the boss thanking someone for what they’ve done canbe enough!

M: I can understand that.

F: And did you read anything about the working environment?

M: Yes – I came across something online. There was some interesting information about the idealamount of space each worker should have in an open-plan office – but it also reported that thisdoesn’t necessarily make workers feel any more content – the level of natural light seems to havethe most significant effect. Personally, I like to have a good view from my desk.

F: And I like having nice pictures to look at!**