经济学人 | 为什么公司需要员工去休假？
The swimming trunks have been dug out of the chest of drawers. The beach shoes (still caked with last year’s sand) have been retrieved from the shed. Like tens of millions of others, Bartleby is about to go on his annual holiday.
泳裤已经从抽屉里翻了出来。沙滩鞋（鞋上仍沾有去年结块的沙子）也已从库房里找了出来。和其他千千万万人一样，巴特比即将开始他的年休假。
A vacation gives workers a chance to reharge their mental batteries. For Bartleby, this means reading books that do not have titles like “Beyond Performance 2.0” (sadly, a genuine example of a management tome).
假期给了员工一个重新充电的机会。对于巴特比来说，假期意味着无需再阅读那些书名诸如“业绩突破2.0”（遗憾的是，这真的是一本管理学巨作）之类的书籍了。
Heading to a new location allows employees to clear their thoughts. After all, there is more to life than spreadsheets and sales forecasts. To misquote Timothy Leary, the 1960s hippie guru, a holiday is time to “turn off and drop out”.
前往一个全新的地方可以让员工理清思路。毕竟，生活不仅仅是电子表格和销售预测。错误地引用20世纪60年代嬉皮士大师蒂莫西·利里的话来说，假期就是“关掉手机，脱离工作”的时候。
It also means workers get more sleep by escaping the tyranny of the early-morning alarm. In addition, they no longer suffer the agonies of the daily commute: the cramped railway carriages or gridlocked roads.
这也意味着，员工们可以逃脱清晨闹钟的烦扰，从而睡个懒觉。此外，他们也无需经受日常通勤的痛苦了：狭窄的地铁车厢或拥堵的道路。
And best of all, there are no meetings to endure—no need to sit with a vaguely interested expression on your face while time seems to slow to a crawl. In short, holidays reduce stress. And in the long run, stress makes workers less likely to perform well.
最重要的是，无需再忍受会议了——无需佯装着兴趣十足的样子度日如年地坐在那里了。简而言之，假期可以减轻压力。从长远来看，压力不利于员工发挥良好的工作表现。
Indeed, just as employees need a break from the workplace, companies sometimes need a break from their employees.
事实上，正如员工需要离开公司休息一样，公司有时也要离开员工休息一下。
After a trading scandal at Société Générale, a French bank, in 2008, Britain’s then regulator, the Financial Services Authority, recommended that all traders take a two-week break at some point in the year. The aim was to ensure that any unusual dealing patterns would be discovered while the miscreant was away from their desk.
2008年，在法国兴业银行爆出交易丑闻后，英国当时的监管机构金融服务管理局建议所有的交易员在一年之中抽个时间休息两周。其目的就是为了确保罪犯离开了他的办公桌，从而得以发现异常交易模式的蛛丝马迹。
Senior managers can also benefit from seeing what happens when their juniors head to the beach. Does office morale improve as soon as a mid-level manager disappears? If so, this suggests that he or she is not running the department well. Does an underling impress when standing in for their boss? In that case, they may be overdue a promotion.
公司的高层管理者也可以在下属前往海滩度假后从公司的所见所闻中有所收获。当中层管理者离开后，办公室里的士气会有所提高吗？如果确实如此，这意味着他（或她）没能很好地管理这个部门。当下属暂时顶替其上司时给人留下了深刻的印象吗？如果情况属实，他们或许早该升职了。
Some Americans are reluctant to take a long holiday for fear that their employer will find they can easily manage without them. None of that nonsense at The Economist.
一些美国人之所以不愿意休长假，是因为他们担心雇主会发现公司没有他们在一样能好好运转。这对于《经济学人》来说则毫无意义。
Work can be irritating but, as any unemployed person will tell you, it is better than the alternative. It gives purpose to people’s days and, on occasion, can even be fun. But not every day. Some days it is better to be reading a paperback. By a pool, in the sunshine. Enjoy.
工作有时可能会令人恼火，但正如每位失业者会告诉你的那样，它总比失业要好。工作赋予了人们生活的意义，有时甚至还能带来乐趣。但并非每天都如此。有时，在泳池边、沐浴在阳光下，读上一本书，尽情享受生活吧。
