【职场点睛】我要不要退奖金？
THE PROBLEM 问题
I work for a US bank in London and have just been given a bonus for 2008, which was 60 per cent of my 2007 bonus. It is a sign of the respect my managers have for me and I am grateful for it. However, my bank has received billions of dollars from the US government, so that my bonus is being paid for by taxpayers - which seems wrong. What should I do? Give it back? Give it to charity? Resign? Or keep it on the grounds that the bank is entitled to pay staff what it needs to keep them?
我为一家设在伦敦的美国银行工作，刚刚收到2008年的奖金，金额是我2007年奖金的60%。这表示主管对我的尊重，我对此心怀感激。不过，我所在的银行接受了美国政府数十亿美元的财政支持，因此我的奖金是纳税人支付的--这似乎不太对劲。我该怎么办？退还？捐给慈善事业？辞职？还是留着它，理由是银行有义务给想留住的员工支付奖金？
LUCY'S ANSWER
It is a sign of how low your trade's reputation has fallen that most Financial Times readers assume I've made you up. A banker with a conscience is not a creature they can understand.
这是一个信号，表明你所在的行业的信誉下降到何种程度，以至大多数《金融时报》读者怀疑我是在炒作你。一个有良知的银行家不是他们所能理解的。
The few who credit you with existence do not credit you with sense: they think your guilt is misplaced.
少数相信你确有其人的人，不相信你在用脑子，他们认为你愧疚错了地方。
I don't agree. It is right and proper to feel queasy about this money being dumped in your lap. It does not matter how good your performance was last year; banks that have been rescued should not be paying out bonuses at all. You suggest bonuses could be justified to stop bankers from jumping ship, but where are the safe harbours they are meant to jump into?
我不同意这种看法。这么一大把钱扔到你怀里，感到不安是正确而合理的。你去年表现有多好不要紧；说到底，接受纾困资金的银行就不应该发奖金。你提出说，奖金是用来阻止银行从业者跳槽，这么做合情合理，但他们想往哪儿跳，哪里是他们的避风港呢？
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