龔鵬程&布倫丹·伯切爾｜一周需要工作幾天？

龔鵬程對話海外學者第一百四十期：在后現代情境中，被技術統治的人類社會，只有強化交談、重建溝通倫理，才能獲得文化新生的力量。這不是誰的理論，而是每個人都應實踐的活動。龔鵬程先生遊走世界，并曾主持過“世界漢學研究中心”。我們會陸續推出“龔鵬程對話海外學者”系列文章，請他對話一些學界有意義的靈魂。范圍不局限于漢學，會涉及多種學科。以期深山長谷之水，四面而出。

布倫丹·伯切爾教授（Professor Brendan Burchell）

劍橋大學社會科學教授，考古學、人類學和社會學學位委員會主席。

布倫丹·伯切爾教授的第一個學位是1977-80年在伯明翰大學的心理學學位。之后他前往華威大學攻讀社會心理學博士學位，然后他在城市大學擔任了一年的職務，教授社會心理學、統計學和計算機課程。1985年，他的職業方向發生了變化，被任命為劍橋大學應用經濟學系的研究員，協助一個名為 "社會變化和經濟生活的倡議 "的項目，與經濟學家、社會心理學家和社會學家合作，研究勞動力市場的各個方面及其對個人的影響。1988年，伯切爾教授從應用經濟學系轉到人類、社會和政治科學學院擔任講師。

2011年，伯切爾被授予皮爾金頓獎，這是劍橋大學的優秀教學獎。

伯切爾最近的研究項目，包括勞動力市場經驗對心理健康的影響、工作強度和工作不安全感；過渡到自主創業的職業的預測因素和相關因素；管理者和員工對工作、兼職工作的不同看法，以及在工作條件和職業、不寧腿綜合癥和財務恐懼方面的性別差異。

他的工作在報紙和社交媒體上被廣泛報道。2019年，他的團隊在就業劑量項目上的工作得到了《衛報》、《獨立報》、ITV、《電訊報》、《地鐵報》和Vice等新網站的廣泛媒體報道。 他已經指導了25名博士生。

龔鵬程：你好。在勞動力市場中的一些工作經歷，例如工作沒有保障、工作強度大、破產和失業，對人的心理健康分別有怎樣的影響？這種影響會因人而異嗎？與當時所處的社會時期又有著怎么樣的關系？

布倫丹·伯切爾：龔教授，您好。關于就業與心理健康之間的關系，現在已經有了相當多的研究。 失業的人往往比有工作的人遭遇更多精神疾病的癥狀（例如焦慮和抑郁）。即便有工作的人，工作也會負面地影響他們的心理健康。例如，那些擔心失去工作的人，或者擔心他們的工作時間和工資可能會被削減的人，會明顯比那些有穩定工作的人的情況要差。 心理健康狀況不佳也與不得不長時間做高強度的工作有關。我們還發現，當在壓抑的環境中工作時— 例如，人們被欺負或不被尊重時，也會負面地影響心理健康狀況。

社會學家的一個重要主張是，許多情況都是由社會構建而成的，因此在不同的情況下會呈現不同的現象，這取決于，例如，國家的福利狀況或者工作的規范與準則。然而，隨著時間的推移，研究往往傾向于表現不同國家之間一些顯著的相似之處。

這項研究主要是基于所收集的數據中普遍的現象，但小規模的定性研究也確實表明，除了這些普遍的影響之外，也有很多例外。例如，有些人似乎能夠挺過失業，仍然過著健康的生活。

破產對心理健康的影響還沒有得到廣泛的研究。破產對心理健康的影響，不僅在業務上，而且經常與其他問題相關，如婚姻沖突。宣告最終破產這一舉動，是人們各種問題中恢復的一個開端，但實際情況還因人而異。

There is now a considerable body of research on the relationship between employment and mental health. We know that those people who are involuntarily excluded from employment tend to have considerably more symptoms of mental illness (for instance anxiety and depression) than those with jobs. And among those with jobs there are a number of features of those jobs that are associated with poor mental health. For instance, those who are worried about losing their job, or are worried that there might be cuts in the hours and pay that they are offered, are notably worse off than those with secure jobs. Having to work under constant time pressure (i.e. work intensification) is also associated with poor mental health. We also find poor mental health when the social environment in the workplace is toxic – for instance people feeling bullied or disrespected.

One of the big claims by Sociologists is that many situations are socially constructed, and therefore will play out differently in different situations depending on, for instance, the nature of the welfare state or the work ethic. However, the research tends more often than not to show remarkable similarities between countries and over time.

This research is based mainly on generalisations from large datasets, but smaller-scale qualitative studies do show that, as well as these general effects, there are plenty of exceptions. There are some individuals who seem to be able to survive unemployment and still lead healthy lives, for instance.

The mental health effects of bankruptcy have not been so widely studied. It is often associated with a wider breakdown not only in a business but often coinciding with other problems such as marital strife. The final declaration of bankruptcy can often be the start of the recovery from those problems but will vary enormously from case to case.

龔鵬程：在遇到不穩定的就業狀況或者在失業時，男性與女性的受到的心理影響是否有所差異？

布倫丹·伯切爾：早期關于就業和幸福的研究大多只針對男性，其基本假設是，男性的幸福更多地取決于養家糊口的角色，而女性的心理健康更多地取決于家庭狀況。但幾乎沒有證據能證明這一點，這也許很令人驚訝，因為男性和女性在工作生活中存在著巨大且持續的差異。

那么，如果男女之間沒有差異，是否有任何群體能夠比其他人更好地度過失業和勞動力市場的不穩定的時期呢？有一些類型的個體已經被認定。

首先，擁有強烈的職業操守（有時被誤稱為 “新教工作準則"）似乎會使人們更加依賴就業來獲得幸福，因此，那些不認為工作是可以塑造性格或展現長處的人，可以更好地應對失業。也有一些人具有非常強烈的價值觀，他們優先考慮在工作之外（如慈善、宗教或體育）取得成就，以至于他們認為就業妨礙了他們真正的生活目標。有些人似乎對逆境的適應力更強，他們把逆境當作挑戰，不像其他人那樣容易受到生活瑣事和壓力的影響。

Much of the early research on employment and wellbeing was only conducted on men, with an underlying assumption that men’s wellbeing is more dependent on their role as breadwinner whereas women’s mental health is more dependent on their domestic situation. But there is very little evidence for this, which is perhaps surprising given the large, persistent differences between the working lives of men and women.

So, if there aren’t differences between men and women, are there any groups of individuals who are able to ride out times of unemployment and labour market instability better than others? Some types of individuals have been identified.

First, having a strong work ethic (sometimes referred to misleadingly as the “Protestant work ethic”) seems to make people more reliant on employment for their wellbeing, and therefore those individuals who don’t think that work is an important thing for character building or to demonstrate virtue can cope better with unemployment. There are also some individuals with very strong values and who prioritise achievement through non-work (such as charity, religion or sport) so much so that they regard employment as getting in the way of their true goals in life. And finally there are people who seem to be more resilient to adversity, who treat adversity as challenge, who just don’t seem to be as vulnerable to adverse life events and stress as others.

龔鵬程：從心理健康和幸福的角度來看，一個人每周應該工作多少個小時呢？這與工作者的工作性質或個人生活有什么關系？

布倫丹·伯切爾：許多人認為，每周工作五天，每天工作八小時是很自然的事情，但事實肯定不是這樣。 在工業革命早期，許多工廠工人的工作時間要長得多，而且是一周工作六天；減少工作時長的過程是漫長的，而且還是工會斗爭來的結果。

大約100年前，人們曾樂觀地認為，工作時長的減少將持續下去，使人們得到解放，不再需要花如此多的時間去賺取僅僅足夠糊口的錢。畢竟隨著機械化的發展，每年的生產力都在提高，而這種生產力意味著，每年我們都應該能夠以更少的成本生產更多的產品。但是，那些關于工作周將持續大幅減少的預測并沒有成為現實。幾十年來，減少工作時長（WTR）是很多人的首要任務，但依舊遲遲沒有進展。

全球的生產率每年可量化增長約1.5%-2%，在指定時間內，員工可以生產出更多產品了。這種進步歸功于更好的技術、更好的管理以及受過更好教育的員工。如果把這種進展投入到減少工作時長上面，我們在21世紀就可以每周只工作一到兩天。但很顯然這種情況并沒有發生，很多人仍然在做著長時間的工作。工作時長沒有得到減少的原因有很多，包括我們的消費主義文化、并且還有許多人很喜歡工作，享受著通過工作獲得的地位。

我們已經確定，就業會使人有更好的精神狀態，但是一個人每周需要做多少有償的工作才能從就業中獲得益處呢？最近的實證研究表明，即使人們每周只工作一天，也能對心理健康產生極大的促進作用。因此，減少工作時間可能會帶來很多好處。減少工作時長還有其他好處，包括可以減少二氧化碳排放，大部分的二氧化碳排放來自于工作場所，工資的上漲會直接導致消費的增加，這也是使溫室氣體增加的一個重要因素。如果成年人的工作時間減少了，他們或許可以成為更好的父母和更好的公民。

所有的這些都引發了許多猜測，工作成為了我們生活中的一個重要組成部分，那么當機器人和人工智能將我們從工作中解放出來，現實會變得大不相同，未來的世界可能會變得更好。

Many people assume that there is something ‘natural’ about working eight hours a day for five days a week, but this certainly isn’t the case. Early in the industrial revolution many factory workers were putting in much longer hours, and for six days a week; reductions in working time came slowly, and only as a result of trade union battles.

About 100 years ago there was some optimism that the reduction in working hours would continue, liberating humankind from devoting such a big part of their lives to just earning enough to live. After all, each year productivity increases with mechanisation and a that productivity means that, each year, we should be able to produce a bit more for a bit less. But those predictions of continued, large reductions in the working week were not met by reality. Working Time Reduction (WTR) has been a priority for many individuals for many decades now, but progress has almost stalled.

Year on year there is a global increase in productivity quantifiable to about 1.5%-2% per year; each employee produces more in a given time period. This progress is generally attributable to better technology and a better-managed and better-educated workforce. If this dividend was put into reduced working hours, we could easily be working just one or two days a week in the 21st century. Clearly that hasn’t happened, and many people still work long hours. There are probably many reasons for this failure to substantially reduce working time, ranging from our consumerist culture to the fact that many people enjoy their jobs and the status that goes with them.

We have already established that employment is associated with better mental health, but just how much paid work does one need each week to get the benefits of being employed? Recent empirical studies have shown that even one day’s work a week gives all the boost to mental health of paid work, suggesting that there might be much to be gained from reducing working time. Other benefits might include a reduction in climate-changing CO2 emissions – much CO2 is emitted in the workplace, and increased earnings feed directly into increased consumption, also a big factor in greenhouse gasses. And if adults spend less time at work they might be better parents and better citizens.

All this feeds into much speculation about how the world might be a better place in the future when robotics and artificial intelligence liberates us from work being such a big component of out lives, but like so many predictions about the future, the reality might be quite different.

龔鵬程：雇主和員工可以采取哪些措施來避免心理健康問題？

布倫丹·伯切爾：作為人類，我們不能只適應我們所處的環境， 我們也可以改變所處的環境。我們在21世紀所看到的變化之一是，每個人對自己的心理健康有了更多的關注，并且意識到了賺更多的錢不一定會讓我們更快樂。也許通過全球的新冠病毒給我們的工作生活帶來的沖擊，使許多人意識到他們的生活可以從根本上得到改善。比如說人們會主動選擇每周減少工作幾個小時，利用空閑時間去做一些真正使自己身心更健康的事情。可以是為了讓自己更健康而去做運動，也可以是以符合政治或宗教價值觀的方式為社會做貢獻。

在我們的社會中，我們仍然受到現實中經濟和文化規范的巨大影響，但我們可以通過自己的努力改善自己生活和心理健康。

雇主們也可以發揮很大作用。在如今，大多數人的工作環境比他們的祖輩要安全得多，也更愉悅。這是由于政府立法部門和工會的談判給雇主帶來的壓力。 但是，雇主也是可以帶來改變的。隨著心理健康在當代話題中的顯著地位，許多雇主將工作中的幸福感置于純粹的經濟考慮之上。這可能是因為他們相信快樂和健康的工人更有生產力，或者是因為他們意識到，為了招聘到最好的員工，他們需要在工作場所優先考慮健康問題，而不是上漲工資。 或者，在某些情況下，雇主真的想把改善員工的心理健康本身作為一個目標。 所有這些動機似乎都在工作場所的改善中發揮了作用，例如每周工作四天的趨勢。

As human beings, we don’t just react to the situations we find ourselves in, we can change those situations. One of the changes that we have seen in the 21st century is perhaps a better understanding by individuals about their own psychological wellbeing and realising that earning more money doesn’t necessarily make us happier. Perhaps the shocks to our working lives brought about by the global CV-19 pandemic has made many people realise that their lives could be fundamentally better. For instance, some people have decided to prioritise working fewer hours per week in order to free up time to do things that make them healthier in mind and body. That might be doing exercise to get fitter or contributing to society in a way that is consistent with deeply held political or religious values.

We are still hugely influenced by the economic reality and cultural norms in our societies, but we can also be agents who improve our own lives and mental health.

We are still hugely influenced by the economic reality and cultural norms in our societies, but we can also be agents who improve our own lives and mental health.

Employers can also make a big difference. Today, most people work in much safer and more pleasant environments than their grandparents. In part this has been due to pressures put on employers by government legislation and trade union negotiations. But employers are also agents who can bring about change. With the foregrounding of mental health in contemporary discourses, many employers have prioritised wellbeing at work over purely financial considerations. This may have been because they believe that happy and healthy workers are more productive, or because they realise that in order to recruit the best employees they need to prioritise wellbeing in the workplace over maximising salaries. Or, in some cases, employers genuinely want to improve the mental health of their employees as an end in itself. All of these motivations seem to play a part in improvements in workplaces, such as the trend towards a four-day week.

龔鵬程

龔鵬程，1956年生于臺北，臺灣師范大學博士，當代著名學者和思想家。著作已出版一百九十多種。

辦有大學、出版社、雜志社、書院等，并規劃城市建設、主題園區等多處。講學于世界各地。并在北京、上海、杭州、臺北、巴黎、日本、澳門等地舉辦過書法展。現為美國龔鵬程基金會主席、《龔鵬程國際學刊》出版人。