该不该说出真相？

I’ve been made redundant – along with a couple of dozen others – from a City of London bank. I’m not sorry as the place was hateful, the senior managers unscrupulous and the culture toxic. In a couple of weeks, we’re holding an informal farewell bash for like-minded current and former colleagues. I was planning to give a humorous speech and tell the truth about working there. To do so would cheer me and others up. Yet there is a voice in my head telling me to keep mum. Should I listen to it?

我与其他几十名员工一起被一家伦敦金融城的银行解雇了。对此我并不感到难过，因为那家公司实在是令人生厌，高管们毫无道德，企业文化毒害无穷。几周之后，我们一伙志趣相投、曾同事一场的人将举办一个非正式的告别会。我打算在会上讲点幽默的段子，说出在那工作的真相。这么做肯定会让大伙都开心起来。但我头脑里也有个声音告诉我别这么做。我真的不该说出真相么？

Sacked banker, male, 32

被解雇的银行职员，男性，32岁

Lucy’s answer

露西的回答

Which truth would that be? The one that you accepted the bank’s money and never said a word about how unscrupulous and toxic everyone was until they had shown you the door?

你要讲的真相是什么？是指你收了银行的钱，然后直到让你走人都没说过一星半点关于这银行的高管如何无德，文化如何有毒的坏话？

The “truth in these circumstances is always a tricky, highly selective affair, best abandoned in favour of pragmatism.

这种情况下的所谓“真相，永远是那些非常微妙、偏重主观选择的事情 ，从实用的角度说，最好是不要揭露这种“真相。

Leaving do’s, like all ceremonial occasions, are governed by a set of well-known rules and it is better for everyone if you adhere to them. The deal is that people turn up to say goodbye to you if they like you. You buy them a drink. You pretend you’ll miss them.

和所有正式场合一样，欢送会也是受到一系列众所周知的规则约束的，遵守规则对所有人都更有好处。流程就是，人们如果喜欢你，就会过来向你道别。你请他们喝点东西，并作出会想念他们的样子。

It’s not even really lying, it’s just obeying the form. At a wedding, the father of the bride is obliged to appear pleased that his daughter has chosen the groom. You are equally obliged to express regret on leaving. That is how it goes.

这甚至都算不上说谎，不过是循例而已。正如在婚礼上新娘的父亲应当让自己看上去为女儿选对了新郎感到高兴。你也同样应该为你的离开表示遗憾。事情就是这么回事。

You say that telling the darker truth would cheer the others up. But would it? If they are still working there I don’t see why they would be remotely cheered by being told their paymasters are blaggards and villains.

你说，说出黑暗的真相会让其他人开心。他们真的会开心么？如果他们还在那里工作，有人跟他们讲老板是骗子加恶棍，我看不出他们有什么理由会感觉高兴。

The best leaving speeches, indeed the only ones worth hearing, are funny. If you can’t do funny, cut the speech back to the very briefest “Thanks for coming, keep in touch. If you can do funny, you might try a little light satire, gently sending up the bank’s most disliked leaders. But make sure it’s not bitter, as bitter is never funny.

最好的告别演说——实际上也是唯一值得听的演说，都是幽默风趣的演说。如果你不够风趣，可以把讲话缩减为最简短的那种“多谢来送我，以后常联系。如果你够风趣，可以试试不露声色的讽刺，稍稍调侃下公司里最不受欢迎的上司。但要注意，不要尖酸刻薄，否则就完全达不到风趣的效果。

Many readers have suggested that you turn your story into a novel. This idea has some superficial appeal, but is actually a non-starter. There are lots of novels by sacked bankers and none is any good. Writing a novel is quite hard and it takes more than score-setting to get it right: even most novelists don’t do it all that well. If you take this route, you’ll spend so much time on it and earn so little money, that you might start longing for your old job.

许多读者建议你将把自己在公司里的经历写成一部小说。这种想法表面上有点诱人，但是实际上是行不通的。被解雇的银行职员写的小说很多，但没一本好看的。写小说是很难的事，所需的技巧绝不像发泄一通那么容易，就算是大多数小说家都未必能写得特别好。如果你选择了这条路，你就会花很多时间却赚不了多少钱，没准你那时还会想念过去的工作。

Instead, I suggest you wear your dislike of your old employer like a secret cloak. It will make you wise and keep you safe from being employed by a similar outfit in the future. And the memory of how you hated your old job may keep you warm in the long days and nights of unemployment that may lie ahead.

相反，我建议你把自己对前东家的厌恶埋藏在心底。这使你更加睿智，使你将来不再受雇于类似的公司。另外，在你也许将面对的漫长的失业时光中，你如何厌恶前一份工作的记忆会令自己感到庆幸。

Your advice

读者的建议

Put it in a novel

把经历写成小说

By all means have your say. But make it a novel. Change the names and be sure to include the phrase that any resemblance to persons living or dead is strictly coincidental. Those who know will be amused and those who do not will be entertained.

你完全有权说出来。不过你应该把这些事情写成一部小说。改变人物名称，并且一定要加上那句“本文人物如有雷同纯属巧合。了解内情的人会被逗乐，而局外人则只会把它当个有趣的故事。

Director, male

主管，男性

No badmouthing

不要说前东家的坏话

Don’t you dare! You have been made redundant along with the people you will be socialising with. You’re all out of work and banking jobs are in short supply, so dog will eat dog and if you badmouth your former employer it will be used against you.

你怎么敢这样！你已和那些将继续交往的人一起被裁员了。你们现在都还没工作，而银行的工作岗位现在又供不应求。狗咬狗一嘴毛，如果你说前东家的坏话，最终也会自食其果。

Manager, male

经理，男性

The wrong time

现在还不是时候

When I stopped being an investment banker and started helping people make money from games, I promised myself I would always tell clients the truth. It is terrifying at first. Bankers are very good at working out what their clients want to hear and telling them that. Now I realise that telling the truth is very good for me as a consultant, good for my clients and good for my health.

当我不再做投资银行家，并且开始帮助人们从游戏中赚钱时，我发誓我将永远对客户讲出真相。这起初很可怕。银行家非常善于发现客户想听什么并投其所好。如今我意识到，对我这个咨询师来说，说实话非常有益——不仅有益于我的客户，还有益于我的健康。

But for God’s sake don’t do it at your leaving do, still filled with embittered rage. The secret to telling the truth is that it must actually be true, not coloured by the emotional rollercoaster of a toxic culture combined with a redundancy. Telling the truth is liberating, but this is not the time.

看在上帝的份上，虽然你还沉浸在苦闷和愤恨之中，但还是不要在欢送会上讲出所谓真相。说出真相的秘诀是，这些真相必须是真实的，不能被有毒的企业文化以及被公司踢出来导致的情绪大起大落所左右。说真话是你的自由，但是现在真的不是时候。

Consultant, male

咨询师，男性

If?you?were?older

如果你年纪大些就好了

The relevant part of your question is “32 – if it were “62, the answer would be proceed with gusto, but?.?.?.?

你的问题的关键在于你32岁的年龄——如果你现在62岁，答案就是爱怎么说怎么说，不过……

Stockbroker, male

股票经纪人，男性

You’ll look mean

这会让你看起来很小心眼

I once had to watch a colleague use his farewell party to settle scores. His anger was justified, but I found myself thinking that were I ever to find myself in the position of having to decide whether that man got a job, I would make sure he did not. Who wants to work with someone that small-minded, no matter how likeable he or she may normally be?

我曾经亲眼见过一个同事把告别会当成了清算会。他的愤怒是正当的，但是我当时总在想，如果由我来决定是否聘用这个人，我肯定不会招他的。不管这人平常看起来多讨人喜欢，谁愿意和这么小心眼的人一起工作啊？

Female, freelance

女性，自由职业者

A?little?light?opera

来点轻歌剧

If you have a voice, make up an appropriate version of Gilbert and Sullivan’s “I’ve got a little list?.?.?. They’d none of ’em be missed.

如果你嗓子好，把吉尔伯特(Gilbert)与沙利文(Sullivan)的歌词：“我有张小小的名单……他们一个人都没落下（原句为双关，也可以理解成：他们我一个也不会思念，译者注）攒个新版本。

Former Lloyds person

前劳合社（Lloyds)员工