陳豪在北京的ABC美國公司工作,美國同事Amy到辦公室去找他。
(Office ambience)
A:Good morning, Chen Hao..
CH:Hi Amy.
A: I heard your best friend Brad got a promotion. Is that true?
CH: 沒錯。Brad如今是我的老板了。
A: That can make things awkward.
CH: 是啊,我們倆兒從好朋友一下子變成了上下級的關系,還真不好辦。
A: I think you will be able to work it out since you already recognize that things will be different.
CH: 人事處昨天才通知的他,所以我們還沒有機會談起這件事。
A: That's one of the first things you need to do and soon.
CH: 急什么呀,他現(xiàn)在肯定特別忙。
A: Everyone knows that you and Brad are close friends. They are going to be watching to see what happens.
CH: 別說別人了,連我都不知道要怎么處理這種關系。
A: It could go two entirely different ways.
CH: 兩種完全不一樣的可能?哪兩種?
A: Because you are his best friend, he might be tempted to give you special treatment by offering you the best assignments and according you unusual favors.
CH: 如果因為私人關系好,他就在工作上照顧我,那其他人肯定會有意見。
A: Yes. It would affect the way everyone views Brad. He could lose the respect of everyone who works with him.
C: 另外一種可能性呢?
A: I don't have time to talk about that right now, Chen Hao. Shall we meet for tea this afternoon and continue our conversation?
C: 好,那我們下午見。
******
Mary和Chen Hao兩人下午一起喝茶。
CH: Amy, 我們上午說,如果Brad特別關照我,那對我們兩人都不利。你說的另外一種可能是什么?
A: He might go out of his way to avoid any hint of giving you special treatment and treat you more rigidly than the others.
C: 你的意思是,他為了避嫌,可能對我的要求會格外嚴格?
A: He might pass you over for assignments that you might otherwise have gotten.
CH: 這聽起來可不太妙。那下班以后呢?我們以前總是一起去打乒乓球,或是一起去喝酒。
A: I know that and I have heard you share some funny stories about each other. You'll have to be more careful about the tales you tell about your adventures.
CH: 不能再跟同事講Brad的故事?為什么?
A: Others might misunderstand and think that you are trying to impress them with the fact that you and the boss are best friends.
CH: 要把工作和私人關系分開,還真不簡單。你覺得我有必要換到別的部門去嗎?
A: That's a possibility if things don't work out. If you can't accept Brad as your boss or he can't make the leap to being your supervisor, a change might be the only solution.
CH: 我想我們兩人一定能做到公私分開。