Some companies ban all office romances outright. Others issue guidelines such as the stipulation that employees should not allow a relationship with a colleague to influence their behaviour at work, and that they should disclose any relationship that might give rise to a conflict of interest. These rules seem perfectly sensible, although they do involve a sacrifice of privacy.
有些公司完全禁止辦公室戀情。另一些公司則發(fā)布了一些行為準(zhǔn)則，比如規(guī)定員工不應(yīng)允許自己與同事的戀愛關(guān)系對工作行為產(chǎn)生影響，并規(guī)定員工應(yīng)披露可能導(dǎo)致利益沖突的關(guān)系。這些規(guī)則看起來似乎很合理，盡管它們確實(shí)涉及到犧牲隱私。
Some of these problems can be avoided if the relationship is at one remove: if people meet their partners through work, rather than at the same office. Clearly there could still be problems if, for example, a purchasing manager was dating the salesperson at a supplier. But in most circumstances these romances avoid the potential problems of favouritism or abuse of power. Bartleby was fortunate enough to meet his spouse through his job 24 years ago (a period that proves Mrs Bartleby’s infinite reserves of patience).
如果情侶關(guān)系之間存在一些隔閡的話，其中一些問題是可以避免的：如果人們是通過工作結(jié)識(shí)自己的伴侶，而不是在同一間辦公室。很明顯，如果采購經(jīng)理和供應(yīng)商的銷售人員約會(huì)，問題仍然存在。但在大多數(shù)情況下，這些戀情避免了潛在的徇私或?yàn)E用職權(quán)的問題。在24年前，筆者有幸通過工作認(rèn)識(shí)了自己的配偶（這段時(shí)間證明了筆者的夫人有著無限的耐心）。
For that reason, this columnist can perhaps be forgiven for hoping that the office romance does not disappear completely. Millions of happy couples have probably met by their desks or the coffee machine. Perhaps couples will get a buzz from defying company rules. But they may have to be subtle about it: “Speak low if you speak love,” as William Shakespeare wrote in “Much Ado About Nothing”. That said, romance novels may need a bit of updating to cope with the postpandemic era.
因此，大家要原諒筆者，筆者希望辦公室戀情不會(huì)完全消失。數(shù)百萬對幸福的夫婦可能在辦公桌旁或咖啡機(jī)旁相遇。也許情侶們會(huì)因?yàn)闊o視公司規(guī)定而感到興奮驚。但他們可能不得不對此小心翼翼，正如威廉·莎士比亞在《無事生非》一書中所寫的那樣：“說愛就要小聲點(diǎn)”。也就是說，浪漫小說可能需要進(jìn)行一些更新，來應(yīng)對疫情后的時(shí)代。
Their eyes met across the bottle of hand sanitiser. “Would you like to break the social-distance rules and join my bubble?” he whispered. “Sorry, I can’t hear you through the mask,” she replied. He searched for inspiration. How could he convey his feelings? As creative director of Tomkins & Tomkins, surely there was an answer? A brainwave came: he raised his hands. Her eyes widened in understanding. “First word,” she said. “Sounds like ...”
他們的目光在一瓶洗手液上交匯。“你愿意打破社交距離規(guī)則，和我一起洗手嗎？”他低聲說。“對不起，你戴著口罩，我聽不見你說話，”她回答說。他尋找靈感，該怎么去傳達(dá)自己的感情呢？作為Tomkins-Tomkins的創(chuàng)意總監(jiān)，他肯定會(huì)找出答案的。他有了一個(gè)念頭：他舉起了雙手。她理解了他的意思之后，睜大了眼睛。“第一個(gè)字，”她說。“聽起來像…”
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