随身英语
Using technology to keep employees happy 用科技给员工 “造福利”
半价电影票、“骑车上班” 计划、健身卡等早已成为许多公司用来优待员工的常见福利。但这些福利真的适合所有员工吗？如今，科技被用来帮助企业为员工们量身定做适合他们的个人福利。“随身英语” 聊一聊科技给企业员工福利带来的变化。
Vocabulary: work 词汇: 工作
Going to work can be a slog, especially if your job is full of tedious tasks and pointless meetings. Obviously, work is necessary to earn an income, and if you get good job satisfaction it’s a bonus! But what can make it more worthwhile are the extra perks that your employer offers you as a reward for your loyalty and commitment.
Employee benefits are commonplace these days. Traditionally, these have included a good pension and extra days off work. But when a job used to be for life, there wasn’t much incentive to try and keep staff. Now millennials look to leave their jobs within the first two years, and when they are seeking a position, they want to know the benefits they’ll get on top of their pay. These include half-price cinema tickets, cycle to work schemes and gym passes.
But these perks come at a cost to an employer, and now technology is being used to discover if and when they offer value for money. Writing for the BBC, Jessica Bown says “Emerging technologies such as data analytics, chatbots, and wearables can help employers know which benefits resonate with employees.” The idea is to avoid wasting money on things that don’t get used and enable a company to tailor what it can offer to attract and retain the right staff.
As an example, at merchant bank, Close Brothers, AI has been used to develop chatbots that can help employees to find information on subjects ranging from mental health to saving for retirement at any time. And Microsoft has developed software to help businesses track their employee’s wellbeing needs. Anna Rasmussen, founder of Open Blend, told the BBC “It shows companies what their employees need to stay motivated and reach their full potential in real-time.” Insurance company Vitality offer wearable technology to track employees’ movements. Staff can earn ‘rewards’ by having their activity tracked. A study found that by measuring participant’s performance, they did the equivalent of 4.8 extra days of activity per month.
It seems that if used in the right way, technology can provide greater engagement between an employee and the company. That can lead to a happier, healthier and committed work force. But human resources experts warn against relying solely on tech for deciding on employee benefits provision. Greater understanding of new technology and how it’s used is needed, they say.
词汇表
slog 费力的事情，苦活
task 任务
income 收入
job satisfaction 工作满意度
bonus 额外的好处
perk （工作）津贴，额外福利
loyalty 忠实，忠诚
commitment 投入，奉献
employee benefit 员工福利
pension 养老金
for life 一生的，终生的
incentive 激励
position 职位
cycle to work scheme 英政府通过抵税优惠鼓励企业员工健康环保出行的 “骑车上班” 福利计划
value for money 物有所值
resonate with 与……引起共鸣
tailor 专门制定，适应……的需要
retain 保留，保住
retirement 退休
wellbeing 幸福
motivated 有积极性的，充满动力的
full potential 最高潜力
engagement 互动
human resources 人力资源
测验与练习
1. 阅读课文并回答问题。
1. How long does the article say millennials stay in a job?
2. How does technology help employers retain the right staff?
3. What technology is being used at Close Brothers bank to help employees ask about their pensions anytime day or night?
4. True or false? Insurance company, Vitality, offer smart watches as an employee benefit for its staff.
5. Which word in the text means 'something that encourages a person to do something’?
2. 请在不参考课文的情况下完成下列练习。选择一个意思恰当的单词填入句子中的空格处。
1. My boss said I couldn’t go home until all my _______ had been completed.
perks tasks slog commitment
2. With a free phone upgrade and unlimited data, I think my new contract offers _______.
money value value of money value for money valued money
3. Following my pay rise, I feel very _______ to do a good job!
commitment engagement wellbeing motivated
4. I love helping people at work especially when they say ‘thank you’ - it gives me great _______.
job satisfaction job satisfying job satisfactions satisfaction job
5. The training is great. The instructors _______ the courses to the needs of the students.
resonate tasks slog tailor
答案
1. 阅读课文并回答问题。
1. How long does the article say millennials stay in a job?
Research has found that millennials look to leave their jobs within the first two years.
2. How does technology help employers retain the right staff?
Technology helps companies to see which employee benefits don’t get used and enable them to tailor what it can offer to attract and retain the right staff.
3. What technology is being used at Close Brothers bank to help employees ask about their pensions anytime day or night?
It is using chatbots that can help employees to find information on subjects ranging from mental health to saving for retirement at any time.
4. True or false? Insurance company, Vitality, offer smart watches as an employee benefit for its staff.
False. The company is offering smart watches to track employee’s activity.
5. Which word in the text means 'something that encourages a person to do something’?
Incentive. (“When a job used to be for life there wasn’t much incentive to try and keep staff.”)
2. 请在不参考课文的情况下完成下列练习。选择一个意思恰当的单词填入句子中的空格处。
1. My boss said I couldn’t go home until all my tasks had been completed.
2. With a free phone upgrade and unlimited data, I think my new contract offers value for money.
3. Following my pay rise, I feel very motivated to do a good job!
4. I love helping people at work especially when they say ‘thank you’ - it gives me great job satisfaction.
5. The training is great. The instructors tailor the courses to the needs of the students.
