陈豪在北京的ABC美国公司工作。同事Amy在复印间里找到他。

(Office ambience)

A:Hi Chen Hao. May I talk to you for a minute after you finish copying those documents?

C:我马上就印完了。什么事?

A:It seems that you sent an e-mail to one of your colleagues last week. You said some uncomplimentary things about a co-worker.

C:什么电子邮件?我怎么不记得。

A:The one you sent to Bill complaining about Sue’s work on your current project.

C:哦,我想起来了,上星期我确实给Bill发过一个电子邮件,因为Sue太气人了。

A:It seems that you criticized her failure to meet deadlines, her inattention to detail and her inability to work with others.

C:是啊,当时我们刚开了一次特别重要的小组会议,确定项目提案的终稿。

A:I imagine there was a lot of pressure.

C:对啊,我是组长,所以压力特别大。Sue不仅没有按时完成工作,而且粗枝大叶,又不合作,所以我才发电子邮件给Bill抱怨。

A:Why Bill?

C:Bill做过这类项目,又跟组里很多人共过事。其实啊,我就是想找个人,发泄一下。

A:It is understandable that you needed to vent to someone and get advice on how to handle the situation, but e-mail was the wrong way to do it.

C:不应该发电子邮件?可是当时你出差,Bill在开会,我没有别的办法。

A:Let’s talk more about this later on. I have a meeting in five minutes.

C:好,一会儿见。

******

几小时后,在陈豪办公室里。

C:Amy, 你刚才说我不应该发电子邮件给Bill, 为什么?

A:After Bill read your e-mail, he forwarded it to Lee who has also worked with Sue. I don’ think Bill meant any harm. He wanted to know if Lee had had any of the same issues.

C:Bill 看完电子邮件后,转寄给Lee, 那也没什么啊。

A:Wait. There’ more. Lee and Sue are friends so Lee sent a copy of your message to her.

C:什么?Lee和Sue是好朋友?这下可糟了。

A:You don’t know how bad it is. Sue was upset and passed your e-mail on to several friends in her department. In short your email has created something of an office war. People are taking sides.

C:什么?不过这可不是我的本意。你说我现在该怎么办呢?

A:You need to go directly to Sue and talk to her.

C:去找Sue当面说清楚?

A:That’s right. You owe her an apology for your bad judgment in involving Bill and not discussing your issues with her first.

C:一封短短的电子邮件,会把事情搞到这种田地。

A:The point is that e-mail should not be used to send messages that are sensitive or confidential.