第2861期:Pets at work

It's becoming more and more popular to take a pet to work. We're looking at the advantages and disadvantages of pets at work. Now, you say pets, it's mainly dogs though, isn't it? Yes, yes.带宠物上班变得越来越流行。我们今天来看一下宠物在工作场所的利与弊。你说宠物，其实主要是指狗，对吧？是的，是的。Now, Nestlé's corporate headquarters in Gatwick, Richard, they've allowed dogs to come to work for a couple of years now, okay? The dogs aren't working, though. No, the dogs aren't working. And they claim three key benefits.现在，说到雀巢在盖特威克的公司总部，Richard，他们允许员工带狗上班已经有好几年了。狗当然不是来“上班”的。对，狗并不会工作。他们认为这带来了三个主要好处。Oh, right. Can you guess what those could be? Well, I think with dogs, the overall feeling in the office is maybe more relaxed, it relaxes the workforce. Yep, yep.哦，好的。你能猜到是什么吗？嗯，我觉得有狗在办公室，整体气氛会更轻松，有助于让员工放松。嗯，对。They say people are seen to be friendlier. Hmm, I can see that. Yeah, and more approachable if there's a dog present in the office.他们说，有狗在办公室时，人们看起来会更友善。嗯，我能理解。是的，而且也更容易接近。Hmm. Okay, something else? Friendlier but also maybe calms people down, they give the animals a stroke, something like that. So it lowers the heart rate.嗯。好，还有别的吗？更友好之外，可能还能让人冷静下来，比如摸摸狗之类的行为，会降低心率。Yeah, it does. Well done, Richard. They say the dogs lower stress.对，确实如此。说得好，Richard。他们说狗能减轻压力。Lower stress, exactly. That's what I was thinking. So yeah, lower heart rate and lower blood pressure.减轻压力，对，就是这个。我刚刚也在想。所以，心率更低，血压也更低。And also those who work on their own feel less lonely. Okay, yep, that's true. They say what happens is that someone will go up to someone who's got a dog ride, and they'll say, you know, can I take your dog for a walk? So they have these kind of brief positive exchanges with people they would not normally speak to.此外，那些独自工作的人会觉得没那么孤单。好的，是的，这是真的。他们说经常会有人走到养狗的同事身边，问能不能带狗出去散步？于是就会有一些简短但积极的互动，而这些人平时可能根本不会交谈。Right, yes, yes, I can see that. Now that's all well and good, Jackie, but also I can see a few negative things in the background. For a start, well, two things, the dogs not getting on with each other.好，是的，我能理解。但这些都是优点，Jackie。不过我也能想到一些潜在的缺点。首先，有两点，比如狗之间可能相处不好。Yes, okay, that's one thing that they've taken into consideration. They say that there's a three-month probationary period. Okay, so the dogs have to kind of pass the test.是的，他们确实考虑到了这一点。他们设定了三个月的试用期。也就是说狗必须通过这个“测试”。So if they don't get on with the other dogs, after a while, they're not allowed to come. And productivity. I know I've been in an office where people smoke, and people go out for a cigarette for five minutes, and they're gone for half an hour.如果一段时间后它和别的狗相处不好，那就不能再来了。还有生产力问题。我以前在某个办公室，人们说出去抽五分钟烟，结果半小时才回来。With dogs, maybe people have to take them out to do their business, and maybe they've gone for a walk for half an hour or even longer.带狗上班的话，人们可能要带它们出去“方便”，结果可能也是半小时甚至更久。Yeah, but I think they'll be at lunchtime, Richard. But also, you see, linked to that, people are doing more exercise because they're taking the dog for a walk.是的，但我想这些通常会在午餐时间进行，Richard。而且你看，从另一个角度讲，人们因为带狗散步反而运动更多了。Yes, I suppose so. And also, what about the smell or people who are allergic to dogs?嗯，我想也是。不过，那味道怎么办？还有对狗过敏的人呢？Very good point. They have considered all of these things, Richard, and there are areas where the dogs are not allowed to go.提得很好。他们也考虑到了这些问题，Richard，所以办公室里有一些区域是禁止狗进入的。There are specific no-go areas. But they're loose in other places? Yeah, loose in certain areas, yeah. But they're under control, Richard.有专门的禁入区域。那在其他地方就自由活动？是的，在一些区域可以自由活动。但仍然在控制范围内，Richard。They wouldn't be our dogs then, that's for sure. Oh, come on. You see, all she would do is sleep all day underneath the chair, which is where she is right now.那就绝对不是我们的狗了。哎呀，别这样。你知道她一整天都会在椅子底下睡觉，就像现在一样。Right, okay, I suppose so, yes. And Betty wouldn't pass, so she wouldn't be able to go.好吧，我想也是。而 Betty 肯定通不过试用期，所以她不能来。Yes, well, you've almost sold me on that, but I have to say I'm still a little bit... I'm not so sure.是的，你差不多说服我了，但我还是有点……不太肯定。I'd like to experience it first. Well, you're right, Richard. There were certainly plenty of reservations before they started to do this, right? How long have they been going now? For a couple of years now.我想先亲身体验一下。你说得没错，Richard。他们刚开始实施的时候也确实顾虑重重。那他们实行多久了？已经好几年了。But now when they ask staff how they feel about it, they are overwhelmingly positive about the experience and the staff are very happy, including people who said that they were allergic to dogs themselves.但现在，当他们询问员工的感受时，大家的反馈几乎全是正面的，员工都非常满意，包括那些自称对狗过敏的人。Well, that's fantastic. Well, we certainly allow dogs in our office and we shall continue to do that as well.太好了。那我们办公室当然也要继续允许带狗上班.