Glossary entry (derived from question below)
German term or phrase:
Emsigkeit / Nachtbetrieb
English translation:
diligence in the mornings, and auto-pilot in the afternoons
Added to glossary by
Bryan Saliamonas
Sep 3, 2005 21:56
19 yrs ago
German term
Emsigkeit / Nachtbetrieb
German to English
Other
Government / Politics
healthcare financing
Ein Punkt ist allen ein Dorn im Auge – die starren Dienstzeiten im Spitalswesen. “Es kann nicht sein, dass um 13 Uhr alle in ihre persönliche Verdienstecke abbiegen,” sagt die Grüne Pilz. “Der Betrieb in den Spitälern ist auf Emsigkeit am Vormittag und auf Nachtbetrieb am Nachmittag ausgelegt.”
Does Nachtbetrieb mean operating with a reduced staff?
Is Emsigkeit pejorative, as in so busy you can't keep up?
Does Nachtbetrieb mean operating with a reduced staff?
Is Emsigkeit pejorative, as in so busy you can't keep up?
Proposed translations
2 hrs
Alex Crichton
Spain
Spain
Native in English
Spain
Freelance Translator
Native in: English 
Works in: German to English, Spanish to English, Catalan to English, and 1 more.
Related KudoZ points
:
4
Selected
diligence in the mornings, and auto-pilot in the afternoons
The operation of the hospitals is set up for diligence in the mornings, and auto-pilot in the afternoons.
Grüne Pilz is lamenting the fact that at 1.00 p.m. "everyone runs off to their staff rooms."
Nachtbetrieb refers to the "night mode" of a machine. (I think.)
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Note added at 6 hrs 12 mins (2005-09-04 04:09:05 GMT)
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http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=nachtbetrieb&btnG=Googl...
From these pages, it is clear that 'Nachtbetrieb' often refers to the mode of operation in a device whereby it only switches on when somebody triggers the sensor, like lights or automatic garage doors that are turned off most of the time , but automatically switch on if somebody should come by. Now Pilz's metaphor is clear. Given that, I don't like auto-pilot so much and would say 'standby-mode' instead.
Grüne Pilz is lamenting the fact that at 1.00 p.m. "everyone runs off to their staff rooms."
Nachtbetrieb refers to the "night mode" of a machine. (I think.)
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 6 hrs 12 mins (2005-09-04 04:09:05 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=nachtbetrieb&btnG=Googl...
From these pages, it is clear that 'Nachtbetrieb' often refers to the mode of operation in a device whereby it only switches on when somebody triggers the sensor, like lights or automatic garage doors that are turned off most of the time , but automatically switch on if somebody should come by. Now Pilz's metaphor is clear. Given that, I don't like auto-pilot so much and would say 'standby-mode' instead.
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
8 hrs
hyper activity/slack
as a poss.
9 hrs
BrigitteHilgner
Austria
Austria
Native in German
Austria
b2b/economics/marketing/market research/
Native in: German
Works in: German to English, French to German, English to German
Related KudoZ points
:
25
busy bees in the morning/reduced staff in the afternoon
As I understand it, the comment refers to doctors, not to nurses:
in the morning all doctors are present and they all go to see the patients; come 1 p.m., many of them leave for their private offices ("Verdienstecke")to see patients there and make money.
If you are working as a doctor in hospital, you don't make much money, nowhere near as much as in your own office. So the more senior doctors cut their time in hospital short and leave as soon as they can. Those who remain are junior doctors (and the nurses) who do not (yet) have this option. So only really essential work is done in the afternoon and the patients are mainly left to themselves.
Unless you consider being industrious as something negative, "Emsigkeit" has a neutral to positive connotation.
in the morning all doctors are present and they all go to see the patients; come 1 p.m., many of them leave for their private offices ("Verdienstecke")to see patients there and make money.
If you are working as a doctor in hospital, you don't make much money, nowhere near as much as in your own office. So the more senior doctors cut their time in hospital short and leave as soon as they can. Those who remain are junior doctors (and the nurses) who do not (yet) have this option. So only really essential work is done in the afternoon and the patients are mainly left to themselves.
Unless you consider being industrious as something negative, "Emsigkeit" has a neutral to positive connotation.
12 hrs
Martina Heintke
United Kingdom
United Kingdom
Native in German
&
English
Works in field
United Kingdom
Fit-for-purpose - creative - effective
Native in: German (Variants: Germany, Swiss, Austrian) 
, English (Variants: UK, British)
Works in: German to English, English to German, English
high activity/night-time slow-down
Mornings are in general busier periods in hospitals, however, I think the criticism is that in the afternoon it slacks off to next to nothing, comparable to nighttime. I can't see this being hospital policy, rather a staff induced silent complicity.
Discussion