Upper-Intermediate - Getting Tough on Employees (D0181)

我现在能跟你谈谈吗？
wǒ xiànzài néng gēn nǐ tántan ma ？
Can I talk to you for a minute?

当然。
dāngrán 。
Of course.

最近，你的表现不太好。是不是工作上有什么困难？
zuìjìn ，nǐ de biǎoxiàn bùtài hǎo 。shì bu shì gōngzuò shàng yǒu shénme kùnnan ？
Your performance hasn’t been very good recently. Are you having any trouble with work?

没有。我觉得可以应付。
méiyǒu 。wǒ juéde kěyǐ yìngfu 。
No, I can handle it.

上星期你没有按时完成报告。这已经连续发生很多次了。是不是工作量太大了？
shàng xīngqī nǐ méiyǒu ànshí wánchéng bàogào 。zhè yǐjīng liánxù fāshēng hěn duō cì le 。shì bu shì gōngzuòliàng tài dà le ？
You didn’t finish that report on time last week. This has happened several times in a row already. Is the workload too heavy?

还可以。老板，对不起。我最近有些不舒服。我会尽力的。
hái kěyǐ 。lǎobǎn ，duìbuqǐ 。wǒ zuìjìn yǒuxiē bù shūfu 。wǒ huì jìnlì de 。
It’s all right. Sir, I’m sorry. I’m not feeling very well these past few days. I will do my best.

你确定吗？下星期，我们有一个很重要的会议。你要准备很多资料。这个星期五能按时完成吗？
nǐ quèdìng ma ？xià xīngqī ，wǒmen yǒu yī ge hěn zhòngyào de huìyì 。nǐ yào zhǔnbèi hěn duō zīliào 。zhège xīngqīwǔ néng ànshí wánchéng ma ？
Are you sure? We have a very important meeting next week. You need to prepare a lot of documents for it. Can you finish all of them by this Friday?

应该没问题。
yīnggāi méiwèntí 。
I shouldn’t have any problems.

我需要一个明确的答案。你到底能不能按时准备好？
wǒ xūyào yī ge míngquè de dáàn 。nǐ dàodǐ něng bu něng ànshí zhǔnbèi hǎo ？
I need a clear answer. Can you or can you not finish the work on time?

我一定会尽力的。老板，请放心。
wǒ yīdìng huì jìnlì de 。lǎobǎn ，qǐng fàngxīn 。
I will try my best. Don’t worry, sir.

我不是要听'尽力'。我需要你清楚地告诉我你能完成任务吗？是不是有什么困难？我能够怎么帮助你？
wǒ bù shì yào tīng "jìnlì "。wǒ xūyào nǐ qīngchǔ de gàosù wǒ nǐ néng wánchéng rènwù ma ？shì bu shì yǒu shénme kùnnan ？wǒ nénggòu zěnme bāngzhù nǐ ？
I don’t want to hear ‘I’ll try my best.’ What I need is a clear answer from you on whether or not you will be able to fnish the work on time. Are you having any difficulties? How can I help you get the job done?

老板，其实有一个部分我不太会做。所以拖了很长时间。
lǎobǎn ，qíshí yǒu yī ge bùfen wǒ bùtài huì zuò 。suǒyǐ tuō le hěn cháng shíjiān 。
Sir, actually there is one part I’m having trouble with. That’s why it’s dragged on so long.

下次再有这种情况，你必需及时告诉我。我可以给你提供你需要的资源。就算你不能完成工作，我也宁愿听实话，不要听模糊的回答。从现在开始，你一定要注意这点。好吗？
xiàcì zài yǒu zhèzhǒng qíngkuàng ，nǐ bìxū jíshí gàosù wǒ 。wǒ kěyǐ gěi nǐ tígōng nǐ xūyào de zīyuán 。jiù suàn nǐ bùnéng wánchéng gōngzuò ，wǒ yě nìngyuàn tīng shíhuà ，bùyào tīng móhu de huídá 。cóng xiànzài kāishǐ ，nǐ yīdìng yào zhùyì zhèdiǎn 。hǎo ma ？
Next time something like this happens you need to tell me as soon as possible. I can get you the resources you need. Even if you can’t do the work, I much prefer straightforward answers to ambiguous ones. From now on you must pay attention to that. Got it?

我知道了。我会改正的。
wǒ zhīdao le 。wǒ huì gǎizhèng de 。
I get it. I’ll get it right.

谢谢。
xièxie 。
Thank you.

Vocabulary

宁愿	nìngyuàn	would rather
表现	biǎoxiàn	expression
应付	yìngfu	to deal with
准备	zhǔnbèi	to prepare
模糊	móhu	vague
资源	zīyuán	resources
拖	tuō	drag
改正	gǎizhèng	correct
按时	ànshí	on time
业绩	yèjì	work achievement
压力	yālì	pressure
保证	bǎozhèng	guarantee
绝对	juéduì	utterly,absolutely
公事	gōngshì	work
私事	sīshì	private affair
公私分明	gōngsīfēnmíng	clearly demarcated between work and private affairs