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Aug 5, 2013 12:33
10 yrs ago
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Swedish term

medarbetare

Swedish to English Bus/Financial Human Resources
In the U.S., the term "associate" has been used instead of "employee" for several years by employers eager to dispel any notions of unionizing. (I know that sounds cynical, but it's the reality.)

Both "anställd" and "medarbetare" appear in the same personnel handbook, which in this case seems otherwise to have been heavily influenced by American business practices. Would you use "employee" and associate" respectively in a translation to UK English? Or?
Proposed translations (English)
3 +2 employee
5 +2 co-worker
4 +2 team member
3 +1 colleague

Discussion

Charles Ek (asker) Aug 10, 2013:
George, your comment raises an interesting question that might well be the topic at a translators' professional conference: Where an employer is using a translation to communicate with employees from a different linguistic and cultural background, what happens when the target language lacks an easy expression for the employer's intended meaning?

In this case, I think something has been lost by the decision to use "employee". However, as the suggestions and comments amply demonstrate here, there's probably no really good solution in English in this instance. This is particularly the case where the English-speaking employees might include both native speakers from a variety of cultural backgrounds (British, American, Canadian, Australian, etc.) and those who have English as a second language but not Swedish as their first.

And the dictionaries often lag evolving usage by some years. The American "associate" as a warm and fuzzy substitute for "employee" is an example – none of my relatively recent English dictionaries explicitly include that usage.
George Hopkins Aug 5, 2013:
Use a good dictionary of the English language... ... to determine what a word really means. Usage changes with time, place, etc, including what foreign users of English might get up to. What a Swede, or anyone else, may consider as being correct after long usage is no guarantee.
Deane Goltermann Aug 5, 2013:
@Charles, Sorry, been out (in the sun :-)) for a while. We discussed 'fellow worker' but this wasn't 'co-' enough for the clients. I also prefer the single word vs. two words. So this fit together for us. Their point was that part of their emphasis was 'we all have to pull together' and they had a gimmick for this cliché, so 'co-worker' said this better than anything else. As to Ian's comments, I generally agree, esp making it crystal clear to the target audience -- so a Swe co. that is hiring in the UK may want to go with the local connotation. Tho co-worker sort of gives an emphasis on 'this is the way we think about things', and it is plainly understood very widely as is. But, yeah, this particular Swe usage does sometimes require a lot of consideration.
Charles Ek (asker) Aug 5, 2013:
I'm starting to feel somewhat better about "co-worker": http://www.helsinki.fi/hum/nordic/strath/archive/pastconfere...
Ian Giles Aug 5, 2013:
Interesting take on co-worker/colleague Deane My impression about "colleague" in the UK is that it's used for precisely the reasons you outline that Swedes want to use "co-worker". The John Lewis/Waitrose partnership, for instance, refers to all staff (whether 16 years old on the Waitrose deli counter for £4.85 / hour / or the chief exec) as a "colleague" because they're all shareholders/equal etc. Of course, as bonuses are paid proportionate to your salary, it's only equal up to a point.

Swedes tend to find terms like "employee" pejorative - I just think it's a statement of fact. I've argued this on past points in kudoz, but in this instance I think it needs to be crystal clear to the target audience what is meant, rather than tailored to the sensitivities of the source language/culture/client.
Charles Ek (asker) Aug 5, 2013:
Found an example where "co-worker" is being used extensively by a Swedish firm. Compare these results – "co-worker" at http://www.exicom.se/en/?s=co-worker versus "employee" at http://www.exicom.se/en/?s=employee. Sigh.
Charles Ek (asker) Aug 5, 2013:
Deane, did you happen to discuss or consider "fellow worker" (as suggested below by Helen) as an alternative to "co-worker"? We both know that "co-worker" is used in the U.S. most often for peer to peer relationships.
Deane Goltermann Aug 5, 2013:
Co-worker is what the Swedes mean with this Part of my (long) discussions with this management consulting team (Swedish Psychologists) for their book was their insistance on emphasising the Swedish meaning that everyone is in the boat together, etc. etc. Collegue was too collegial. And when you have 'anställd' for employee, George's suggestion is what you want for your term in a Swedish employee handbook, I'd say.

Proposed translations

+2
4 mins
Selected

employee

No, I'd assume that the document had been written by more than one person and I'd use the same term throughout (and probably add a note to say that was what I'd done). I don't think "associate" would mean anything in UK English unless you were talking about a law firm, in which case it's something quite different from an employee.
Note from asker:
Thanks for the response. In this case, there's a pretty consistent style and way of thinking behind the words, indicating a sole author to me. But I appreciate your insight into UK English usage.
Peer comment(s):
agree Ian Giles : If it's an HR text in UK English, they are definitely employees (unless an internal style guide says otherwise) - see my comment on the below suggestion.
9 mins
Thanks Ian
agree Christopher Schröder : Anything but associate for me
16 mins
Thanks Chris - yes, I feel that too!
agree Anna Herbst : This is the neutral expression used in Australia as well. An associate is a different kettle of fish.
2 days 13 hrs
Thanks Anna.
disagree George Hopkins : Co-workers (meadarbetare) may include others than employees under the same employer. Ie, consultants, specialists.
2 days 21 hrs
Something went wrong...
3 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "In the end, the client chose "employee" over "co-worker". My thanks to everyone who contributed suggestions or comments. This instance is a shining example of the cross-cultural pitfalls that wait to trap the unwary translator!"
+2
8 mins

co-worker

No doubt. Ref. Collins.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 9 mins (2013-08-05 12:43:37 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Ie, a fellow worker, associate.
Note from asker:
Thanks to both you and Deane for your contributions. I just hit a part emphasizing the flat nature of the organization (no middle managers need apply), so it makes perfect sense to rely on your advice and use "co-worker". An excellent example of contrasts in management philosophy, notwithstanding the occasional attempt over here to flatten things out.
Thanks for this suggestion. I offered it but "employee" was chosen instead.
Peer comment(s):
agree Deane Goltermann : I'll agree with George on this one. Did a management consultant book where this was important. * ;-)
17 mins
Thanks Deane. You can`t beat a good dictionary.
agree Michele Fauble
2 hrs
Thank you Michele.
disagree Anna Herbst : It is indeed the same as fellow worker, but that is arbetskamrat in Swedish, i.e. a peer to peer relationship as Charles said in his discussion entry, not medarbetare which implies employees working with rather than for the employer.
2 days 13 hrs
Hmm...
agree Jenny Ann Rydberg
3 days 5 hrs
Thank you.
Something went wrong...
+1
9 mins

colleague

Apart from employee as already mentioned, colleague is the only other word I can think of for UK English.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 48 mins (2013-08-05 13:21:47 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

It is true to say that I've been self employed for many years now, but I've only ever heard of "co-worker" being used in American English unless it's since been adopted over here too. Bearing this in mind, I would also say that too great a distinction is made between management and "employees" in the UK for "colleague" to be commonly used in the sense you say - unless that's started to change too.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 53 mins (2013-08-05 13:27:06 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Further to my previous note, fellow worker rather than co-worker sounds pretty good to me, covering a multitude of sins. Some people might say that readers need to take into account Swedish social conditions where there is often less of a distinction between management and employees than in the UK, but.... fellow worker is a definite option in my opinion.
Note from asker:
Thanks. I have actually been using this already where I thought appropriate here, i.e., for peer to peer interactions. Might it also be used in the UK in describing interactions between a manger and an employee?
Peer comment(s):
agree Ian Giles : This is one of those wishy-washy terms used in the UK, particularly in minimum wage work, rather like Associate is in the US. Still reasonably company specific in my experience though.
3 mins
Thanks Ian
neutral Anna Herbst : I suppose it could be used, but in a rather disingenuous manner.
2 days 13 hrs
Something went wrong...
+2
4 hrs

team member

:o)
Peer comment(s):
agree Anna Herbst : Much as I hate this expression, it does have the same connotations as medarbetare.
2 days 10 hrs
Thank you very much!
agree Mario Marcolin : 'Even though 'medarbetare' is often just a euphemism for anställd (employee) the basic meaning comes pretty close to associate/team member
4 days
Thank you very much!
Something went wrong...
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