礼节美语 Business Etiquette 079

陈豪在北京的ABC美国公司工作。美国同事Amy来办公室找他。

(Office ambience)

CH：Hi Amy. How are you?

A: I'm fine. Do you have a moment to talk? There is something I'd like to discuss with you.

CH: 坐下说。

A: This is a bit awkward¹, but important to talk about.

CH: 是什么要紧事吗？

A: It has come to my attention that you have been discussing salaries with some of your co-workers.

CH: 这个，是啊，谁告诉你的？

A: Marie in Marketing² came to me yesterday. She was upset. She said that you asked her how much money she was making after the new raises were given out.

CH: 没错，我是问过她工资涨了以后赚多少钱。我问了不少人呢。这有什么不对吗？

A: There are a number of reasons not to talk about money with co-workers or acquaintances³.

CH: 我真的不知道。跟同事为什么不能谈工资的事呢？

A: I realize that you didn't intend any harm, but discussing salaries with your co-workers can create problems.

CH: 会有什么问题呢？

A: Unfortunately I just remembered a conference call that I have to take in five minutes. Would you like to continue our conversation over lunch?

******

两人中午一起在餐厅吃饭。

CH: Amy, 你上午说最好不要打听别人的工资，这是为什么？

A: It can cause dissension among co-workers.

CH: 引起矛盾？

A: For example, if you and Marie have the same job title and job description and you find out that she is making more money, you might resent⁴ that and resent her.

CH: 言之有理。我其实没有别的想法，我就是想知道，等我干到Marie那个资历，能赚多少钱。

A: That is a subject that you should ask your boss or someone in Human Resources.

CH: 其实啊，我问了好几个人，只有一个人告诉我说，他不愿意讨论工资的问题。

A: That is exactly what everyone else should have said.

CH: 不瞒你说，他们还想从我这儿打听别人都赚多少呢？我就把Marie的工资告诉他们了。

A: It's bad enough that you asked Marie, but you should never have mentioned her salary to anyone else.

CH: 我真的没有恶意。Marie不会告到老板那儿去吧？

A: I think you should apologize to Marie and assure⁵ her that you meant no harm. Then go to other people and ask them to keep the information about Marie to themselves.

CH: 好，我马上去向Marie道歉。除了不能谈工资，还有什么不能谈的吗？

A: Stay away from all private matters. Keep professional and personal conversations separate. And never talk about one co-worker with another unless what you are discussing is common knowledge.

CH: 我知道了，以后一定不在办公室里谈私事。

 

1 awkward   

adj.笨拙的，尴尬的，使用不便的，难处理的

参考例句：

• John is so shy and awkward that everyone notices him.约翰如此害羞狼狈，以至于大家都注意到了他。
• I was the only man among the guests and felt rather awkward.作为客人中的唯一男性，我有些窘迫。

2 marketing   

n.行销，在市场的买卖，买东西

参考例句：

• They are developing marketing network.他们正在发展销售网络。
• He often goes marketing.他经常去市场做生意。

3 acquaintances   

n.相识的人( acquaintance的名词复数 )；熟人；对…有了解；（与某人）认识

参考例句：

• Claire has a wide circle of friends and acquaintances . 克莱尔交游很广。
• We are the casual acquaintances of a long railway journey. 我们是在火车长途旅行中相识的朋友。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

4 resent   

v.对...表示忿恨，对...怨恨

参考例句：

• I resent his dictatorial manner.我痛恨他的独断作风。
• I resent comments on the impracticality of small cars.我反对说小骄车不实用的说法。

5 assure   

vt.使确信；向…保证，使有保证

参考例句：

• The only ladder to assure success is to work hard.确保成功的惟一途径是刻苦努力。
• I assure you that she can be trusted to do the job.我担保她能做好这项工作。