A pay rise please!
请给我涨工资！
Being an employee at a company has many challenges – you want job satisfaction, a work-life balance and opportunities for promotion. But most of us want a decent financial reward. We aim to get a good salary to pay for the essential things in life plus a few luxuries. But when that’s not enough, we have to do the hardest thing in the world – ask our boss for a pay rise!
作为一名公司员工有很多挑战——你想要工作满意度，工作与生活的平衡和晋升的机会。但我们大多数人都想要一个像样的经济报酬。我们的目标是得到一份不错的薪水来支付生活中的必需品和一些奢侈品。但是这还不够，我们还得做世界上最困难的事情——要求老板给我们加薪!
In some companies, a regular annual pay rise is the norm – all staff get a fixed increase in their monthly pay packet. In other firms, workers might get a bonus to reward them for their efforts or for meeting a target. But for some people, a pay increase is something you have to ask for – and if you don’t ask, you don’t get!
在一些公司，每年定期加薪是常态——所有员工的月工资都有固定的增长。在其他公司，员工可以通过他们的努力或完成目标而得到奖金。但是对有些人来说，加薪要你自己提出来——如果你不提要求，就得不到加薪!
Wage increases have been a sensitive issue in recent years. Due to the global economic recession, businesses had to tighten their belts. Most public sector pay in the UK, for example, was frozen for two years in 2010, and after that rises were capped at 1% - below the rate of inflation. But last month the government awarded them a pay rise above the 2% inflation rate so that teachers, for example, will get a 2.75% salary boost. That's the equivalent to ￡1,000 extra a year for those on an average salary.
近年来，涨薪一直是一个敏感问题。由于全球经济衰退，企业不得不节省开支。例如，英国大多数公共部门的薪酬在2010年被冻结了两年，此后涨幅被限制在1%以内——低于通胀率。但是上个月政府给予了他们高于2%通胀率的工资增长，例如，教师的工资将增加2.75%，这相当于每年平均多出了1000英镑。
But not everyone is happy at being given a fixed pay rise – they feel they’re worth more and that they deserve more money. It’s not something we should fear “asking for”, says Pip Jamieson, founder of the professional networking site, The Dots. She’s told the BBC “No one ever got fired for asking for a pay rise. In fact, rather the opposite - asking for more money shows ambition and shows you want to stay with the company.”
但并不是每个人都满足于固定的加薪——他们觉得自己价值更高，应该得到更多的报酬。职业社交网站the Dots 的创始人皮普·杰米森表示，我们不应该害怕“开口要钱”。她告诉BBC，“从来没有人因为要求加薪而被解雇。事实上，恰恰相反——要求加薪显示了你的野心，表明你想留在这家公司。”
It’s something BBC Business Reporter Jamie Robertson has been looking into. He’s found that you need to do your research and find out what kind of pay your job should be getting, perhaps by talking to your Human Resources department. You’ll need to give good reasons for wanting more money and you’ll still have to keep your increase within your pay grade. Ask for an exact sum and be prepared for some negotiation. Of course, if you can’t get more cash then there are other perks you could ask for, such as flexible working or more time off. But if that gets you nowhere and your boss won’t budge, maybe it’s time to quit and find a new job?
这是BBC商业记者杰米·罗伯逊一直在调查的事情。他发现员工需要做调查，找出自己的工作应该得到什么样的报酬，也许可以通过和人力资源部门谈谈来做调查。你需要给出想要加薪的充分理由，而且你还得把加薪幅度控制在你的薪酬等级之内。提一个明确的加薪数字并准备好据理力争。当然，如果你拿不到更多的钱，你还可以要求其他福利，比如弹性工作时间或更多的休息时间。但是，如果你什么都没有得到，而你的老板也不让步，也许是时候辞职找份新工作了?
词汇表
employee
员工，雇员
job satisfaction
工作满足感
work-life balance
工作与生活的平衡
promotion
晋升
financial reward
经济回报
pay rise
涨工资，加薪
pay packet
工资
bonus
奖金
if you don’t ask, you don’t get
如果你不要求，你就得不到
wage
工钱，报酬
tighten one’s belt
勒紧裤腰带，省吃俭用
public sector
公营部门
capped
规定了上限
rate of inflation
通货膨胀率
salary
薪金
a fixed pay rise
固定的工资增长
Human Resources
人事部，人力资源部
pay grade
工资等级
perk
（工资外的）补贴，津贴
flexible working
弹性工作时间