Discussing Salaries with Co-workers

和同事談論工資

陳豪在北京的ABC美國公司工作。美國同事Amy來辦公室找他。

(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: 坐下說。

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

CH: 是什么要緊事嗎？

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

CH: 這個，是啊，誰告訴你的？

A: Marie in Marketing 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: 沒錯，我是問過她工資漲了以后賺多少錢。我問了不少人呢。這有什么不對嗎？

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

CH: 我真的不知道。跟同事為什么不能談工資的事呢？

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

CH: 會有什么問題呢？

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?

兩人中午一起在餐廳吃飯。

CH: Amy, 你上午說最好不要打聽別人的工資，這是為什么？

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 resent that and resent her.

CH: 言之有理。我其實沒有別的想法，我就是想知道，等我干到Marie那個資歷，能賺多少錢。

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

CH: 其實啊，我問了好幾個人，只有一個人告訴我說，他不愿意討論工資的問題。

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

CH: 不瞞你說，他們還想從我這兒打聽別人都賺多少呢？我就把Marie的工資告訴他們了。

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

CH: 我真的沒有惡意。Marie不會告到老板那兒去吧？

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

CH: 好，我馬上去向Marie道歉。除了不能談工資，還有什么不能談的嗎？

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，以后一定不在辦公室里談私事。