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JessKutch_2019U-_职场的有效矛盾能带来什么？_-
I am a labor organizer , and in 2013, I cofounded an organization called coworker.org that uses technology to help people join with coworkers and organize for improvements in the workplace . 我是一名劳工组织者, 在 2013 年,我与人联合建立了 一个名为 coworker.org 的组织。 这个组织旨在使用科技 来帮助人们与同事一起 组织改善职场环境。
organizer:n.组织者;承办单位;[生物]组织导体; organization:n.组织;机构;体制;团体; technology:n.技术;工艺;术语; coworkers:n.同事;合作人;(coworker的复数形式) improvements:n.改善;改进;改善的事物;(improvement的复数) workplace:n.工作场所;车间;
Now, there are two kinds of reactions to what I do. 对于我的工作, 人们一般有两种反应,
reactions:n.反应;回应;抗拒;生理反应;副作用(reaction的复数)
Actually, no, there are three. 实际上应该是三种。
The first is complete confusion about what organizing is. 第一种是搞不清“组织” 这个定义是什么意思。
confusion:n.困惑;混淆;混同;困窘; organizing:v.组织;安排;处理;分配;管理;(organize的现在分词)
When my doctor asked what I do and I told him, he thought I meant organizing, like, Marie Kondo-style. 当我的医生问起我的职业, 我告诉了他, 他以为我说的组织是 那种类似藤麻理惠的收纳整理风格。
(Laughter) （笑声）
He was like, "Oh, that's so great, I could use some of that around here. 他说:“哦,那真是太棒了, 可以在这里派上用场,
I would love to clean up our patient files." 我很乐意整理病人的档案。”
patient:adj.有耐心的,能容忍的;n.病人;患者;
And I had to explain to him that no, no, it's not that kind of organizing, it's more like if you showed up to work tomorrow and all the nurses in the office had gotten together to ask for an across-the-board raise. 之后我不得不向他解释, “不不,不是那样的组织, 更像是如果你明天来上班, 办公室里的所有护士都团结了起来, 要求全面加薪。”
across-the-board:全面地,整体地;
(Laughter) （笑声）
'"Oh," he replied, and he got really quiet. “哦,” 他回复道, 之后就陷入了沉默。
(Laughter) （笑声）
Yeah, and that's the second kind of reaction: the uncomfortable kind. 没错,这差不多就是第二种反应: 不舒服的那种。
People usually withdraw from the conversation and find someone else to talk to. 人们时常抽离对话, 找另外一个人去交谈。
withdraw:v.撤回;提;撤离;停止提供;
Finally , there's the third reaction, the excited one, the, "Oh my God, yes! We need this!" 最后,是第三种反应, 兴奋的反应, 那种“天呐,太好了！ 我们正需要它！”
Finally:adv.终于;最终;(用于列举)最后;彻底地;
And someone always proceeds to tell me a story. 之后经常就会有人接着给我讲故事。
proceeds:v.继续做;行进;前往;(proceed的第三人称单数)
It's always a story about a job or a coworker or a friend who's enduring something awful at work. 一般都是关于一份工作、 一个同事,或一个朋友 在工作中正在忍受不快的故事。
enduring:adj.持久的;耐久的;v.忍耐;忍受;持续;持久;(endure的现在分词)
What I've noticed is that there is never a neutral response to what I do. 我已经发现对于我的工作, 没有人能够有中立的反应。
neutral:n.中立国; adj.中立的; response:n.响应;反应;回答;
You're either repelled by it, or you're struck with a lightning bolt of excitement . 你要么被它击退, 要么被兴奋的闪电击中。
repelled:v.击退;驱逐;赶走;使恐惧;使厌恶(repel的过去分词和过去式) lightning:n.闪电;adj.闪电般的;飞快的;突然的 bolt:n.螺栓; v.狼吞虎咽; v.突然; excitement:n.兴奋;刺激;令人兴奋的事物;
So why does my work stir up such strong reactions? 那么为什么我的工作 能激起如此强烈的反应？
stir:v.搅拌;搅动;激发;搅和;n.搅拌;搅动;震动;搅和;
My hunch is that it's about conflict . 我的直觉是因为这关乎于矛盾。
hunch:n.预感;大块;肉峰;v.耸肩;预感到;弯腰驼背;隆起; conflict:n.冲突;矛盾;争执;抵触;v.抵触;
If you have power in your workplace, maybe as a CEO or a senior leader of some kind, you're going to feel uncomfortable with that power being challenged. 如果你在职场上坐拥权力, 可能是CEO或是某种高级领导, 那么当你的权力受到挑战时, 你就会感到不适。
senior:adj.大;级别(或地位)高的;成人的;高级水平的;n.上级;上司;较…年长的人;
But if you lack power, or you know someone who lacks it and needs it, you might grab me by the shoulders and shake me, you're so pumped . 但如果你或者其他人 缺乏而且需要权力, 你可能会抓着我的肩膀,激动万分。
grab:v.攫取;霸占;将…深深吸引;n.攫取;霸占;夺取之物; pumped:adj.紧张的; v.用泵输送; (pump的过去分词和过去式)
But really, we can all benefit from understanding what conflict can offer in our workplaces . 事实上,理解矛盾 在职场中能带来什么, 我们所有人都能从中受益。
workplaces:n.[管理]工作场所(workplace的复数);
The power imbalance in our workplace is real, and it's constantly changing. 职场中权力分配的不均是真实的, 而且一直在变。
imbalance:n.不平衡;不安定; constantly:adv.不断地;时常地;
Power moves between us, depending on our roles and status . 权力在我们之间涌动, 取决于我们的角色和地位。
status:n.地位;状态;情形;重要身份;
Now, sometimes this can feel like office politics , right? 有时这感觉像是办公室政治,对吧？
politics:n.政治;钩心斗角;政治观点;v.(贬)从事政治活动;(politic的第三人称单数)
Which is never fun. 办公室政治从来都不有趣。
But when we can test for power thoughtfully and together with our coworkers, it can be incredibly productive . 但是面对权力,当我们深思熟虑, 并且与同事们并肩, 就可以让事情变得极其有成效。
thoughtfully:adv.沉思地;体贴地,亲切地; incredibly:adv.难以置信地;非常地; productive:adj.能生产的;生产的,生产性的;多产的;富有成效的;
And it's that kind of productive conflict that I want to talk to you all about today, the kind that can make some of us uncomfortable. 这就是今天我想要和大家谈论的 那种有效矛盾, 那种可以使我们部分人 听着不舒服的矛盾。
Business leaders should embrace when their workers conflict with policies and decisions, both for what it teaches us and for what it says about our commitment to each other. 当员工们与政策和决策 发生矛盾冲突时, 商业领袖们应该去接受它, 不仅为了它教给我们的东西, 也是为了表达出我们对彼此的承诺。
embrace:n.拥抱,怀抱;v.拥抱;乐意采纳(思想、建议等);信奉;包括; policies:n.政策;方针;原则;为人之道;保险单(policy的复数) commitment:n.承诺;投入;保证;许诺;
So what do I mean by "productive conflict"? 那么我说的“有效矛盾”是什么意思？
Well, let me tell you a story. 先让我给各位讲个故事。
In 2016, a store employee for an outdoor retailer -- 在 2016 年, 一家户外零售商的店内员工——
outdoor:adj.户外的;露天的; retailer:n.零售商;传播的人;
I'll call her "Alex" -- 我叫她 “Alex” ——
Alex approached her boss and asked for a raise. Alex 走到她老板跟前要求涨薪,
approached:v.走近;临近;探讨;建议;(approach的过去分词和过去式)
Now, she was told her pay was fairly standard for her position and that her boss didn't even have the authority to give such a raise. 但是老板告诉她, 她的工资完全符合她的职位标准, 而且她老板本人 甚至没有给员工涨薪权限。
fairly:adv.相当地;公平地;简直; standard:n.标准;水准;旗;度量衡标准;adj.标准的;合规格的;公认为优秀的; authority:n.权威;权力;当局;
And that was supposed to be the end of the conversation. 事情到这里本来就应该结束了。
supposed:adj.误信的;所谓的;v.认为;假设;设想;(suppose的过去分词和过去式)
Unhappy with that answer, Alex 对于老板的回答很不满意,
Alex went home, and she decided to create a campaign on coworker.org, asking the corporate office to give raises to store employees. 回到家,她决定在 coworker.org 上 发起一场运动, 要求公司给店内员工涨薪。
corporate:adj.公司的;组成公司(或团体)的;法人的;社团的;
Within days, employees from around the country began joining Alex's effort and sharing their own stories about what they were earning -- 11, 12 dollars an hour -- and how that wage was impacting their lives. 没几天,全国各地的员工 开始加入 Alex 的运动 并分享他们自己 目前收入的故事—— 11 或 12 美金时薪—— 以及那个工资水平 是如何影响他们生活的。
wage:v.发动;n.(通常指按周领的)工资; impacting:[力]冲击;[力]撞击;[物]碰撞(impact的现在分词);
Some even shared that they had quit recently to work for competitors who paid more. 有些人甚至说他们最近辞职了, 去薪水更高的竞争公司工作。
quit:v.离开;放弃;停止;使…解除;n.离开;[计]退出;adj.摆脱了…的;已经了结的; recently:adv.最近;新近;
But here's the thing: they also shared that they didn't want to quit, they liked their job, they believed in the company's mission , but for them, the pay issue was a growing problem in their work lives. 但问题是:他们也分享说 他们不想要离开, 他们喜欢自己的工作, 他们相信公司的使命, 但对于他们来说,薪水一直是 一个日渐增长的问题。
mission:n.使命,任务;代表团;布道;v.派遣;向…传教; issue:n.重要议题;争论的问题;v.宣布;公布;发出;发行;
Well, after weeks of this groundswell of employee activism , the company decided to raise wages by five to 15 percent in cities across the country. 在员工运动情绪高涨的几周后, 公司决定在国内各个城市 加薪 5% - 15%。
groundswell:n.海啸;地隆; activism:n.行动主义;激进主义; wages:n.[劳经]工资; v.开展(运动等)(wage的第三人称单数形式);
And that's what I mean by productive conflict: pushing up against the things that aren't working for us when there exists no other path forward. 这就是我说的有效矛盾: 在没有其它解决途径的前提下, 向上反抗那些对我们不利的事。
The other thing I learned in doing this work is that people engage in productive conflict when they care about their jobs and their coworkers. 在这个工作中,我学会的另外一件事 就是当人们在意 他们的工作和同事时, 他们就会参与有效矛盾。
engage:v.吸引,占用;使参加;雇佣;使订婚;预定;
Now, that surprised me at first. 这事一开始让我非常惊讶。
I expected the worst jobs, the worst workplaces, to have the most employee activism on our site , but the opposite is often true. 我期待最差劲的工作 和最垃圾的工作场所 在我们网站上有最多的员工运动, 但实际情况恰恰相反。
site:n.地点;位置;场所;v.设置;为…选址;
When we come together, we can accomplish great things. 当我们凝聚在一起, 我们可以成就大事。
accomplish:v.完成;实现;达到;
At one company, there are more than 50 campaigns by employees there on issues ranging from dress code changes to legitimate safety concerns . 有一个公司, 有超过 50 个的员工运动, 从着装要求的改变 到合法合理的安全顾虑。
issues:n.重要议题;争论的问题;v.宣布;公布;发出;(issue的第三人称单数和复数) dress code:n.(工作时的)着装规定; legitimate:adj.合法的;正当的;合理的;正统的;v.使合法;认为正当(等于legitimize); concerns:n.关注; v.使关心(concern的三单形式);
And get this: that same company has the lowest voluntary turnover rate of any major chain in its sector . 最终结果: 相较该行业其它主要连锁公司, 这家公司的自愿离职率最低。
voluntary:adj.自愿的;志愿的;自发的;故意的;n.志愿者;自愿行动; turnover rate:换手率; sector:n.部门;扇形,扇区;象限仪;函数尺;vt.把…分成扇形;
And it also has one of the higher productivity rates as well. 这家公司也同样有着较高的生产率。
productivity:n.生产力;生产率;生产能力;
Business leaders: you shouldn't fear conflict, and you shouldn't try to tamp down on it the minute it bubbles up in your workforce . 商业领袖们: 你们不应该惧怕矛盾, 你们也不应该 在矛盾即将于职场发生时 就打压它。
tamp:v.夯实,砸实;填塞;n.捣棒;打夯的工具; bubbles:n.泡; v.起泡; (bubble的第三人称单数和复数) workforce:n.劳动大军;全体员工;
While it can introduce uncertainties that can be difficult to manage, those uncertainties are trying to tell you something about an underlying problem that needs your attention. 尽管接受矛盾可能意味着 引入难以管理的不确定因素, 但那些不确定因素
uncertainties:n.[数]不确定性;不确定因素(uncertainty的复数); underlying:adj.根本的; v.构成…的基础; (underlie的现在分词)
And I think this is especially important right now, you know, as technology transforms nearly everyone's job and as the structures that contain our work are changing at a pace not seen since the Industrial Revolution . 我认为这非常重要,尤其是现在。 随着技术对近乎每个人工作的转变, 以及囊括我们工作的结构 正在以从工业革命以来 前所未有的速度改变,
especially:adv.尤其;特别;格外;十分; transforms:v.[数][电]变换; n.语法转化规则; structures:n.结构; v.建造(structure的第三人称单数形式); Industrial Revolution:n.工业革命;
We all need to be shaping and participating in the future of work. 我们所有人都需要塑造自己 并参与到未来工作。
participating:v.参加;参与(participate的现在分词)
We all need to be challenging and changing the parts of our work lives that are broken. 我们都需要挑战和改变 我们工作生活中 破碎不堪的部分。
So I hope the next time a coworker invites you maybe to join a sign-on letter to your boss, or a group of employees asks for a meeting to discuss their concerns about the new health care plan, 因此我希望, 如果下一次你的一个同事 邀请你参与签署一封 给老板的联名信, 或是一群员工要求开会 讨论他们对新医疗计划的顾虑,
health care:n.卫生保健;
I hope you'll consider it an opportunity to build a better workplace, a stronger business and an economy that works for all of us. 我希望,你能把它当作一个机会, 一个营造更好职场环境的机会, 一个打造更强企业的机会, 和一个适合所有人的经济环境。
economy:n.经济;节约;理财;
Thank you. 谢谢。
(Applause) （掌声）