Cubicle Decor

隔間裝飾

陳豪在北京的ABC美國公司工作。他中午去吃飯，正好遇到美國同事Amy。

(Office ambience)

C:Amy, 你去吃飯嗎？

A:As a matter of fact, I am.

C:我準備到樓下的商店去隨便買個漢堡。一起去吧？

A:OK. I am looking for a quick bite myself. I would be delighted to join you.

C:我剛好有個問題要請教你。

A:What is it?

C:現在很多人都在格間里工作，我還記得你告訴過我，工作時應該盡量設法不要影響到別人。

A:Right. We have discussed keeping your voice down in your cubicle, not using a speaker phone or holding a meeting in your cube.

C:對，除了聲音不要太大以外，還有不要吃味道特別重的食物。不過Amy，我最近還注意到了另外一個問題。

A:I'm interested to hear what it is.

C:主要是個人對工作格間的裝飾。I call it "cubicle decor."

A:Here we are at the sandwich shop. Let's get seated and then continue our conversation.

陳豪和Amy坐下吃飯。

A:You were talking about cubicle décor. What do you mean?

C:有人的格間很整齊，沒有任何私人物品，但有的人卻好像是把家都搬來了。

A:Can you be more specific?

C:他們的工作間里到處是家人的照片、小裝飾品、孩子的手工作品、出去玩買的紀念品，還有各種獎狀。

A:That bothers you?

C:我確實覺得有點兒過份。

A:Well, I agree with you. People need to add a personal touch to their office or cubicle without overdoing it.

C:我覺得應該定個規矩，一律不許用私人物品來裝飾辦公室？

A:I disagree. Putting personal touches around your desk reveals a dimension of your personality to your co-workers and associates. It's as important as small talk in the office.

C:這么說也有道理，其實我就挺喜歡看同事們桌子上的照片的。但是你不覺得應該適當控制一下嗎？

A:People need to understand the limits of how much memorabilia to display as well as what is appropriate.

C:那你覺得什么樣的限制比較合理呢？

A:Keep the number of family photos to one or two, no more than 5x7 inches each. Display a favorite art piece, knick-knack or a plague that expresses a personal philosophy, but not a collection.

C:你的意思是可以放一、兩張5x7的照片，外加一件小裝飾品。還有些同事喜歡在辦公室里養花，你覺得合適嗎？

A:It's OK to add a live plant or two. The bottom line is to make your work area represent you without diminishing your professionalism.