Apologizing on the Job
在工作上道歉
When -- and How -- to Say You're Sorry at Work
何時，該如何在工作上道歉
Career success is all about relationships. And when something goes wrong, it's important to fix it. That may mean an apology is in order.
職業成功都是靠人際關係。出問題的時候，想辦法解決是最重要的。這就意爲是你有時候需要妥當地道歉。
"Getting back on the right path as quickly as possible is what makes you a good employee," says Anna Post, an author and spokesperson for the Emily Post Institute.
Emily Post Institute 的代言人Anna Post也是一位作家，他說：“迅速回歸到原來正確的運作軌道是使你成爲優秀員工的必要條件。”
Post and others offer advice on how to handle apologies in six common workplace situations:
Post和其他專家就怎樣在職場上的六種情況下道歉給出了以下建議：
1. You made a mistake that causes problems for your colleagues.
你犯的錯誤給其他同事帶來了麻煩。
This is a clear-cut case where an apology is called for. You could simply say, "I'm sorry," followed by an offer to fix the problem.
很明顯這種情況下你應該道歉。你可以簡單地說對不起，然後提出想辦法解決問題。
If the situation is complex, use your apology to show you understand the effect of your actions. Meryl Runion, a speaker and author of six books on communication, suggests saying, "I regret that you have to do X, Y, and Z because of my mistake. I'm sorry. It won't happen again because in the future I will... ."
如果情況很複雜，用道歉來表明你已經明白你的行爲給別人帶來了麻煩。Meryl Runion是一位代言人，著有6本溝通方面的著作，他建議這樣說：“我很抱歉因爲我的過錯，你必須要做X,Y,Z。對不起，絕對不會有下次了，因爲我以後一定會……”
2. Someone in your company made a mistake, and you're dealing with an unhappy customer.
公司裏的其他人做錯事情讓客戶生氣，而你需要來招待這位生氣的客戶。
You don't want to pretend you did it, but you may want to issue a clear apology on behalf of the company. "There are times when you need to take one for the team," Post says. "Somebody needs to apologize." You'll look better making the apology than casting blameon your coworkers.
你不需要假裝錯事是你做的，但是你要代表公司做出明確的道歉。Post說：“有時候你需要爲團隊道歉。總需要有人來道歉的。”如果你向客戶道歉而非將所有責任都歸咎同事的話，會讓客戶對你有更多好感。
3. You're not sure whether you should apologize.
不確定是否該道歉。
Perhaps you sensed during a meeting that your comment had upset a colleague. Before apologizing, try to find out what's going on. Post suggests saying, "'I felt some tensionin that meeting. Is everything all right?' If they say they're fine, then you don't need to apologize."
你可能意識到在會議上自己的行爲讓一位同事不舒服。在道歉之前，先看看發生了什麼情況。Post建議這樣說：“‘剛纔開會的時候我覺得氣氛有點緊張。事情都還好吧?’如果他們說自己很好，你就不需要道歉。”
Or maybe you want to express sympathyfor a colleague's situation without appearing to accept responsibility for something you didn't do. "Say, 'I regret that it happened this way,'" Post suggests. "What you don't want to do is to apologize for mistakes that really aren't yours."
或者你想對一位同事的處境表示同情，但是並不想把不是你的過錯攬到自己身上。Post 建議“這樣說‘我很遺憾事情會變成這樣。’你不需要爲不是你的'過錯而道歉。”
4. You contribute to your team missing a deadline.
由於你的過錯導致團隊沒有在規定時間內完成某項任務
This is tricky, since you want to accept the responsibility you deserve but no more than that.
這種情況很棘手，因爲即使你想承擔應得的責任，也遠不止於此。
"Definitely avoid sounding like you're pointing fingers," Runion said. "You might say, 'It wasn't one of our team's finer moments. I can see several things that I could do differently in the future to contribute to a more effective team effort.'"
Runion說：“絕對不要讓你的道歉使別人覺得你犯了很大的錯誤。你可以這樣說‘這並非我們團隊做得好的一次。我相信以後我們可以在這幾個方面努力改進的話，一定能讓我們的團隊更有效率。”
5. You regret the words or tone you used, but you were expressing legitimate concerns.
雖然你是的關心是恰當的，但是你說的話和說話的語氣卻讓自己後悔。
In this case, Post suggests saying something like, "I apologize for my tone of voice. I do have some serious concerns. I would like to address those now."
這種情況下，Post建議這樣說：“我爲我說話的語氣道歉，我確實真的關心這幾個問題，我想現在馬上了解。”
6. You find yourself apologizing frequently.
發現自己經常道歉
Make sure you're not apologizing over and over for the same mistake. "Just because you're going to apologize later doesn't give you license to behave badly," Post says.
確保你不會總是爲同一個錯誤而道歉。“僅僅因爲你會在事後道歉，並非說你就可以肆無忌憚地犯錯。”
Nor should you apologize for non-mistakes -- this can be taken as a sign of insecurity. "People want to work with people who are confident," Post adds.
你也不應該爲沒犯過的錯道歉，因爲這樣會被別人覺得你沒有安全感。Post補充說：“每個人都想和自信滿滿的同事一起共事。”
And when you do apologize, do it briefly for a small problem and save the long explanations for the big problems.
當你道歉的時候，小問題就簡單明瞭地道歉，將長篇大論留到犯大錯時再說。
"If you over-apologize, that is a sign of deference and weakness rather than accountability and strength," Runion says.
Runion說：“如果你道歉做過火了，別人會覺得你軟弱、無能，而不會覺得你有責任感、有實力。”