The presenteeism premium

出勤的代价

词汇

Presenteeism/出勤

Japanese offices struggle to adapt to social distancing

日本的办公室难以适应间隔式社交

Many companies still put a strong emphasis on physical presence

许多公司仍然非常重视线下沟通

May 9th 2020 | TOKYO

IN 57AD a Chinese emperor, Guangwu, gave an envoy from the kingdom of Wa, as Japan was then known, a solid gold seal, with a handle in the form of a coiled serpent. Such seals, or hanko, are still commonly used in Japan in place of signatures on official documents and contracts. During the covid-19 pandemic, with many workers forced to defy social-distancing guidelines and trudge to their offices to put ink to paper, the hanko captures corporate Japan’s struggle to modernise its anachronistic workplace culture.

公元57年，中国皇帝光武帝给了一位来自西瓦王国【也即为那时的日本】的使者一枚纯金印章，印章上有一个蛇形的把手。在日本，这种印章(或称“签章”)仍被普遍用于取代在正式文件和合同上的签名。在新冠病毒 (covid-19)大流行期间，许多员工被迫违抗与社会保持距离的指导方针，长途跋涉到办公室于纸上签文，图章凸显了日本企业在努力将其原有过时（保守）的企业文化现代化时所面临的困难。

词汇

Envoy/  使者；全权公使

Serpent/蛇

Hanko/[はんこ]，印鉴，图章

Defy/藐视；公然反抗

Anachronistic/时代错误的，过时的，保守的

Despite its reputation for hi-tech wizardry, Japan can be stubbornly analogue. When the pandemic hit, only 40% of Japanese firms had used digitised contracts at all and just 30% had systems in place to enable remote working. Faxes remain ubiquitous; in many prefectures, doctors have been faxing coronavirus test results to public-health officials.

尽管日本以魔法般的高新技术闻名，但其也是一个相对保守顽固的国家。当大流行来袭的时候，只有40%的日本公司使用了数字化合同，只有30%的公司拥有能够远程工作的系统。传真仍遍布企业;在许多县，医生通过传真将新冠病毒检测结果汇报给公共卫生官员。

词汇

Wizardry/巫术，魔法

Prefecture/县；管区

The pandemic has also exposed Japan Inc’s unusually heavy reliance on face-to-face communication. Meeting clients or business partners in person is de rigueur. The Japanese style of collective decision-making depends on people huddling in a room together. Salarymen and women put in long days in the office to demonstrate their dedication to their company and colleagues—and then late nights of sake-fuelled carousing to build camaraderie.

大流行还暴露出日本企业对面对面交流的严重依赖。亲自会见客户或商业伙伴是社交礼节不可缺少的。日本的集体决策方式是人们挤在一个房间里。工薪族男男女女在办公室里工作很长时间，以展示他们对公司和同事的奉献精神——然后在深夜的醉酒狂欢中建立友情。

词汇

de rigueur/【法语】礼节需要的；社交礼仪上必要的

sake/日本清酒

carousing/狂欢痛饮

camaraderie/友情；同志之爱

In Japan gaiatsu, or external pressure, often provokes deep changes. It took the arrival of America’s Black Ships in 1853 to end more than 200 years of Japanese isolation. A collision between Japanese and Chinese vessels near disputed islands in 2010 prompted a revamp of the armed forces. The pandemic, argues Miyake Kunihiko of the Canon Institute for Global Studies, a think-tank in Tokyo, is gaiatsu for corporate Japan.

在日本，外部压力通常会引发深刻的变化。直到1853年，美国的黑船抵达日本，才结束了日本200多年的孤立状态。2010年，日本和中国船只在中国岛屿附近相撞，促使日本翻新了武装部队。东京智库佳能全球研究所(Canon Institute for Global Studies)的Miyake Kunihiko认为，这场大流行是日本企业界的外压。

词汇

Gaiatsu/【日语发音】外部压力

Revamp/修补；翻新

Some firms are responding. Covid-19 is a headwind for revenues, but a tailwind “in terms of culture”, says Hagiwara Shinichi, boss of Mitsui Foods, a big wholesaler. He has instructed staff to hold regular Zoom meetings. Many firms are shifting to digital contracts. Virtual drinking parties, or Zoom-nomi, are all the rage; as Honda Masakazu, a columnist, recently put it on Toyo Keizai, a business-news site, “You don’t have to worry about catching the last train.”

一些公司正在做出回应。新冠病毒是收入的逆风，但在“文化方面”却是顺风，大批发商三井食品公司的老板Hagiwara Shinichi说。他指示员工定期召开Zoom公司的会议。许多公司正在转向数字合同。虚拟饮酒派对，或称虚拟Zoom会议，且正受欢迎;正如专栏作家本田真宗(Honda Masakazu)最近在商业新闻网站东洋经济(Toyo Keizai)上所说的那样，“你不必担心赶不上最后一班火车。”

词汇

Headwind/逆风；tailwind/顺风

Wholesaler/批发商

Nominal/名义上的

Columnist/专栏作家

So far the changes have been halting and uneven. Large Japanese companies are shifting to flexible work regimes more rapidly; they were more likely to have computer systems in place, as well as cash on hand to make up for lost revenues and pay for investment in hardware and software. Small and medium-sized firms “don’t have that luxury”, admits Mr Hagiwara.

到目前为止，这些变化是断断续续和不平衡的。大型日本公司正更迅速地转向灵活的工作制度;他们更有可能拥有合适的计算机系统，以及手头的现金，以弥补损失的收入和支付硬件和软件的投资。但Hagiwara先生承认，中小型企业“没有那种好的条件”。

词汇

Halting/犹豫的；蹒跚的

And the evolution may not endure. Once restrictions are relaxed, managers may demand to see their subordinates back at their desks. Perhaps, though, without their hanko. On April 27th the prime minister, Abe Shinzo, called for a rapid review of the practice. Even his minister of technology policy, who also heads a parliamentary group for the protection of hanko culture, conceded that the seals present an obstacle to teleworking.

但这种改进可能不会持久。一旦限制放松，经理们可能会要求看到他们的下属回到他们的办公桌前。不过，也许他们不会再带着各自的章印。4月27日，日本首相安倍晋三(Abe Shinzo)呼吁对这一做法进行快速审查。就连他的领导着致力于保护章印文化的议会团的技术政策部长，也让步承认章印文化的确是对电子化办公的一种阻碍。

词汇

Teleworking/电子办公；在家中上班