半價電影票、“騎車上班” 計劃、健身卡等早已成為許多公司用來優待員工的常見福利。但這些福利真的適合所有員工嗎？如今，科技被用來幫助企業為員工們量身定做適合他們的個人福利。“隨身英語” 聊一聊科技給企業員工福利帶來的變化。

Vocabulary: work 詞匯: 工作

Going to work can be a slog, especially if your job is full of tedious tasks and pointless meetings. Obviously, work is necessary to earn an income, and if you get good job satisfaction it’s a bonus! But what can make it more worthwhile are the extra perks that your employer offers you as a reward for your loyalty and commitment.

Employee benefits are commonplace these days. Traditionally, these have included a good pension and extra days off work. But when a job used to be for life, there wasn’t much incentive to try and keep staff. Now millennials look to leave their jobs within the first two years, and when they are seeking a position, they want to know the benefits they’ll get on top of their pay. These include half-price cinema tickets, cycle to work schemes and gym passes.

But these perks come at a cost to an employer, and now technology is being used to discover if and when they offer value for money. Writing for the BBC, Jessica Bown says “Emerging technologies such as data analytics, chatbots, and wearables can help employers know which benefits resonate with employees.” The idea is to avoid wasting money on things that don’t get used and enable a company to tailor what it can offer to attract and retain the right staff.

As an example, at merchant bank, Close Brothers, AI has been used to develop chatbots that can help employees to find information on subjects ranging from mental health to saving for retirement at any time. And Microsoft has developed software to help businesses track their employee’s wellbeing needs. Anna Rasmussen, founder of Open Blend, told the BBC “It shows companies what their employees need to stay motivated and reach their full potential in real-time.” Insurance company Vitality offer wearable technology to track employees’ movements. Staff can earn ‘rewards’ by having their activity tracked. A study found that by measuring participant’s performance, they did the equivalent of 4.8 extra days of activity per month.

It seems that if used in the right way, technology can provide greater engagement between an employee and the company. That can lead to a happier, healthier and committed work force. But human resources experts warn against relying solely on tech for deciding on employee benefits provision. Greater understanding of new technology and how it’s used is needed, they say.

詞匯表

slog 費力的事情，苦活
task 任務
income 收入
job satisfaction 工作滿意度
bonus 額外的好處
perk （工作）津貼，額外福利
loyalty 忠實，忠誠
commitment 投入，奉獻
employee benefit 員工福利
pension 養老金
for life 一生的，終生的
incentive 激勵
position 職位
cycle to work scheme 英政府通過抵稅優惠鼓勵企業員工健康環保出行的 “騎車上班” 福利計劃
value for money 物有所值
resonate with 與……引起共鳴
tailor 專門制定，適應……的需要
retain 保留，保住
retirement 退休
wellbeing 幸福
motivated 有積極性的，充滿動力的
full potential 最高潛力
engagement 互動
human resources 人力資源

測驗與練習

1.  閱讀課文并回答問題。

1. How long does the article say millennials stay in a job?

2. How does technology help employers retain the right staff?

3. What technology is being used at Close Brothers bank to help employees ask about their pensions anytime day or night?

4. True or false? Insurance company, Vitality, offer smart watches as an employee benefit for its staff.

5. Which word in the text means 'something that encourages a person to do something’?

2. 請在不參考課文的情況下完成下列練習。選擇一個意思恰當的單詞填入句子中的空格處。

1. My boss said I couldn’t go home until all my _______ had been completed.

perks                          tasks                            slog                               commitment

2. With a free phone upgrade and unlimited data, I think my new contract offers _______.

money value              value of money             value for money            valued money

3. Following my pay rise, I feel very _______ to do a good job!

commitment              engagement                  wellbeing                       motivated

4. I love helping people at work especially when they say ‘thank you’ - it gives me great _______.

job satisfaction          job satisfying                 job satisfactions             satisfaction job

5. The training is great. The instructors _______ the courses to the needs of the students.

resonate                    tasks                             slog                                 tailor

答案

1.  閱讀課文并回答問題。  

1. How long does the article say millennials stay in a job?
Research has found that millennials look to leave their jobs within the first two years.

2. How does technology help employers retain the right staff?
Technology helps companies to see which employee benefits don’t get used and enable them to tailor what it can offer to attract and retain the right staff.

3. What technology is being used at Close Brothers bank to help employees ask about their pensions anytime day or night?
It is using chatbots that can help employees to find information on subjects ranging from mental health to saving for retirement at any time.

4. True or false? Insurance company, Vitality, offer smart watches as an employee benefit for its staff.
False. The company is offering smart watches to track employee’s activity.

5. Which word in the text means 'something that encourages a person to do something’?
Incentive. (“When a job used to be for life there wasn’t much incentive to try and keep staff.”)

2. 請在不參考課文的情況下完成下列練習。選擇一個意思恰當的單詞填入句子中的空格處。 

1. My boss said I couldn’t go home until all my tasks had been completed.

2. With a free phone upgrade and unlimited data, I think my new contract offers value for money.

3. Following my pay rise, I feel very motivated to do a good job!

4. I love helping people at work especially when they say ‘thank you’ - it gives me great job satisfaction.

5. The training is great. The instructors tailor the courses to the needs of the students.