美国人工作伦理.docVIP

美国人工作伦理 美国人的工作伦理 The underworked American 偷懒的美国人 Jun 11th 2009 2009年6月11日 From The Economist print edition 译自经济学人印刷版 Children are exceptions to the country’s work ethic 孩子们是美国工作伦理的例外 AMERICANS like to think of themselves as martyrs to work. They delight in telling stories about their punishing hours, snatched holidays and ever-intrusive BlackBerrys. At this time of the year they marvel at the laziness of their European cousins, particularly the French. Did you know that the French take the whole of August off to recover from their 35-hour work weeks? Have you heard that they are so addicted to their holidays that they leave the sick to die and the dead to moulder? 美国人总喜欢自诩自己为工作奉献一切。他们对自己饱受折磨的工作时间、被挤榨的假期以及时不时打扰黑莓手机津津乐道。在今年的这个时候，他们就开始对他们欧洲特别是法国的表兄弟们的懒散表示惊讶。“你知道吗，法国人是把整个八月份都用来休假，以作为对他们‘每周35小时’工作的疗养？你听说吗，他们沉醉于假期，而把病的放到死，死的放到腐烂？” There is an element of exaggeration in this, of course, and not just about French burial habits; studies show that Americans are less Stakhanovite than they think. Still, the average American gets only four weeks of paid leave a year compared with seven for the French and eight for the Germans. In Paris many shops simply close down for August; in Washington, where the weather is sweltering, they remain open, some for 24 hours a day. 这其中当然有一定的夸张成分，不仅仅在于对法国殡葬习惯的曲解，因为研究表明美国人并不如他们所自认的那么斯达汉诺夫式。不过一般美国人一年只有四周的带薪假期而法国人有七周，德国人有八周。在巴黎，很多商店八月份直接关门；而在华盛顿，尽管天气酷热，商店还是要开门，有的甚至是24小时营业。 But when it comes to the young the situation is reversed. American children have it easier than most other children in the world, including the supposedly lazy Europeans. They have one of the shortest school years anywhere, a mere 180 days compared with an average of 195 for OECD countries and more than 200 for East Asian countries. German children spend 20 more days in school than American ones, and South Koreans over a month more. Over 12 years, a 15-day deficit means American children lose out on 180 days of school, equivalent to an entire year. 但讲到年轻一代时，情况正好相反。美国小孩比世界上大多数国