History is full of jobs that took an immense physical toll on employees, fro

游客2023-12-28  10

问题     History is full of jobs that took an immense physical toll on employees, from miners and construction workers through to those who suffered "phossy jaw" (a destruction of the jawbone) in the match factories of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. But it is only in the past couple of decades that workers’ mental health has become more widely discussed and understood. The first World Mental Health Day was organized in 1992; the latest was marked on October 10th.
    Charity campaigns, like "time to change" in Britain, try to remove the stigma associated with mental-health problems. Those problems are widespread. A recent review of studies in Europe found that 38% of the EU’s population suffers from a mental disorder (on a broad definition, ranging from anxiety to drug dependence) each year.
    As well as severe distress, this inevitably leads to absenteeism and poor performance. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that mental-health troubles cost the global economy turn a year in lost output. In a survey of American workers, 63% of respondents reported that stress in the workplace had a significant impact on their mental and behavioral health.
    According to a study by the Confederation of British Industry, which represents big businesses, 40% of employers reported that more than 5% of their workforce had a mental-health issue. That was nearly a fourfold increase on a similar survey conducted four years ago. This higher figure may actually be an encouraging sign. As the stigma surrounding mental illness fades, more people may be willing to admit to it.
    Society has certainly come a long way in its treatment of mental health. When Bartleby’s father suffered from depression after losing out from a job reshuffle in the 1960s, the doctors suggested electric-shock treatment. Bartleby’s grandmother suffered from severe post-natal depression in the 1920s; she was placed in a mental home and never saw her child again. Nowadays treatment is much more likely to be associated with pharmaceuticals (though admittedly this can bring its own problems, notably the risk of addiction) and with therapy.
    Workers are more inclined to accept help if they feel the treatment regime will be considerate. "Cognitive behavioral therapy", which teaches people to bypass unhelpful thoughts, has few negative connotations.
    The business world has also made great strides in dealing with mental health. A report by Business in the Community, a British charity, for example, found that 53% of workers said they felt comfortable about discussing mental-health issues at work. But plenty of progress still needs to be made. Only 13% of those with a problem felt they would be able to discuss it with their line manager.
    The WHO says that "workplaces that promote mental health and support people with mental disorders are more likely to reduce absenteeism, increase productivity and benefit from associated economic gains." Just the ability to talk freely about stress or anxiety may reduce the problem. Perhaps in future, workers will be no more reluctant to reveal a mental condition than to report a broken bone or a dose of the flu.

选项

答案     历史上有许多员工由于工作原因身体健康受到严重的损害,这其中包括矿工、建筑工人,以及19世纪末20世纪初患“磷毒性颌骨坏死”的火柴厂工人,但直到最近几十年,员工的心理健康问题才得到更深入的讨论和广泛的理解。第一个世界精神卫生日(World Mental Health Day)于1992年发起,最近的一次在10月10日举行。
    像英国“改变的时刻”(time to change)这样的慈善活动试图消除人们对普遍存在的心理疾病的偏见。近期一项欧洲研究综述发现,在欧盟,每年有38%的人口患有精神疾病(此处的精神疾病为广义,指的是从焦虑到药物依赖等一系列疾病)。
    心理疾病除了给员工带来巨大的痛苦外,它还不可避免地导致缺勤和表现不佳的情况。世界卫生组织(WHO)估计,心理健康问题每年会造成全球经济产量1万亿美元的损失。在一项针对美国员工的调查,63%的受访者表示,工作压力对他们的精神和行为健康有重大影响。
    据保障大型企业利益的英国工业总会(Confederation of British Industry)开展的研究表明,40%的雇主称其员工存在心理健康问题的比例超过5%,4年前也做过类似的调查,而这一数据几乎是当时的4倍,但它实际上可能也传递了一个积极的信号,即人们逐渐不再对精神疾病充满偏见,更多的人也不再觉得患病难以启齿。
    社会在治疗心理疾病方面确实取得了很大的进展。20世纪60年代,巴特比(Bartleby)专栏作者的父亲因企业重组失业后患上抑郁症,医生建议他进行电击治疗。其祖母在20世纪20年代患上了严重的产后抑郁症。她被送到精神病院,从此再也没有见过自己的孩子。如今,针对心理疾病的治疗更多采用药物(尽管不可否认,这也可能会带来问题,尤其是药物成瘾的风险)和心理疗法。员工如果觉得治疗方案足够完善,他们会更愿意接受帮助。“认知行为治疗”教导人们丢弃消极的想法,对员工的健康几乎不存在负面影响。
    商界在解决员工的心理健康问题上也大有进步。例如,英国一个叫社区商业协会 (Business in the Community)的慈善组织曾做过一份调查,报告显示,53%的员工表示他们能够在工作场所轻松地讨论心理健康问题,但同时只有13%的员工认为他们可以和上司讨论此事,因此企业仍需争取更大的进步。
    世界卫生组织表示,“那些促进员工的心理健康,并对患有心理疾病的员工给予支持的公司,更有可能减少缺勤率,提高生产效率,并且能从随之而来的经济增长中获益。”仅仅是能够在工作场所自由地谈论压力或焦虑就能够减轻这个问题。也许在未来,员工谈起他们的精神状态也能像他们说起自己骨折或流感的情况一样轻易。

解析     1.第1段第一句take a toll on为固定搭配,意思是to have a bad effect on somebody/something“对某人/某事有不良影响”,结合本文语境,此处可译作“(员工的身体健康)受到严重的损害”。
    2.第5段第三句直译是“这个更高的数字实际上可能是一个令人鼓舞的迹象”,但由于“数字”和“迹象”并不搭配,故翻译时可将sign理解为“信号”,整句可译作“它实际上可能传递了一个积极的信号”。
    3.第6段第一句has come a long way为固定搭配,意思是to have made a lot of progress“取得了很大的进步”,故可译作“取得了很大的进展”。
    4.第9段第三句workers will be no more reluctant to reveal a mental condition than to report a broken bone or a dose of the flu若直译为“员工不会像不愿说明骨折或流感情况一样不愿透露自己的精神状况”则显得生硬,在翻译时可将双重否定句转换为肯定句,译为“员工谈起他们的精神状态也能像他们说起自己骨折或流感的情况一样轻易”。
转载请注明原文地址:https://tihaiku.com/zcyy/3311807.html
最新回复(0)