実践ビジネス英語 ディクテーション (8/31,9/1)

こんにちは。NHKラジオ「実践ビジネス英語」”Talk the Talk”のディクテーションです。

Lesson 10のテーマは、‘Work Smarter, Not Harder’（懸命にではなく、賢く働こう）でした。Vignetteでは、長時間労働や厳しい上下関係は時代遅れになったこと、賢い働き方の意味などが話題になりました。

生産性（productivity）を上げるための具体的な方法として、

 ・デスクの整理整頓

 ・メールは分類し、なるべく一括処理

 ・1日のTo-do Listの作成

 ・午後の仮眠

 ・知的訓練としての読書の習慣

などが挙げられました。

“Talk the Talk”では、賢く働くための工夫などについて話されています。取り上げています。

Work Smarter, Not Harder

（S: 杉田敏先生　H: Heather Howardさん）

S: Our current vignette begins with Ueda Shota describing how Japanese workplaces are changing.

Specifically, companies are taking steps to actively discourage excessive overtime.

Have you ever worked at a place that demanded too much overtime, Heather?

H: No. I’ve been in Japan about 26 years now since autumn1992, and I’ve been very fortunate in that respect.

I did work at one company that had an intensive busy season for a few months each year, but that was unavoidable.

It was related to the end of each fiscal year.

We had to put in pretty long hours during that period but not during the other months.

And my other jobs have all been good about overtime.

I’ve certainly worked late at different times, but never because I was forced to.

In fact, I even had one boss who ordered me to go home.

I think I mentioned this a few years ago, but I was pushing myself pretty hard on a project at the time.

As I was staying late yet another night, my boss came to my desk and said, “Heather, I’m not suggesting you go home. I’m telling you.”

What’s been your experience, Mr. Sugita?

S: I’m amazed, frankly that the workplace culture in Japan is changing so radically.

It used to be considered a real virtue, a sign of a dedicated corporate warrior, to work incredibly long hours.

For about eight to ten years in my earlier career, for instance, I used to get to work at 5 in the morning.

I even had a packed suitcase in my office, ready to travel anywhere in the world at a moment’s notice.

Now it’s considered almost antisocial to keep such a lifestyle.

H: True. These days, people would probably be expressing concern and telling you to slow down, life’s too short, etc.

S: The vignette goes on to talk about ways of working smarter including taking breaks at regular intervals during the day to recharge.

H: I like to take short walks too, though I generally stay inside my building.

Sometimes I go to the convenience store in the building for a drink, or to the bookstore to browse through the magazines.

Other times I stay at my desk and just read a non-work-related book for five or ten minutes.

Of course not every company allows that.

Sometimes I take a nap during lunch if I’m especially tired.

We have relaxation rooms at the company with reclining chairs and individual cubicles, though I’ve found dosing in the coffee lounge works fine too.

What do you recommend, Mr. Sugita, about organization?

S: I had a boss once who used a “one-touch” approach.

When dealing with emails, letters, and internal requests and messages, he would examine each thing once and then follow the “do, delegate, delete or file” principle.

He wasn’t very good at the delegating option.

He hoarded a lot of work and just wouldn’t let go of it.

He was pretty good at what he did, but he didn’t give his subordinates a chance to grow and shine.

But he was excellent with filing.

He used to say, if you don’t find the information in three minutes, it might as well not exist.

I learned a lot from him about filing.

That’s another way to work smart.

H: And it makes such a psychological difference, I’ve found.

Not too long ago, I bought some organizational items for my purse, for example, to keep my cards, money, etc. in neater order.

Being able to reach into my purse and immediately find what I’m looking for, and to see everything so neat and tidy, makes me feel much more focused and in control.

お疲れさまでしたー。

本日もお読みくださり、ありがとうございます♪

May something wonderful happen to you today!