注：以下中文译本仅供参考
Bartleby
Their finest hours
People need to work, but not all week
PEOPLE’S RELATIONSHIP with work is complex. For all the complaining about the tedium and bureaucracy, the power-crazed bosses and recalcitrant colleagues, individuals need the security of a job. A century of research has shown that unemployment is bad for mental health, leading to depression, anxiety and reduced self-esteem. On average, it has an even greater effect than divorce.
人与工作的关系非常复杂。尽管所有人都在抱怨工作乏味、抱怨繁文缛节太多、抱怨痴迷权力的老板和顽固不化的同事，但是每个人都需要工作的保障。近一个世纪的研究表明，失业不利于心理健康，会导致抑郁、焦虑和自尊心下降。平均而言，它比离婚的影响更大。
tedium 意思是“单调乏味”，类似于 boredom；形容词为 tedious
bureaucracy 指“官僚主义；繁文缛节”；bureaucrat 指“官僚主义者”
recalcitrant 意思是“不守规章的；不服从指挥的；桀骜不驯的”
divorce 指“离婚”，既可作名词，又可作动词
But how much work do you need to do? A recent paper* by the Centre for Business Research at Cambridge University took the opportunity of the pandemic to examine the impact of reduced working hours on well-being. Many British employees were placed in a furlough scheme, under which their hours were reduced and their wages were subsidised by the government. “We found that people working reduced working hours or being furloughed do not have poorer mental health,” the authors conclude. This suggests that social welfare would be improved if governments adopted furlough schemes in future recessions, even when they are not triggered by a virus.
但是人们究竟需要多少工作量呢？剑桥大学商业研究中心最近发表的一篇论文研究了疫情期间工作时间减少对健康的影响。在英国，许多公司都实行了休假方案，根据该方案，员工们工作时间减少的同时得到了政府的工资补贴。作者总结说：“我们发现，减少工作时间或实行休假并没有让人的心理健康状况变差。” 这表明，如果政府在未来的经济衰退（即使并非由病毒引发）中采用休假计划，社会福利便会得到改善。
well-being 表示“健康；安乐”；我们常说的“民生”就可以译为“peoples well-being”
furlough 指“准假；休假”
trigger 意思是“引起；触发”；用作名词时，表示“（枪的）扳机”或者“起因，诱因”，比如 The trigger for the strike was the closure of yet another factory. 触发这次罢工的是另一家工厂的关闭。
What was particularly surprising is how little work was needed to keep people happy. The threshold for good mental health was just one day a week—after that, it seemed to make little difference to individuals’ well-being if they worked eight hours or 48 hours a week. The boost from working clearly comes from the feeling of purpose, from the social status it creates and from the camaraderie of colleagues engaged in the same tasks.
尤其令人惊讶的是，事实上只需很少的工作量就能使人们保持心情愉悦。保持良好心理健康的最少工作量仅仅为一周一天——工作量达到了一周一天之后，不论是一周工作8个小时或是48个小时，似乎对人们的心理健康几乎没有影响。工作的动力显然来自于自己的目标，来自于工作所能创造的社会地位以及从事相同工作的同事之间的情谊。
threshold 本意是“门槛；门口”，常用作引申义表示“起始点；阈值”
camaraderie 指“同事情谊；友情”
【重点词汇及短语总结】
tedium
意思是“单调乏味”，类似于 boredom；形容词为 tedious
bureaucracy
指“官僚主义；繁文缛节”；bureaucrat 指“官僚主义者”
well-being
表示“健康；安乐”；我们常说的“民生”就可以译为“peoples well-being”
trigger
意思是“引起；触发”；用作名词时，表示“（枪的）扳机”或者“起因，诱因”，
比如 The trigger for the strike was the closure of yet another factory. 触发这次罢工的是另一家工厂的关闭。
threshold
本意是“门槛；门口”，常用作引申义表示“起始点；阈值”
