公司老板 Joe 找员工 Sam 和 Lucinda 谈话。
Joe Tan: Hi Sam, please take a seat. Good morning, Lucinda. Please sit down. How are you both this morning?
Sam and Lucinda: Good, thanks.
Joe: I asked you both to come in this morning because there's been rumors floating around that you two are involved in a personal relationship. Now I know these kinds of things can be sensitive, but I do feel we have to discuss it.
Joe开门见山,说找他们两人谈话,是因为公司里有传言,there has been rumors floating around...说 Sam 和 Lucinda 在谈恋爱。Joe 承认,这种事可能很敏感 sensitive, s-e-n-s-i-t-i-v-e,但还是得谈。
Lucinda: Yes, the rumors are true. Sam and I are in love!
Sam: It's true, I feel the same way about Lucinda!
Joe: Well, let me be the first to congratulate you! Falling in love is great and I'm very happy for both of you.
S: But?
J: Well, our company does have some guidelines for internal relationships.
Lucinda 和 Sam 两人都承认,they are in love. 他们确实在恋爱。Joe 首先向他们表示祝贺。但随即承膂b,公司在员工谈恋爱方面有 guideline 指导原则 g-u-i-d-e-l-i-n-e. 什么 guideline 呢?
L: The company frowns on co-workers dating each other, right?
J: Let's just say such relationships are not actively encouraged.
S: But why? We are in love!
J: There are many reasons, but one of the main downsides to interoffice relationships is that they can be a big distraction from work. Other employees can also sometimes see such relationships as unfair. The end result can be jealousy, hurt feelings and a loss of productivity for the company.
Joe 解释说,公司之所以不鼓励公司员工之间的恋爱关系,最主要的原因是干扰工作,a big distraction from work. d-i-s-t-r-a-c-t-i-o-n 分心。其他员工会觉得不公平,最后造成 a loss of productivity for the company. 公司生产力的下降。p-r-o-d-u-c-t-i-v-i-t-y 生产力。
L: But in today's modern working world, I feel like there is very little opportunity to meet people. Bars are smoky and loud. Internet dating can be very scary...it seems like I spend most of my time working at the office, so isn't it natural to find a co-worker as a partner?
S: I have to agree. Lucinda and I work on the same projects so we have a lot in common. I even think our productivity has increased as a result of our relationship. We talk about work even during our free time!
Lucinda 说,她觉得,酒吧烟雾弥漫、人声鼎沸,网上交友又不安全,既然一天到晚待在公司,在办公室找对象不是很自然吗。Sam 也说,他们两人是同一个项目组的,we have a lot in common. 有很多共同点。他觉得,他们的恋爱关系反而提高了公司的生产力。说到这儿,老板 Joe 是不是理屈词穷了呢?我们下次继续听。
A: 原来,老板说办公室恋爱得有guideline指导原则,公司一般不鼓励办公室恋爱,主要是怕it can be a distraction from work, 干扰工作,造成a loss of productivity 生产力下降。
B: Yeah, I think this is the main reason why some companies forbid office relationship.
A: 可是不都说,男女搭配,干活不累吗?
B: Of course! But if the couple break up and still need to face each other everyday, that's going to be awkward, don't you think?
A: That's true. But you can work on different projects, that's why we say an exit strategy is extremely important! 咱们接着听老板Joe给出了什么样的建议吧!