单选题
英语六级
2017-03-11
根据下面资料,回答题
The American Workplace Is Broken. Here's How We Can Start Fixing It.
[A] Americans are working longer and harder hours than ever before.83% of workers say they're stressed about their jobs, nearly 50% say work-related stress is interfering with their sleep, and 60% use their smartphones to check in with work outside of normal working hours. No wonder only 13% of employees worldwide feel engaged in their occupation.
[B] Glimmers (少许) of hope, however, are beginning to emerge in this bruising environment: Americans are becoming aware of the toll their jobs take on them, and employers are exploring ways to alleviate the harmful effects of stress and overwork. Yet much more work remains to be done. To call stress an epidemic isn't exaggeration. The 83% of American employees who are stressed about their jobs--up from 73% just a year before--say that poor compensation and an unreasonable workload are their number-one sources of stress. And if you suspected that the workplace had gotten more stressful than it was just a few decades ago, you're right. Stress levels increased 18% for women and 24% for men from 1983 to 2009. Stress is also starting earlier in life, with some data suggesting that today's teens are even more stressed than adults.
[C] Stress is taking a significant toll on our health, and the collective public health cost may be enormous. Occupational stress increases the risk of heart attack and diabetes, accelerates the aging process, decreases longevity, and contributes to depression and anxiety, among numerous other negative health outcomes. Overall, stress-related health problems account for up to 90% of hospital visits, many of them preventable. Your job is "literally killing you," as The Washington Post put it. It's also hurting our relationships. Working parents say they feel stressed, tired, rushed and short on quality time with their children, friends and partners.
[D] Seven in 10 workers say they struggle to maintain work-life balance. As technology (and with it, work emails) seeps (渗入) into every aspect of our lives, work-life balance has become an almost meaningless term. Add a rapidly changing economy and an uncertain future to this 24/7 connectivity, and you've got a recipe for overwork, according to Phyllis Moen. "There's rising work demand coupled with the insecurity of mergers, takeovers, downsizing and other factors," Moen said. "Part of the work-life issue has to talk about uncertainty about the future."
[E] These factors have converged to create an increasingly impossible situation with many employees overworking to the point of burnout. It's not only unsustainable for workers, but also for the companies that employ them. Science has shown a clear correlation between high stress levels in workers and absenteeism ( 旷工 ), reduced productivity, disengagement and high tttrnover. Too many workplace policies effectively prohibit employees from developing a healthy work-life balance by barring them from taking time off, even when they need it most.
[F] The U. S. trails far behind every wealthy nation and many developing ones that have family-friendly work policies including paid parental leave, paid sick days and breast-feeding support.according to a 2007 study. The U. S. is also the only advanced economy that does not guarantee workers paid vacation time, and it's one of only two countries in the world that does not offer guaranteed paid maternity leave. But even when employees are given paid time off, workplace norms and expectations that pressure them to overwork often prevent them from taking it. Fulltime employees who do have paid vacation days only use half of them on average.
[G] Our modern workplaces also operate based on outdated time constraints. The practice of clocking in for an eight-hour workday is a leftover from the days of the Industrial Revolution, as reflected in the then-popular saying, "Eight hours labor, eight hours recreation, eight hours rest."
[H] We've held on to this workday structure--but thanks to our digital devices, many employees never really clock out. Today, the average American spends 8.8 hours at work daily, and the majority of working professionals spend additional hours checking in with work during evenings, weekends and even vacations. The problem isn't the technology itself, but that the technology is being used to create more flexibility for the employer rather than the employee. In a competitive work environment, employers are able to use technology to demand more from their employees rather than motivating workers with flexibility that benefits them.
[I] In a study published last year, psychologists coined the term "workplace telepressure" to describe an employee's urge to immediately respond to emails and engage in obsessive thoughts about returning an email to one's boss, colleagues or clients. The researchers found that telepressure is a major cause of stress at work, which over time contributes to physical and mental burnout. Of the 300 employees participating in the study, those who experienced high levels of telepressure were more likely to agree with statements assessing burnout, like "I've no energy for going to work in the morning," and to report feeling fatigued and unfocused. Telepressure was also correlated with sleeping poorly and missing work.
[J] Harvard Business School professor Leslie Perlow explains that when people feel the pressure to be always "on," they fmd ways to accommodate that pressure, including altering their schedules, work habits and interactions with family and friends. Perlow calls this vicious cycle the "cycle of responsiveness" : Once bosses and colleagues experience an employee's increased responsiveness, they increase their demands on the employee's time. And because a failure to accept these increased demands indicates a lack of commitment to one's work, the employee complies.
[K] To address skyrocketing employee stress levels, many companies have implemented workplace wellness programs, partnering with health care providers that have created programs to promote employee health and well-being. Some research does suggest that these programs hold promise. A study of employees at health insurance provider Aetna revealed that roughly one quarter of those taking in-office yoga and mindfulness classes reported a 28% reduction in their stress levels and a 20% improvement in sleep quality. These less-stressed workers gained an average of 62 minutes per week of productivity. While yoga and meditation (静思) are scientifically proven to reduce stress levels, these programs do little to target the root causes of burnout and disengagement. The conditions creating the stress are long hours, unrealistic demands and deadlines, and work-life conflict.
[L] Moen and her colleagues may have found the solution. In a 2011 study, she investigated the effects of implementing a Results Only Work Environment (ROWE. on the productivity and well-being of employees at Best Buy's corporate headquarters.
[M] For the study,325 employees spent six months taking part in ROWE, while a control group of 334 employees continued with their normal workflow. The ROWE participants were allowed to freely determine when, where and how they worked--the only thing that mattered was that they got the job done. The results were striking. After six months, the employees who participated in ROWE reported reduced work-family conflict and a better sense of control of their time, and they were getting a full hour of extra sleep each night. The employees were less likely to leave their jobs, resulting in reduced turnover. It's important to note that the increased flexibility didn't encourage them to work around the clock. "They didn't work anywhere and all the time--they were better able to manage their work," Moen said. "Flexibility and control is key," she continued.
Workplace norms pressure employees to overwork, deterring them from taking paid time off.
参考答案
F
答案解析
全文翻译
美国工作场所已经瓦解。我们应按以下方法着手解决此问题。
[A]美国人的工作时间比以往任何时候都长。83%的人表示工作压力大,近50%的人表示工作压力已经影响了他们的睡眠,60%的人在非工作时间用智能手机工作。难怪全世界只有13%的员工喜欢自己所从事的工作。
[B]然而,现在这种激烈的竞争环境已经开始露出了一线曙光:美国人现在开始意识到了工作对自己的影响,而雁主也在探索如何减少压力和过度劳累所带来的负面影响。但还是任重道远。把压力比喻成一种流行病,这种说法一点也不夸张。(37)在感到工作压力大的美国员工中,有83%(去年仅为73%)的人表示,他们最大的压力主要源于低报酬和不合理的工作量。如果你猜想现在工作比几十年前压力大,这种想法一点没错。从l983年到2009年,女性和男性的压力水平分别增长了18%和24%。(45)同时,压力也开始呈现“年轻化”的趋势,一些数据表明,当今青少年的压力比成年人还大。
[C](42)压力对我们的健康影响非常大,并且由此可能会导致巨额的公共卫生花费。职业压力增加了患心脏病和糖尿病的风险,同时还会加速老龄化,减少寿命,导致抑郁和焦虑,并且带来其他各种健康问题。总体而言,与压力相关的健康问题占医院总就诊量的90%,而其中许多健康问题都是可预防的。正如《华盛顿邮报》所说,工作是真会“要了你的命啊”。同时工作压力大也伤害到了我们与他人的关系。在职的家长表示,他们感到压力大,很疲惫,总是匆匆忙忙,陪伴孩子、朋友和爱人的高质量时间实在是太少了。
[D]十分之七的员工表示很难保持工作与生活的平衡。(44)随着科技的发展,尤其是工作电子邮件已经渗透到了我们生活的方方面面,“保持工作生活平衡”几乎成了一个没有意义的术语。菲利斯·摩恩说道,瞬息万变的经济、不确定的未来,再加上一周七天,一天二十四小时全天候的连接,这就是过度劳累的原因。摩恩说:“工作需求,以及兼并,收购,裁员等其他不安全性因素都日益上升。难以保持工作生活平衡的部分原因就是来自于未来的不确定性”。
[E]这些因素凑在一起,造成了越来越多不可能维持的情况,许多员工都因过度工作到了倦怠点。这不仅对员工而言是不可持续的,对于雇用他们的公司来说也是不可持续的。(40)科学表明员工们长时间处于高压力与他们缺勤,生产力降低和高离职率之间有着明显的相关性。太多的工作场所政策缺乏灵活性,甚至在员工最需要休息的时候,也不允许他们休息,这使得员工无法保持工作与生活健康的平衡关系。
[F]根据2007年的一项研究,美国在家庭福利政策方面,例如带薪育儿假,带薪病假和支持母乳喂养,远远落后于每一个发达国家,以及许多发展中国家。美国也是世界上唯一不提供带薪休假的发达国家,世界上仅有的两个不提供带薪产假的国家之一。(36)但是,即使员工得到带薪休假的机会,工作场所的规则和期望也会迫使他们过度工作,从而没有机会去使用它。得到带薪休假的全职员工们通常只用了一半的假期。
[G]我们现在的工作时间也是按照过时的作息时间安排的。8小时工作日的做法是3-业革命时代的产物,当时流行的一句话特别能体现出这一点,“八小时劳动,八小时娱乐,八小时休息。”
[H]我们坚持这种工作日的结构——但是数字设备使许多员工从来没有真正下班过。当今,美国人平均每天工作8.8小时,而大多数的职场人士在晚上、周末甚至在休假期间,都会花额外时间工作。(39)技术本身并不是问题,问题是技术被用来为雇主创造更多的灵活性,而不是为雇员提供了便利。在竞争激烈的工作环境中,雇主利用高科技手段要求员工提供更多的服务,而不是使用技术为员工提供福利,让员工更加灵活地工作,以此来激励他们。
[I]在去年发表的一项研究中,心理学家创造了一个术语“工作场所远程压力”,来描述员工想要立即回复邮件的强烈欲望.和想要立即回复老板、同事或客户电子邮件的痴迷。研究人员发现,远程压力是工作压力的主要原因,随着时间的推移,还会造成身体和精神的倦怠。在参加此项研究的300名员工中,那些经历过高度远程压力的员工更有可能会认同倦怠的评价,例如“我早晨上班时没有精力”,并说自己感到疲劳和无法专心工作。远程压力也与睡眠不足和工作失误相关。
[J]哈佛商学院教授莱斯利·佩洛解释说,当人们感受到总是需要“在线”的压力时,就会找到办法来适应这种压力,例如,改变日程表、工作习惯和减少与家人和朋友的互动。佩洛将这种恶性循环称为“响应周期”:
(43)一旦老板和同事发现某个员工,工作完成得更快了,就会要求该员工工作更长时间。不接受这些增加的工作就会表明自己对工作不尽忠尽责,所以该员工只好选择服从。
[K](41-1)为解决员工压力暴增的问题,许多公司已经实施了工作场所健康计划,他们与医疗保健供应商合作,由其提供促进员工健康和福利的项目。一些研究确实表明这些方案有希望。健康保险提供商Aetna做的一项员工研究表明,参加办公室瑜伽和正念课程的人中,大约四分之一的人报告其压力水平减少了28%,睡眠质量改善了20%。这些压力减缓的员工,平均每周增加了62分钟的生产率。(41-2)虽然科学证明瑜伽和冥想可以减少压力,但这些计划几乎没有针对倦怠和脱节的根本原因。造成压力大的根本原因是长时间工作,不切买际的要求和完成工作的期限,以及工作生活的冲突。
[L]摩恩和她同事可能已经找到了解决方案。在2011年的一项研究中,她调查了实施“以成果为宗旨的工作环境”(ROWE.计划对百思买公司总部员工的生产力和福利的影响。
[M]在这项研究中,325名员工花了6个月参加ROWE计划,而实验对照组中有334名员工继续正常的工作流程。ROWE参与者可以自由决定在何时、何地以及以何种方式工作——只要完成工作就行。这项实验的结果非常惊人。六个月后,参与ROWE的员工报告说,工作、家庭冲突减少了,他们可以更好地管理自己的时间,同时每晚可多睡一个小时。这些员工跳槽的可能性也减少了,因此降低了雇员流失率。必须指出的是,增加工作灵活性,但并不鼓励员工全天候工作。(38)“员工并没有在任何地方,任何时间都在工作——他们能更好地管理工作,”摩恩说。她继续补充道,“灵活性和掌控性是关键”。
详解详析
Workplace norms pressure employees to overwork, deterring them from taking paid time off.
工作场所的规则迫使员工过度劳累,使他们无法带薪休假。
由题干关键词Workplace norms和paid time off定位到原文画线处。
[F]段提到,研究表明,美国是世界上唯一不提供带薪休假的发达国家,世界上仅有的两个不提供带薪产假的国家之一。但是,即使员:工:得到带薪休假的机会,:E作场所的规则和期望也会迫使他们过度工作,没有机会去使用它。题干中的Workplace norms对应原文中的workplace norms and expectations;deterring对应原文中的prevent,故答案为[F]。
美国工作场所已经瓦解。我们应按以下方法着手解决此问题。
[A]美国人的工作时间比以往任何时候都长。83%的人表示工作压力大,近50%的人表示工作压力已经影响了他们的睡眠,60%的人在非工作时间用智能手机工作。难怪全世界只有13%的员工喜欢自己所从事的工作。
[B]然而,现在这种激烈的竞争环境已经开始露出了一线曙光:美国人现在开始意识到了工作对自己的影响,而雁主也在探索如何减少压力和过度劳累所带来的负面影响。但还是任重道远。把压力比喻成一种流行病,这种说法一点也不夸张。(37)在感到工作压力大的美国员工中,有83%(去年仅为73%)的人表示,他们最大的压力主要源于低报酬和不合理的工作量。如果你猜想现在工作比几十年前压力大,这种想法一点没错。从l983年到2009年,女性和男性的压力水平分别增长了18%和24%。(45)同时,压力也开始呈现“年轻化”的趋势,一些数据表明,当今青少年的压力比成年人还大。
[C](42)压力对我们的健康影响非常大,并且由此可能会导致巨额的公共卫生花费。职业压力增加了患心脏病和糖尿病的风险,同时还会加速老龄化,减少寿命,导致抑郁和焦虑,并且带来其他各种健康问题。总体而言,与压力相关的健康问题占医院总就诊量的90%,而其中许多健康问题都是可预防的。正如《华盛顿邮报》所说,工作是真会“要了你的命啊”。同时工作压力大也伤害到了我们与他人的关系。在职的家长表示,他们感到压力大,很疲惫,总是匆匆忙忙,陪伴孩子、朋友和爱人的高质量时间实在是太少了。
[D]十分之七的员工表示很难保持工作与生活的平衡。(44)随着科技的发展,尤其是工作电子邮件已经渗透到了我们生活的方方面面,“保持工作生活平衡”几乎成了一个没有意义的术语。菲利斯·摩恩说道,瞬息万变的经济、不确定的未来,再加上一周七天,一天二十四小时全天候的连接,这就是过度劳累的原因。摩恩说:“工作需求,以及兼并,收购,裁员等其他不安全性因素都日益上升。难以保持工作生活平衡的部分原因就是来自于未来的不确定性”。
[E]这些因素凑在一起,造成了越来越多不可能维持的情况,许多员工都因过度工作到了倦怠点。这不仅对员工而言是不可持续的,对于雇用他们的公司来说也是不可持续的。(40)科学表明员工们长时间处于高压力与他们缺勤,生产力降低和高离职率之间有着明显的相关性。太多的工作场所政策缺乏灵活性,甚至在员工最需要休息的时候,也不允许他们休息,这使得员工无法保持工作与生活健康的平衡关系。
[F]根据2007年的一项研究,美国在家庭福利政策方面,例如带薪育儿假,带薪病假和支持母乳喂养,远远落后于每一个发达国家,以及许多发展中国家。美国也是世界上唯一不提供带薪休假的发达国家,世界上仅有的两个不提供带薪产假的国家之一。(36)但是,即使员工得到带薪休假的机会,工作场所的规则和期望也会迫使他们过度工作,从而没有机会去使用它。得到带薪休假的全职员工们通常只用了一半的假期。
[G]我们现在的工作时间也是按照过时的作息时间安排的。8小时工作日的做法是3-业革命时代的产物,当时流行的一句话特别能体现出这一点,“八小时劳动,八小时娱乐,八小时休息。”
[H]我们坚持这种工作日的结构——但是数字设备使许多员工从来没有真正下班过。当今,美国人平均每天工作8.8小时,而大多数的职场人士在晚上、周末甚至在休假期间,都会花额外时间工作。(39)技术本身并不是问题,问题是技术被用来为雇主创造更多的灵活性,而不是为雇员提供了便利。在竞争激烈的工作环境中,雇主利用高科技手段要求员工提供更多的服务,而不是使用技术为员工提供福利,让员工更加灵活地工作,以此来激励他们。
[I]在去年发表的一项研究中,心理学家创造了一个术语“工作场所远程压力”,来描述员工想要立即回复邮件的强烈欲望.和想要立即回复老板、同事或客户电子邮件的痴迷。研究人员发现,远程压力是工作压力的主要原因,随着时间的推移,还会造成身体和精神的倦怠。在参加此项研究的300名员工中,那些经历过高度远程压力的员工更有可能会认同倦怠的评价,例如“我早晨上班时没有精力”,并说自己感到疲劳和无法专心工作。远程压力也与睡眠不足和工作失误相关。
[J]哈佛商学院教授莱斯利·佩洛解释说,当人们感受到总是需要“在线”的压力时,就会找到办法来适应这种压力,例如,改变日程表、工作习惯和减少与家人和朋友的互动。佩洛将这种恶性循环称为“响应周期”:
(43)一旦老板和同事发现某个员工,工作完成得更快了,就会要求该员工工作更长时间。不接受这些增加的工作就会表明自己对工作不尽忠尽责,所以该员工只好选择服从。
[K](41-1)为解决员工压力暴增的问题,许多公司已经实施了工作场所健康计划,他们与医疗保健供应商合作,由其提供促进员工健康和福利的项目。一些研究确实表明这些方案有希望。健康保险提供商Aetna做的一项员工研究表明,参加办公室瑜伽和正念课程的人中,大约四分之一的人报告其压力水平减少了28%,睡眠质量改善了20%。这些压力减缓的员工,平均每周增加了62分钟的生产率。(41-2)虽然科学证明瑜伽和冥想可以减少压力,但这些计划几乎没有针对倦怠和脱节的根本原因。造成压力大的根本原因是长时间工作,不切买际的要求和完成工作的期限,以及工作生活的冲突。
[L]摩恩和她同事可能已经找到了解决方案。在2011年的一项研究中,她调查了实施“以成果为宗旨的工作环境”(ROWE.计划对百思买公司总部员工的生产力和福利的影响。
[M]在这项研究中,325名员工花了6个月参加ROWE计划,而实验对照组中有334名员工继续正常的工作流程。ROWE参与者可以自由决定在何时、何地以及以何种方式工作——只要完成工作就行。这项实验的结果非常惊人。六个月后,参与ROWE的员工报告说,工作、家庭冲突减少了,他们可以更好地管理自己的时间,同时每晚可多睡一个小时。这些员工跳槽的可能性也减少了,因此降低了雇员流失率。必须指出的是,增加工作灵活性,但并不鼓励员工全天候工作。(38)“员工并没有在任何地方,任何时间都在工作——他们能更好地管理工作,”摩恩说。她继续补充道,“灵活性和掌控性是关键”。
详解详析
Workplace norms pressure employees to overwork, deterring them from taking paid time off.
工作场所的规则迫使员工过度劳累,使他们无法带薪休假。
由题干关键词Workplace norms和paid time off定位到原文画线处。
[F]段提到,研究表明,美国是世界上唯一不提供带薪休假的发达国家,世界上仅有的两个不提供带薪产假的国家之一。但是,即使员:工:得到带薪休假的机会,:E作场所的规则和期望也会迫使他们过度工作,没有机会去使用它。题干中的Workplace norms对应原文中的workplace norms and expectations;deterring对应原文中的prevent,故答案为[F]。