【www.cnmmxh.com--就业指南】
职场英语：你是下一个被裁的人吗
As layoffs spread, part-timers, flex-timers and telecommuters fear they’ll be the first to go. Unfortunately, they’re sometimes right.
随着裁员风潮的蔓延，兼职者、享受弹性工作制的员工、以及电子通勤族担心自己会是首先被裁掉的。有时候还真不幸被他们言中了。
The outcome depends on where you work. At some employers, people on reduced-hours or work-at-home setups are the first to fall under the budget ax; other employers revert to an ’all hands on deck’ mode and revoke flexible arrangements. At other companies, however, oddball work setups are considered an advantage in the drive for efficiency. Either way, hanging onto a flexible work setup during a recession requires planning -- and luck.
这要取决于你在哪家公司上班。预算紧张时，有些雇主会首先考虑裁减那些非全职或是在家工作的员工。有些雇主则会回归“所有人都来公司全职上班”的模式，取消弹性工作制。不过，也有些公司把非常规工作制视为提高效率的一种优势。无论怎样，在衰退期间保持弹性工作制都需要规划，还有运气。
In tough times, many employers revert to thinking critical jobs can only be done full-time, flat-out and under the boss’s nose. Hilary Achauer, a San Diego marketing specialist for a nonprofit concern, sought to return to work part-time from maternity leave last year, but was offered a full-time management job instead. When she passed it up, she was diverted to a marginal job, then axed in February, while the employee who took the full-time slot was spared. ’When the going gets tough,’ she says, some employers say, ’’That person is only part-time, let’s get rid of them.’’
困难时期，很多雇主会回到老的想法上，认为重要的工作只有全职、全力以赴、在老板眼皮底下才能完成。希拉里·阿奇沃(Hilary Achauer)是圣地亚哥一家非营利机构的营销专家。她去年休完产假后曾想回公司做兼职工作，不过老板却要给她一个全职的管理职位。当她婉拒后，就被发配到一个无关紧要的工作岗位上，之后在2月份被裁员了，而接受了那份全职工作的员工则幸免被裁员的厄运。她说，当形势困难时，有些雇主会说，“那个人只是个兼职，让我们把他裁掉吧”。
On the other hand, employers who are equipped to measure output against costs may see an efficient part-timer or telecommuter as an asset. A part-timer hired last fall by a retailing client of Flexperience, a Burlingame, Calif., consulting firm, thought she’d be the first to be laid off, says Sally Thornton, president of Flexperience. But she was so productive at reduced pay, Ms. Thornton says, that her employer chose to keep her over more senior full-timers. Work-at-home employees also confer savings, on real estate and office costs.
另一方面，那些考虑了产出成本比的雇主则可能看到一个高效率的兼职者或是电子通勤族是笔财富。加州咨询公司Flexperience的总裁萨利·桑顿(Sally Thornton)说，该公司的一个零售客户去年秋天雇了一个兼职者，这个人以为自己会是第一个被裁掉的人。桑顿说，但是这名员工薪水低、效率高，于是她的雇主决定把她留下来，而把更资深的全职员工裁掉了。在家工作的员工还能为公司省钱，比如在房地产和办公成本上。
Indeed, in the current recession, more employers are using flexible setups to save money. Based on an April survey by Towers Perrin of 700 employers, 21% to 32% are either implementing or considering part-time shifts or four-day workweeks, as a cost-cutting tool. Of course, employees usually don’t have a choice under these circumstances and may not welcome the change.
的确，在当前这场衰退中，有更多的雇主开始利用弹性工作制来省钱。根据Towers Perrin今年4月份对700家雇主进行的调查，其中有21%-32%的雇主正在实施或考虑实施兼职倒班制或是4天工作制，把这作为一项削减成本的措施。当然，在这种情况下，员工通常没有选择，他们或许并不喜欢这样的改变。
更多职场英语请访问应届毕业生求职网
