職場で使える英語表現を毎週ご紹介するシリーズ
Weekly Workplace Word Wisdom(W.W.W.W.)
第27回目の本日は、挨拶で使うフレーズですが、
相手の様子がどうもおかしい場合に
（具合が悪い、顔色が青白い、元気がない等）
使える英語表現をJonathan講師がご紹介いたします。
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Are you OK?
Like it or not our work and personal lives are very much connected. I know there are those who feel that the workplace should be a professional environment where we leave our personal lives at the door and simply do our job. In my experience this is easier said than done. As we work longer hours and struggle with work life balance, the things we miss from our personal lives such as casual conversations and lunch with friends tend to come to work with us. There are also times when we inadvertently bring other things into the office, like moods and viruses (biological not computer).
I recall years ago when I started working in hotels that we were reminded to leave our personal lives at the door and that when we walked out into the lobby we were effectively “on stage” where the guests were to only see our happy, smiling faces regardless of what was happening at home or if we had a migraine headache.
I know we should stay at home when we are ill or take a personal day when we have issues that are weighing on us, but let’s face it: sometimes taking a day off is not possible.
When this happens and an employee comes to work feeling under the weather or perhaps showing effects of a lack of sleep, it is natural for us to ask them if they are ok; after all these are not just colleagues but friends. Employers also like to know what is happening with their employees; if they are sick and work in an area that will put clients or guests at risk, a manager needs to make an appropriate decision -- probably to send the employee home.
Employers also like to know what is going on in their employee’s lives if only to make sure they are happy and content. This goes a long way to employee satisfaction and thus to employee retention. Happy employees are good, loyal employees is the thinking. If they are struggling because of pressures from the job, we as managers need to be aware and do what we can do to help ease that stress.
So that brings me to today’s language point; asking how people are feeling beyond the standard; "Good afternoon Wilson, how are you?(Manager)" " I’m fine, thank you. And you?(Employee)"
When we notice that something is amiss, maybe our co-worker is pale or their eyes are very red, it is only natural to ask if they are okay.
“Are you feeling ok? Your face is very pale.”
“You are not looking so well. Is everything ok?”
“You seem distracted today. Is everything alright?”
“You just don’t seem yourself. Can I help at all?”
Most people will reply back that it is nothing or that they are just tired. These are considered standard responses and will likely be followed by a "thank you."
“Oh, I am just a little tired, but thank you for your concern.”
“It’s just been a long day; I’ll be fine.”
It is important to be aware that these questions tend to more real or sincere than the standard “how are you?” and as such could generate a detailed response, so you need to expect a more serious or detailed response.
“Well I am having some problems with my teenage daughter. The problems are keeping me up at night.”
“Actually I have a terrible headache.”
Then there are those that we refer to as supplying “TMI” or too much information;
“Actually I have been suffering from some intestinal discomfort and when I saw the doctor he said that I was infected with these small parasitic……”
WOW! Way too much information. This is where you start to wish that you hadn’t asked them what was wrong. So you need a way to get out of the conversation as quickly as possible, or risk ruining your next meal because you have lost your appetite.
“I’m really sorry to hear that. I hope you feel better. I would love to talk more but I have to get to a meeting.”
As you can see there are some pitfalls to getting into these types of conversations, but I think that building a relationship with your coworkers and employees outweighs any of them.
My advice for these situations is generally ask only those people who you know fairly well. If you are asked by someone how you are feeling, base your response on the relationship that you have with the other person; brief for acquaintances and slightly more detailed for someone who you are familiar with as they are no doubt sincerely concerned and always have an escape plan!
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＜本日の単語＞
inadvertently 【副】ふと、気付かずに、うっかりして、思わず、何の気なしに
migraine headache 片頭痛
content 【形】〔～に〕満足している
retention 【名】保持、保持率、保持力
intestinal 【形】《医》腸の［に関する・に寄生する］
parasitic 【形】寄生性の
pitfall 【名】隠れた危険
＜本日のイディオム＞
easy said than done 言うは易し、行うは難し
feel under the weather 具合が良くない
something is amiss 何かおかしい
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日本語だと自然に気遣いが出来て
相手に「大丈夫？」と気軽に聞けるのですが
英語だとなかなか How are you? 以外の事が聞けない、
または言えない方、
今回のブログの
「大丈夫？」と聞くときの英語表現、
「大丈夫？」と聞かれた時の答え方、
そんな会話に対するアドバイス
是非参考にしてください！
事務局・山口
英語のプレゼンはいつも事前に書いたものを読むだけになってしまう
近い将来英語でプレゼンしなければならなくなる可能性があり、かなり不安
いざという時のために、プレゼン英語を押さえておきたい
かっこよく英語でプレゼンしてみたい
