提早下班的優劣
In February 2017, Japan launched a nationwide campaign called “Premium Friday” to encourage people to leave work early on the last Friday of every month.
2017年2月，日本政府推行了一項名為「超值星期五」的全國運動，鼓勵人們在每個月的最後一個星期五提早下班。
The government-backed initiative was meant to stimulate spending and curtail the nation’s notoriously long working hours.
這個由政府支持的運動原意是要刺激消費，縮短日本出了名的過長工時。
back(v.)支持=supportinitiative(n.)倡議curtail(v.)制止、減少、縮減notoriously(adv.)惡名昭彰地、聲明狼藉地
Now the campaign is facing a crucial moment a year after its splashy debut — only a small number of Japanese workers have enjoyed the benefits of Premium Friday.
現在這個運動在轟動登場一年後岌岌可危：只有少數的日本上班族實際享有「超級星期五」所帶來的好處。
splashy(adj.)轟動的debut(n.)首次登台;首次亮相
Only 3% of the respondents said that they had left work early on a Premium Friday, according to a survey conducted by Japanese think tank NLA Research Institute.
日本智庫NLA研究所進行的民調指出，只有百分之三的回覆者表示他們曾經在「超值星期五」提早下班。
respondent(n.)回覆者conduct a survey進行調查
Around 56% of the full-time employees said that they had too much work to finish.
約有56％的正職員工表示「工作太多了做不完」。
The reasons why the Premium Friday campaign in Japan has fizzled are both moral and cultural.
「超值星期五」運動在日本失敗的原因可分成「道德」和「文化」兩個層面來看。
moral(adj.)道德上的cultural(adj.)文化上的
Even though the government bends over backwards to persuade employers to give their employees a break, and employees to take one, most Japanese workers feel guilty about taking paid vacations.
即使政府費盡心思說服雇主要讓員工休息，也說服員工們要休息，大部分的日本上班族對「放帶薪假」懷有罪惡感。
even though雖然;儘管bend over backwards竭力;盡力
They fear that if they’re off early, someone else might pick up the slack, and the thought of that may well be enough to spoil a holiday for those who are conscientious and considerate.
他們擔心如果提早下班，就有人得接替中斷的工作，對盡心盡責與為他人著想的日本人來說，想到自己的工作必須有人代勞，很有可能會讓他們沒有辦法好好享受休假。
pick up the slack接替中斷的工作conscientious(adj.) 認真的、盡責的considerate(adj.)體貼的;替他人著想的=thoughtful
Moreover, Japanese employers tend to evaluate their employees based on their commitment.
再者，日本雇主往往會根據員工投入工作的程度來評斷他們的表現。
evaluate(v.)評估;衡量=assessbased on~根據commitment(n.)投入
Leaving work early may be considered a sign of being committed to leisure, and however brisk, efficient and productive the employee may be, he or she becomes liable to be found wanting.
提早下班可能會讓老闆覺得員工比較注重休閒，且不管工作起來有多幹練、有效率或有成效，很可能還是會被認為有不足之處。
be committed to N. 投入~brisk(adj.)輕快的、活潑的、生氣勃勃的
Yet some are optimistic that the concept of leaving work early could catch on with Japanese workers and gradually change attitudes towards work.
不過，還是有些人抱持樂觀的態度，認為日本上班族會越來越能接受提早下班的觀念，也會逐漸改變對工作的態度。
catch on流行起來;蔚為成風
“I think that companies are taking it on board, although it must be pointed out that they are under strong pressure from the government,” said Martin Schulz, senior economist with the Fujitsu Research Institute.
富士通研究院的資深經濟學者馬丁舒爾茲指出：「我認為會有更多公司接受提早下班的作法，雖然必須指出他們也面臨來自政府的龐大壓力。」
take sth. on board理解;接受
“But I do believe that it will take a long time for attitudes towards work and workplace traditions to change completely.”
「但我確信徹底改變工作態度和職場傳統需要很長的時間。」