実践ビジネス英語 ディクテーション (2/15,16)
こんにちは。NHKラジオ「実践ビジネス英語」”Talk the Talk”のディクテーションです。
Lesson 21のテーマは、’Too Sick to Go to Work’（病欠）でした。Vignetteでは、病気で出社できないときにどういう手続きを行うのが正しいのかということが話題になりました。電話をする必要があるのか、メールだけで十分なのかは、上司との関係次第という結論でした。
“Talk the Talk”では、Heatherさんは病気を装った欠勤の際の心得（？）について、杉田先生は病欠連絡に万国共通のエチケットはないことなどを話されています。
*英文の終わりに語注をつけました。
Too Sick to Go to Work
（S: 杉田敏先生 H: Heather Howardさん）
S: Now, our current vignette talks about calling in sick, including people who pretend to be sick the day after Super Bowl Sunday.
Now, have you done anything like that Heather?
H: Whew, I’m in dangerous waters now, but no.
Seriously, I’ve never faked being sick.
I have occasionally taken a so-called personal day; sometimes when I’ve been very tired or stressed out.
But that was arranging to take a day off at the end of the week, for example, or at the end of the following week so I could have some time to recharge my batteries.
I’ve never called into work claiming to be ill when I wasn’t.
The estimate that 15 million people making excuse not to go to work on Super Sick Monday was shocking to me.
I bet good money that kind of thing is far less common in Japan.
When I read that, it reminded me of the morning after Japan had unexpectedly won a certain match at the Soccer World Cup.
It was easy to tell who had stayed up until the wee hours to watch the game.
The next morning the train was full of people who looked exhausted but very cheerful at the same time.
And there they all were, on their way to walk as usual.
S: Personally, I don’t mind cutting a hardworking employee a little slack if they call in sick with some flimsy excuse.
But an employee of mine once asked to take a sick day off and then showed up on TV, watching a professional wrestling match at ringside.
H: Oh, no, no, no!
If someone‘s going to call in fake-sick, they should at least have the sense to stay at home and avoid detection.
And you know, not only is that dumb, I think it’s rude to the employer.
If I pretend to be sick, then I’m sort of obligated to just stay home.
I’d be getting out of work on false pretenses; that day of rest should be enough.
I shouldn’t be getting any other “benefits” than that.
As an employer, Mr. Sugita, what are your thoughts on the “proper” way to call in sick?
S: I agree that there’s no universal etiquette for reporting that you’re too sick to go to work.
Some managers prefer to be notified by email.
Others may want a personal phone call.
It also depends on your corporate culture.
Some companies reward people who push through the pain of illness.
When I first started working after college, email was not an option.
You had to make a phone call.
I remember my first boss insisted that people call him personally－he didn’t accept a call from a spouse or some other family member.
He used to say, “No one is too sick to pick up the phone and talk to me.”
He also hinted that he could tell if the caller was faking illness.
H: Scary. It sounds like he was trying to put the fear of God into his employees.
“Be sure the truth will find you out,” that sort of thing.
S: And people who really are sick should stay away, shouldn’t they?
H: Oh, yes, please. A sick person doesn’t just endanger their colleagues when they drag themselves into work, they’re putting all their colleagues’ families at risk, too.
Not to mention everyone they encounter during their commute, especially elderly people and little children, whose immune systems may not be able to fight things off as well as others.
Oh, and everybody out there, please make sure you’re vaccinated against rubella.
It’s a terrible danger to pregnant women.
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Words and Expressions
cut someone slack: （人を）大目に見る
wee hours: 真夜中過ぎ
flimsy: 見え透いた、薄っぺらい
detection: 発覚、検知
on false pretenses: 真実を語らないで（偽って）
rubella: 風疹
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