The Case for Good Jobs — and Why They’re Good for Business Too | Zeynep Ton | TED

翻译人员: Tianyun Liu 校对人员: Yanyan Hong

I am so excited to be here

我很高兴能

to talk to you about work that is not glamorous,

来这里和你谈谈那些不光彩的工作，

like cleaning bathrooms,

比如打扫浴室、

shelving tomatoes, picking up trash

摆放西红柿、捡垃圾，

or bathing the elderly.

或给老人洗澡。

During the pandemic,

在疫情期间，

we called the workers who do this work “essential”

我们称从事这项工作的人是 “必不可少的”，

because our world literally stops without them.

因为没有他们， 我们的世界就会停止。

Remember how we used to clap for them?

还记得我们以前是怎么为他们鼓掌的吗？

You know, we've been talking a lot about AI robots,

你知道，我们一直在谈论 人工智能机器人，

but this work is also unlikely to be automated.

但这项工作也不太可能自动化。

So these jobs are here to stay.

因此，这些工作将继续存在。

But a lot of people can do this work.

但是很多人可以做这项工作。

So the wages that are set by the market are low.

因此，市场设定的工资很低。

In fact, market pay is often unlivable pay.

实际上，光靠市场薪酬往往 是无法生存的。

And tens of millions of essential workers live in a vicious cycle of poverty

数千万基本工人生活在贫困

and lack dignity,

和缺乏尊严的恶性循环中，

which also hurts their companies.

这也伤害了他们的公司。

Take Janet,

以一家

a full-time hourly manager at a retail chain.

零售连锁店的全职小时经理珍妮特为例。

Even as a manager,

即使是经理，

her low income didn't pay the bills for her and her son,

她的低收入也无法 为她和儿子支付账单，

so she had to have a second job.

因此她必须找第二份工作。

But she couldn't hold on to her second job

但是她无法坚持第二份工作，

because her work schedule changed all the time.

因为她的工作时间表一直在变化。

One day she might work from 5 pm to 9 pm.

有一天她可能会 从下午 5 点 工作到晚上 9 点。

The next morning, her shift might start at 5 am.

第二天早上， 她的轮班可能从凌晨 5 点开始。

Just imagine her life and imagine how little time she had with her son.

想象一下她的生活， 想象一下她和儿子在一起的时间有多少。

"My life is always in a turmoil," Janet told me.

珍妮特告诉我：“我的生活总是 动荡不安。”

She couldn't sleep.

她无法入睡。

Amazingly, though, she still cared so much about doing a good job at work.

但令人惊讶的是， 她仍然非常关心在工作中的状态。

But even there, she failed in front of her customers all the time.

但即便如此， 她一直在客户面前失态。

One day she said to me customers were yelling at her

有一天她对我说， 顾客对她大喊大叫，

because the checkout line was too long.

因为结账队伍太长了。

Some walked off, leaving their full baskets.

有些人走开了， 留下了满满的篮子。

The line was too long

排队太长了，

because there weren't enough workers at the store.

因为商店里没有足够的员工。

And so many of the workers who were there were new,

而且在那里的许多员工 都是新来的，

so they were slow and made a lot of mistakes.

所以他们行动迟缓， 犯了很多错误。

They put the wrong product on the wrong shelf

他们把错误的产品放在了 错误的架子上，

or left expired milk in the fridge.

或者把过期的牛奶留在了冰箱里。

When customers caught mistakes at the checkout,

当顾客在结账时发现错误时，

cashiers had to call Janet for help every time

收银员每次都必须打电话给珍妮特 寻求帮助，

because they weren't trusted to adjust prices

因为他们无法调整价格，

or even solve the smallest problems.

甚至无法解决最小的问题。

Controls like that drove people crazy

这样的控制让人们发疯了，

and wasted everyone's time.

浪费了每个人的时间。

Janet begged for more staff,

珍妮特恳求增加员工，

but her store's poor performance meant even a lower labor budget,

但她的商店表现不佳意味着 劳动力预算甚至更低，

which meant more mistakes and higher turnover.

这意味着更多的错误 和更少的营业额。

So she was always starting from square one

因此，她总是从头开始

rehiring, retraining,

重新招聘、再培训，

more firefighting.

更加努力。

You know, these dynamics are so common in labor-intensive services

你知道，这些动态在零售商店、餐馆、 呼叫中心、疗养院、酒店

like retail stores, restaurants, call centers, nursing homes, hotels,

等劳动密集型服务中非常普遍，

that it seems like it's the only way for companies to keep their costs down.

这似乎是公司降低成本的唯一途径。

But it's not.

但事实并非如此。

You know, it's true,

你知道，的确，

Janet’s company isn’t spending the money on labor,

珍妮特的公司没有把钱花在劳动力上，

but they are spending the money --

而是把钱花在了——

on rehiring,

用于再招聘、

retraining,

再培训、

on lost sales from long lines,

货架空置和服务

empty shelves and poor service.

不佳造成的销售损失。

On all the wasted products and wasted time.

在所有浪费的产品 和浪费的时间上。

Now I'm an operations management professor at MIT.

现在我是麻省理工学院的运营 管理教授。

We can't stand waste or inefficiency in operations.

我们无法忍受运营中的 浪费或效率低下。

So that's the reason that I began researching service operations

因此，这就是我

25 years ago.

25 年前开始 研究服务运营的原因。

But then when I met hardworking people like Janet

但是后来当我遇到 像珍妮特这样辛勤工作

who weren't making it,

但没有成功的人时，

their struggles got to my heart.

他们的挣扎浮现在我的心中。

Especially as an immigrant who believes in the American Dream.

尤其是作为一个相信 美国梦的移民。

So figuring out how to improve company performance and jobs

因此，弄清楚如何提高 公司绩效和工作

became my work mission.

成了我的工作使命。

Now luckily, some companies have already figured this out.

现在幸运的是， 一些公司已经弄清楚了这一点。

So Jim Sinegal, Costco’s cofounder and my business hero,

因此，好市多的联合创始人、 我的商业英雄吉姆·西内加尔（Jim Sinegal）

visits my class.

拜访了我的课堂。

My MBA students are always so curious.

我的工商管理硕士学生总是很好奇。

They say, how can Costco, the world's third-largest retailer,

他们说，全球第三大零售商好市多怎么能

afford to pay its workers so much more than other retailers

负担得起比其他零售商高 得多的工资，

and provide its customers the lowest prices?

为客户提供最低的价格？

Here is how much Costco pays compared to other retailers.

以下是 Costco 与其他零售商 相比支付的金额。

Huge difference.

差异巨大。

And Jim's answer is always the same.

吉姆的答案总是一样的。

He says, "Paying your fellow workers well isn't altruism.

他说：“向同事支付丰厚的 薪水不是利他主义。

It's good business."

这是个好生意。”

Costco's employee turnover is a fraction of the retail average...

Costco 的员工流失率 只是零售平均水平的一小部分……

eight percent versus 60 percent.

百分之八对比 60%。

And its 20-year stock performance is so much higher than other retailers

而且其 20 年的股票表现 远高于其他零售商

or S and P 500.

或标普 500 指数。

You might say, yeah, but Costco is an exception,

你可能会说，是的， 但是 Costco 是个例外，

Jim Sinegal is brave and brilliant,

吉姆·西内加尔勇敢而聪明，

and that's the only reason they can keep their costs low and wages high.

这是他们能够保持 低成本和高工资的唯一原因。

But it's not just Costco.

但这不只是 Costco 。

Others, like Mercadona,

其他公司，例如

Spain's largest supermarket chain;

西班牙最大的连锁超市 Mercadona ； 设有加油站的连锁便利店

QuikTrip, a convenience store chain with gas stations,

QuikTrip，

have also turned what's typically considered low-wage,

也将通常被认为是低工资、

high-turnover jobs

高流失率的工作

into good jobs.

转化为好工作。

Now these companies all pay their workers more

现在，这些公司 都向员工支付了更多工资，

because absence of sufficient pay guarantees high employee turnover.

因为缺乏足够的薪酬 可以保证较高的员工流失率。

But pay alone is not going to make Janet's job a good one.

但是，光靠薪水并不能使 珍妮特的工作成为一份好工作。

And if all Janet's company did was to pay workers more

而且，如果珍妮特的公司所做的只是在

without raising their productivity,

不提高员工生产率的情况下 向员工支付更多工资，

then that would mean either higher prices or lower profits.

那将意味着价格上涨 或利润降低。

Higher pay requires higher productivity.

更高的薪水需要更高的生产率。

And higher productivity requires better work.

而且，更高的生产率 需要更好的工作。

Here is how work at Janet's store would be different

以下是如果珍妮特的商店经营得更像

if her store operated more like Costco or QuikTrip or Mercadona.

Costco、QuikTrip 或 Mercadona， 她的商店的工作会有何不同。

Everyone's priority would be the customer.

每个人的首要任务都是客户。

So when there's a long line at the checkout,

因此，当收银台排长队时，

someone shelving merchandise would rush over to open a cash register

货架上的人会冲过来打开收银机，

because they would be cross-trained.

因为他们会接受交叉培训。

When there are problems,

当出现问题时，

experienced cashiers would be trusted to solve them quickly.

货架上经验丰富的收银员 会迅速解决问题。

No need to call Janet for help.

没必要打电话给珍妮特寻求帮助。

They would also work fast,

他们还能高效工作，

not just because they have expertise,

这不仅是因为他们拥有专业知识，

but because corporate would do everything it can to simplify their work.

还因为企业会尽其所能简化工作。

Janet's store would also operate with slack,

珍妮特的商店也将保持宽松的运营，

meaning having enough staff to take care of the customer,

这意味着要有足够的员工 来照顾顾客，

minimize mistakes,

最大限度地减少错误，

and do improvement.

并进行改进。

But operating with slack wouldn't work if there are slackers.

但是，如果有懒鬼（Slackers）， 使用管理 slack 平台进行操作就行不通了。

Right?

对吧？

So the standards would be high,

因此，标准会很高，

and with turnover low,

在流失率低的情况下，

Janet would have time to develop her team and improve performance.

珍妮特将有时间发展 自己的团队并提高绩效。

Now if you think about the work at the store,

现在，如果你想想商店的工作，

it's still not glamorous.

它仍然不迷人。

And Janet would still go home physically exhausted --

珍妮特还是会精疲力尽地回家——

but not defeated.

但不会被打击到。

She would feel valued,

她会感到被重视，

and she would take pride in creating a lot of value.

而且她会为创造很多价值而感到自豪。

So what makes a job a good one,

因此，对员工和公司而言，

both for workers and companies

使工作成为好工作的

is not this or that thing, but it's a system.

不是这个或那个东西， 而是一个系统。

It's a system with two interdependent elements.

它是一个由两个 相互依赖的元素组成的系统。

One is investment in people:

一是对人员的投资：

pay, schedules, career paths, standards.

薪酬、日程安排、职业道路、标准。

The other is work that's productive and motivating with simplification,

另一个是通过简化、

empowerment, cross-training and operating with slack.

赋权、交叉培训和使用 slack 进行操作来提高工作效率和激励性的工作。

I want to make this system,

我想让这个我称之

which I call the good job system,

为好工作制度的制度成为常态，

the norm, not the exception.

而不是例外。

So to do that,

因此，为此，

I started a nonprofit called the Good Jobs Institute.

我创办了一家名为 “Good Jobs Institue” 的非营利组织。

And I've been working with my former MBA students,

我一直在和我以前的工商管理硕士学生合作，

and together we have now worked with more than 30 companies

现在我们已经与 30 多家公司合作，

whose leaders wanted to adopt this system to win with their customers.

这些公司的领导者希望采用这种系统 来赢得客户的青睐。

And we have seen small and large companies in different industries do it.

而且我们已经看到不同行业的 大小公司都这样做。

A huge part of their success

他们成功的很大一部分

was their leaders' ability to imagine the workings of their own good-job system,

是他们的领导人能够想象 自己优秀的工作制度运作方式，

and have the courage to adopt it.

并有勇气采用这种制度。

Let me give you an example.

让我给你举个例子。

In 2017, John Furner became the CEO of Sam’s Club,

2017年，约翰·弗纳（John Furner） 成为山姆会员的首席执行官，

which is Walmart's membership-based model that competes with Costco.

山姆会员是沃尔玛的会员制 模式，与 Costco 竞争。

Now, at the time, Sam’s Club was struggling

现在，当时， 山姆会员在劳动生产率、

and way behind Costco in terms of labor productivity,

会员满意度、销售

member satisfaction, sales, employee turnover.

和员工流失率方面处于困境， 远远落后于 Costco。

John was Sam’s Club’s 14th CEO in 34 years.

约翰是山姆会员 34 年来的 第 14 位首席执行官。

Imagine the performance pressure, right,

想象一下在短时间内

to show results in a short amount of time.

展现结果的压力。

One of the earliest changes that John wanted to make

约翰最早想做出的改变之一

was to raise pay five to seven dollars an hour

是将切肉、在面包店工作、

from a basis of 15 dollars an hour,

领导团队的工人每小时 15 美元的工资

for workers who cut meat,

从每小时 15 美元

who worked in bakery, who led teams.

提升五到七美元。

But John got pushback.

但是约翰遭到了阻力。

HR said, "Don't do it.

人力资源部说：“别这么做。

Last time we raised pay, it didn't reduce turnover."

上次我们提高工资时， 并没有减少流失率。”

Finance said, "Don't do it.

金融说：“别这么做。

It's not in the budget."

这不在预算中。”

There was no way for John to be able to prove with numbers

约翰不可能用数字证明， 如果没有系统的其余部分，

that higher pay

仅靠更高的薪水

and higher pay alone, without the rest of the system

和更高的薪水就能

would pay off.

得到回报。

But he was certain

但是他确信，

that Sam’s Club couldn’t be a great company if they didn’t raise pay.

如果山姆会员不提高工资， 他们就不可能成为一家优秀的公司。

You see, to be loved by their customers, their members,

你看，要获得客户和成员的喜爱，

they had to have a motivated, capable team

他们必须拥有一支积极进取、 有能力的团队，

that can set up for success.

能够为成功做好准备。

That wasn't possible without reducing turnover

如果不减少流失率，

and reducing turnover wasn't possible without raising pay,

这是不可能的，如果不提高工资， 就不可能减少流失率，

because people were leaving for jobs that paid a couple more dollars an hour.

因为人们要去找每小时多付几美元的工作。

So just like Jim Sinegal,

因此，就像吉姆·西内加尔一样，

John could connect the dots between pay, turnover,

约翰可以将薪酬、流失率、

productive work and competitiveness.

生产性工作和竞争力联系起来。

So he and his team took a leap of faith.

因此，他和他的团队坚定了信心。

They raised pay,

他们提高了工资，

and they did the hard, bottom-up work to improve productivity and jobs.

并做了自下而上的艰苦工作 来提高生产率和就业机会。

When they announced the first pay raises,

当他们宣布首次加薪时，

some employees cried.

一些员工哭了。

You know, for workers like Janet,

你知道，对于像珍妮特这样的工人来说，

a couple more dollars an hour

每小时多几美元是

is the difference between working one or two jobs.

做一两份工作的区别。

It's the difference between getting enough sleep or not.

这是睡眠是否充足的区别。

Having a stable schedule

有稳定的日程安排

is the difference between spending time with your son or not.

是是否能够和儿子共度时光的区别。

And for Sam’s Club,

对于山姆会员而言，

within the first two years,

在最初的两年中， 以每小时销售量衡量的

labor productivity, measured as units sold per hour,

劳动生产率

increased 16 percent.

提高了 16％。

Employee turnover dropped 25 percent for hourly workers,

小时工的员工流失率下降了 25％，

even more for managers.

经理的员工流失率下降幅度更大。

Sales increased 25 percent without opening new stores.

在没有开设新门店的情况下， 销售额增长了 25％。

This type of performance improvement fueled more investment in people

这种绩效改善 推动了对人员的更多投资

and record membership growth.

和创纪录的会员增长。

The once-struggling chain is now a growth engine

这家曾经陷入困境的连锁店现在 是其母公司沃尔玛的

for its parent company, Walmart,

效益增长引擎,

which too is on a good-jobs journey.

沃尔玛也正在走上良好的就业之旅。

And John Furner got promoted to be the CEO of Walmart USA.

约翰·弗纳被提升 为美国沃尔玛的首席执行官。

I'm talking a lot about retail,

我经常谈论零售，

but it's not just retail.

但这不仅仅是零售。

At Good Jobs Institute,

在 Good Jobs Institute，

we've seen similar results, higher productivity, lower turnover,

我们看到了类似的结果， 更高的生产率，

more love from customers and higher sales

更低的营业额， 更多的客户喜爱，餐厅、客服中心，

at restaurants, call centers,

甚至是害虫防治公司的销售额

even at a pest control company.

也有所提高。

The success of these courageous early adopters, I hope,

我希望，这些勇敢的 早期采用者的成功

will make it a lot easier for others to make a bet on their people.

将使其他人 更容易将赌注押在他们的人身上。

You know, when we think about high-performance organizations,

你知道，当我们想到高绩效组织时，

our first instinct is often to fix the people right?

我们的第一本能通常是 去解决员工问题，对吗？

But it turns out what really needs fixing is their work and their pay.

但事实证明，真正需要解决的 是他们的工作和工资。

The problem was never Janet.

问题从来都不是珍妮特。

The problem was the system that Janet was stuck in.

问题在于珍妮特所处的系统。

And if we see jobs like hers not as dead-end jobs,

而且，如果我们 不将像她这样的工作视为没前途，

but as good jobs that can provide dignity,

而是看作可以提供尊严、

respect and a decent living,

尊重和体面生活的好工作，

we would have more engaged and productive workers.

那么我们就会有更多的 敬业度和生产力。

We would have more competitive companies,

我们将拥有更具竞争力的公司、

a stronger economy,

更强大的经济

and a growing, rather than a shrinking, middle class.

以及不断壮大而不是萎缩的中产阶级。

Tens of millions of essential workers would have hope instead of desperation,

数千万基本工人 将有希望而不是绝望，

and that will be a blessing for all of us.

这对我们所有人来说都是一种祝福。

Thank you.

谢谢。

(Applause)

（掌声）