?01 To be truly happy, a person must feel both free andimportant. People are never happy if they feel compelled by society to do work they do not enjoy, orif what they do enjoy is ignored by society as havingno value or importance. In a society where slavery inthe strict sense has been abolished, the socialindications around work, the value of work and thesalary, have degraded many laborers into modernslaves - "wage slaves".
一個人要想真正快樂， 必須覺得自己既自由又重要。如果覺得自己是受社會逼迫而做自己不喜歡的工作，或者自己喜歡的工作被認為沒價值或不重要而遭社會忽視，那他絕不會快樂。在一個奴隸制度嚴格說來已經(jīng)被廢除的社會里， 工作的社會含義、工作的價值和薪水， 已經(jīng)把許多勞役者降格為現(xiàn)代奴隸——“薪奴”。
02 People are considered laborers if their job has an adverse effect on them, yet they feelcompelled to continue working by the necessity of conforming to societal expectations andearning the revenue to support themselves and their families. The polar opposite of labor is play.When we play a game, we enjoy what we are doing, but it is a purely private pastime; societydoes not care when or whether we play.
如果人們的工作對自己有負面的影響， 但為了遵從社會的期望或者掙錢養(yǎng)家糊口而被迫必須繼續(xù)工作， 那么他們就被認為是勞役者。勞役的對立面是玩樂。當(dāng)我們玩游戲時， 我們很享受正在做的事情，但這僅僅是個人娛樂。社會對我們何時玩樂或者是否玩樂并不關(guān)心。
03 Between labor and play stands work. People are labeled as workers if their personal interests coincide with the jobs society pays them to do; what is necessary labor from the point of view of society is voluntary play from the individual's personal point of view. Whether a job is to be designated as labor or work depends, not on the job itself, but on the tastes of the individualwho undertakes it. The difference does not, for example, correlate with the difference betweena manual and mental job or between jobs of low or high esteem; a gardener covered in dirt ina greenhouse maybe a worker while a well-dressed city mayor may prove to be an unhappylaborer!
處于勞役和玩樂之間的就是工作。如果人們的個人興趣跟社會付酬讓他們做的工作相吻合，他們就被稱為工作者。社會上看來一定是苦工的事情對個人來說卻是自在的玩樂活動。一份活到底應(yīng)定為工作還是勞役并不取決于其本身， 而是承擔(dān)這份活的個人感受。比如， 二者的區(qū)別與是體力活還是腦力活或尊嚴的高低沒有關(guān)聯(lián)。溫室里滿身塵土的園丁可能是工作者，而衣冠楚楚的市長則可能是一個不開心的勞役者！
04 People's attitude toward their work determineseverything. To workers, leisure means simply theh ours they need to relax and rest in order to work efficiently. Workers are therefore more prone to dedicate more time to working, taking too littleleisure rather than too much. To laborers, on the other hand, leisure means autonomy fromcompulsion, so it is natural for them to imagine thatthe fewer hours they have to spend laboring, and themore hours they have free for play, the better.
人們對自己工作的態(tài)度決定了一切。對工作者而言， 閑暇只是為了更有效地工作而需要放松休息的時間。因此，工作者更傾向于投入更多的時間工作，而花在休閑上的時間并非很多，而是很少。而對勞役者而言，休閑意味著從被迫狀態(tài)中得到自主。因此，他們自然會想，花在勞作上的時間越少，自在玩樂的時間越多，則越好。
05 Besides the mere hours spent in leisure, workers and laborers differ in the amount of personal sat is faction they derive from their jobs. Workers who enjoy their jobs will be happier, less stressed, and generally more satisfied with their lives. They will also work with more diligenceand precision because they have fostered a sense of personal pride in their jobs. On the otherhand, laborers, whose sole incentive is earning their livelihood, feel that the time they spend onthe daily grind is wasted and doesn't contribute to their happiness. Instead of valuing all 24hours of their day as enjoyable and productive hours, they gauge only the time spent inleisure and play as meaningful. Unfortunately, laborers are all too commonplace, and only asmall percentage of the population is in the lucky position of being workers.
除了花在閑暇上的時間不同， 工作者和勞役者的區(qū)別還在于他們從工作中獲得的個人滿足感不同。工作者喜歡自己的工作，感覺更快樂，更輕松，通常對自己的生活更滿意。他們工作起來也會更勤奮，更精細，因為他們對自己的工作已經(jīng)產(chǎn)生了一種自豪感。相反， 由于勞役者的唯一動力是掙生活費，他們覺得每天花在苦差上的時間是一種浪費，不會讓自己快樂。他們不把每天的24 小時都當(dāng)作愉快有用的時光， 認為只有花在休閑娛樂上的時間才是有意義的。不幸的是，勞役者太常見了，只有一小部分人能有幸成為工作者。
06 In recent decades, technological innovation and the division of labor have caused major economic changes by eliminating the need for special strength or skill in many fields and haveturned many paid occupations with enjoyable work into boring labor. Increasing productivitywith automated machines, such as robots, has reduced the number of necessary laboring hours.It is possible to imagine an upcoming society in which the majority of the population will havealmost as much leisure time as in earlier times was enjoyed by the medieval aristocracy. Them edieval aristocrats had an abundance of leisure time but often wasted it in trivial pursuit ofgames and fashion. Like wise, modern-day laborers with too much leisure time may find itdifficult to refrain from the addictive and trivial pursuits of celebrity gossip, extravagantfashion, and excessive video games and TV - similar bad habits that waste valuable time.
近幾十年，技術(shù)創(chuàng)新和勞動分工使許多領(lǐng)域不再需要專長或特殊技能， 導(dǎo)致了重大經(jīng)濟變革，把許多可以通過開心工作來掙錢的職業(yè)變成了枯燥的勞役。隨著自動化機器如機器人的使用，日益提高的生產(chǎn)力減少了必要的勞作時間?？梢韵胂?， 在即將到來的社會中， 大多數(shù)人會擁有同早期中世紀貴族一樣多的閑暇時間。中世紀貴族有大量的閑暇時間， 但卻往往耗費在玩游戲和對時尚的無聊追求上。同樣， 有太多閑暇時間的現(xiàn)代勞役者們會覺得很難擺脫那些無聊又易上癮的追求， 像名人八卦、奢華時尚、過度電子游戲和電視等諸如此類浪費寶貴時間的壞習(xí)慣。
07 However, it's not necessary to take such a toxic attitude toward such a positive thing as leisure time.In fact, in many countries, people now use theirleisure time to improve their minds and their working conditions to create a happier, more contented life.Lifelong learning can make the difference between being bored, unhappy laborers and workers whofind meaning and joy in their employment and life. "Continuing education" or "experiential learning" canoffer an array of classes from pleasant diversions such as sports, art classes or music to leadership development, advanced accounting skills, or CAD (computer-aided design), to name only afew.
不過， 沒必要對休閑這種正面的事情采取如此否定的態(tài)度。事實上，目前在很多國家， 人們利用閑暇時間去提高認識， 改善工作環(huán)境， 以創(chuàng)造更快樂安逸的生活。終身學(xué)習(xí)對做一個乏味不開心的勞役者，還是成為一個從職業(yè)和生活中發(fā)現(xiàn)意義和樂趣的工作者有重要的影響?！袄^續(xù)教育”或“體驗學(xué)習(xí)”能提供一系列課程，略舉幾例，如從運動、藝術(shù)或音樂等休閑娛樂課程到領(lǐng)導(dǎo)力拓展、高級會計或 CAD (計算機輔助設(shè)計）等。
08 Whatever the job, people who enjoy their work find time passes quickly. They hurl their passion into their work, be it physical like the work of a smith, or more mental like that of ascientist or an artist. Even purely mental work can suffice as an outlet, as aptly expressedby the phrase "sinking one's teeth into a problem".
不管是什么工作， 喜歡自己工作的人總發(fā)現(xiàn)時間過得飛快。不管是鐵匠的體力活， 還是像科學(xué)家或藝術(shù)家從事的偏腦力的活， 他們在工作中都會投入激情。即便是純腦力活也足以讓他們揮灑激情，恰如短語表達的那樣， “全身心投入問題中”。
09 Eventually, everyone has to find a job and earn a living. Laborers are slaving away at a job they don't enjoy for a small monetary reward, waiting all day until they go home and play. But while laborers are counting down the hours, workers are energized and focused, taking optimum pleasure in the task at hand. By choosing a job that is both useful to society and personallyfulfilling, workers maintain a simultaneous sense of purpose and enthusiasm that improves their whole lives. So in the end, whatever job you choose, you must contend with this essential question: Will you be a laborer or a worker?
最終， 每個人都得找一份工作謀生。勞役者僅為了一點金錢報酬， 像奴隸一樣做自己并不喜歡的工作， 一天到晚等著回家玩樂。但是當(dāng)勞役者倒數(shù)著時間之時，工作者則干勁十足，全神貫注，從手頭的任務(wù)中享受到最大的快樂。他們通過選擇一份有益社會、成就自我的工作，懷揣著一種使命感和熱情，提升了自己的整個生活。因此到頭來， 不管你選擇什么工作，都必須面對這個根本問題： “你想做一名勞役者還是工作者？ ”
注：資料源于網(wǎng)絡(luò)，無意侵權(quán)。
