職場英語：你是下一個被裁的人嗎
As layoffs spread, part-timers, flex-timers and telecommuters fear they’ll be the first to go. Unfortunately, they’re sometimes right.
隨著裁員風潮的蔓延，兼職者、享受彈性工作制的員工、以及電子通勤族擔心自己會是首先被裁掉的。有時候還真不幸被他們言中了。
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.
這要取決於你在哪家公司上班。預算緊張時，有些僱主會首先考慮裁減那些非全職或是在家工作的`員工。有些僱主則會迴歸“所有人都來公司全職上班”的模式，取消彈性工作制。不過，也有些公司把非常規工作制視為提高效率的一種優勢。無論怎樣，在衰退期間保持彈性工作制都需要規劃，還有運氣。
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.’’
困難時期，很多僱主會回到老的想法上，認為重要的工作只有全職、全力以赴、在老闆眼皮底下才能完成。希拉里·阿奇沃(Hilary Achauer)是聖地亞哥一家非營利機構的營銷專家。她去年休完產假後曾想回公司做兼職工作，不過老闆卻要給她一個全職的管理職位。當她婉拒後，就被髮配到一個無關緊要的工作崗位上，之後在2月份被裁員了，而接受了那份全職工作的員工則倖免被裁員的厄運。她說，當形勢困難時，有些僱主會說，“那個人只是個兼職，讓我們把他裁掉吧”。
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，那些考慮了產出成本比的僱主則可能看到一個高效率的兼職者或是電子通勤族是筆財富。加州諮詢公司Flexperience的總裁薩利·桑頓(Sally Thornton)說，該公司的一個零售客戶去年秋天僱了一個兼職者，這個人以為自己會是第一個被裁掉的人。桑頓說，但是這名員工薪水低、效率高，於是她的僱主決定把她留下來，而把更資深的全職員工裁掉了。在家工作的員工還能為公司省錢，比如在房地產和辦公成本上。
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.
的確，在當前這場衰退中，有更多的僱主開始利用彈性工作制來省錢。根據Towers Perrin今年4月份對700家僱主進行的調查，其中有21%-32%的僱主正在實施或考慮實施兼職倒班制或是4天工作制，把這作為一項削減成本的措施。當然，在這種情況下，員工通常沒有選擇，他們或許並不喜歡這樣的改變。