课文：

Let’s assume you’re a business manager. Surely you’d view your own time as precious. But what about your employees’ work time? Are you aware of how much time they spend checking email or attending meetings? According to consultant Michael Mankins, as much as 15 percent of a company’s time can be spent – or wasted – in meetings.

assume：以为、假定为
precious：珍贵的
aware：了解
consultant：顾问、咨询者
wasted：浪费的

Until recently, most companies have lacked a clear understanding of how employees are allocating their time. That has allowed “time thieves,” such as unnecessary conference calls and poorly run meetings, to steal precious work hours.

lack：缺少、没有
allocate：分配、分派
conference call：电话会议、三方通话
conference：会议、正式商谈

Thanks to a new field called people analytics, companies finally have the tools to track their employees’ use of time more closely. To look internally managers can use the sophisticated programs they already use to analyze their customers. For example, a company could use applications developed by VoloMetrix to track workers’ email logs and corporate calendars. They could then clearly see connections between employees, departments and clients, and see how often time spent on tasks led to company profits.

thanks to：由于（= because of）
field：知识领域、专业
people analytics：人员分析、人事分析
internally：内部地、内在地
sophisticated：老于世故的、精通的、 精密的
corporate：公司的、团体的
calendar：日历、行事历

Although people analytics can be a helpful tool for revealing time wasters, it can intrude on worker privacy. So leaders must develop a balanced approach when using this new tool.

revealing：给人以启发的
intrude：闯入、侵犯、打扰
intrude on：打扰…（= intrude into）
in-：进入

文法：
Surely … would view … as …（…当然会认为…很…）

特别补充：
give back：归还（= return）
analytical：分析的、分析法
thanks：谢谢
man hour：工时
hypothetical situation：假设情境
field of：…专业领域