人事经理该不该和蔼友善？

我知道这听起来非常小气，但我的公司每月花数百美元用于咖啡服务，提供各种美味的咖啡、调味品和日常用品。公司业务发展缓慢，我正在想方设法削减开支。如果我让员工自掏腰包，或者干脆不提供咖啡，有错吗？

以前，公司会准备一壶咖啡，里面装的只有一种咖啡。当然，特别是在煮了几个小时之后，这些咖啡尝起来很糟糕。同事之间经常会为轮到谁去重新做一壶咖啡而争吵不休，更不用说因为整晚不关咖啡机引发的火灾了。啊，真是美好的往日时光。

现在，我们有67种咖啡，五种甜味剂，还有茶和热巧克力。我们用那些复杂的设备烹制这些饮品，这些设备不仅可以泡咖啡，还可以同时煎鸡蛋和干洗衣服。这些福利都代价不菲。如今在公司提供咖啡的成本，要远高于以往。希望削减开支的公司更是经常提到这些，只是人们通常不愿意承认而已。

不行。你不能取消咖啡。你现在每天开着宝马（好吧，虽然是租来的，但依旧是一辆宝马呀！）上下班，更不能要求人们为咖啡出钱。让员工为咖啡出钱，可能给员工留下你是吝啬鬼的印象，或者会出现你即将破产的谣言——这两种情况都不是好事。事实上，类似于咖啡、不时提供的免费披萨午餐以及甜甜圈惊喜等福利，对于员工的积极性有着神奇的效果。而且，相比加薪，它们的成本更低。所以，别停止提供咖啡——你要寻找其他方法削减开支。本田雅阁也不错啊。当然，我只是说说而已。

我的人力资源经理长袖善舞，八面玲珑。事实上，她太热衷于社交。她对公司里的其他同事都非常友善，我知道她下班后，曾参加过同事的派对，或者去同事家里做客。当然，她跟任何同事都没有暧昧关系。但作为一名人力资源负责人，我担心，她过于友善，这可能影响她的工作。你认为呢？

在一家公司里，人力资源经理要扮演一个非常值得信任的角色，事实也是如此。你希望他们接近员工，了解人们的想法，了解员工们的担忧和疑问。你希望人力资源经理成为员工的支持者，提供良好的福利计划建议，寻找其他方法吸引人才，提高员工的满意度。但归根结底，人力资源经理是在为你工作。她的职责在于，让公司的最佳利益和与公司有共同目标（希望如此）的员工的最佳利益保持平衡。

可惜的是，在这方面，你无能为力。如果你不清楚哪些行为是不恰当或不专业的，你便无法告诉对方，她是否可以在工作之外与同事进行社交活动。你可以坦率地告诉对方自己的担忧，这样一来，至少她会知道你在想什么。但最终，你还是要让她自己变得更加专业，清楚界线所在。（财富中文网）

译者：刘进龙/汪皓

I know this may sound very stingy, but my company spends hundreds of dollars each month on a coffee service with all sorts of gourmet coffees, condiments and supplies. Business is slow and I’m looking for ways to cut back. Is it wrong for me to ask my employees to chip in or even stop getting coffee altogether?

In the good old days you had a pot of coffee and one type of coffee called….coffee. Sure, it tasted awful, especially after left simmering for a few hours. Yes, there were often fights over who’s turn it was to make a fresh pot, not to mention the inevitable fire that occurred from leaving the machine on all night. Ah, the good old days.

Now we have 67 different types of coffees and five kinds of sweeteners, not to mention the teas and hot chocolates. They’re all made on these complicated types of machinery that not only make coffee, but can fry an egg and pick up your dry cleaning at the same time. These things come at a price. The cost of providing coffee today is absolutely more than it was back in the day. And for companies looking to cut back on expenses, this is a conversation that comes up more frequently than is often admitted.

But no. You can’t cut out the coffee. And you can’t ask your people to pay for it, especially if you still drive up to work every day in your BMW (and okay, it’s leased – but it’s still a BMW!). Asking your employees to pay for coffee will either make you out to be a cheapskate or potentially start a rumor that you’re heading into bankruptcy – neither of which are good options. Actually, perks like coffee, a free pizza lunch now and then or a surprise batch of donuts do a world of wonder for morale. And they’re less expensive than giving raises. So keep the java flowing – and find some other place to cut back on your expenses. Honda Accords are nice. Just saying.

My human resources manager is a very nice and social person. Too social, actually. She has become very friendly with other people in the company and I know that she sees some of them outside of work at parties or at their homes. No, she is not romantically involved with any co-workers. But, as an HR person, I get concerned that she’s too friendly and this could compromise her job. What do you think?

HR managers hold a very trusted role in an organization, don’t they? You want them to be close with your employees, to keep an ear on the ground and to listen out for concerns and issues. You want your HR manager to be an advocate for your employees and make suggestions about good benefit plans and other ways to attract talent and keep your people happy. But in the end, your HR manager is working for you. Her job is to balance what’s best for the company with what’s best for its employees, who (hopefully) have the same goals.

Unfortunately, there’s little you can do here. As long as you’re not aware of any inappropriate or unprofessional behavior you can’t tell someone else who she can and can’t socialize with outside of the office. You can certainly talk with her and be frank about your concerns so at least she knows this is on your mind. But in the end you have to leave it to her to be professional and know her boundaries.