質問: in her honor i work in a small office (fewer than 20 employees), staffed entirely by women. this is usually a good thing, and we get along well and support one another. there is one employee, “june,” who has been with the company for three to four years, and who recently announced she is leaving to pursue an opportunity with another company. we congratulated her individually on her new opportunity, signed a group card each reiterating a similar message, and had a catered farewell lunch in her honor. after the lunch, another employee found june crying in her office. apparently, june was upset that we hadn’t given her a parting gift in recognition of her time with the company. now two employees are asking everyone to contribute toward a gift for june because of how upset she was. i have been at the company for 10 years, and to my knowledge, it is not standard practice for us to give gifts to departing employees unless they are retiring—which june is not. i don’t feel inclined to contribute toward a gift for a grown woman who threw a tantrum because she wasn’t offered a present. but if i don’t, i look like a “bad guy” to my colleagues who i have to continue to work with. can i draw a line in the sand and opt out of a collective gift? in her honorとcollective giftの意味を教えてください。よろしくお願いします
回答: >in her honorとcollective giftの意味を教えてください。 ⇒これまで一緒に働いていた「ジューン」が転職で社を出て行くので、その壮行会をめぐって起こった問題に関する質問ですね。 in her honor:「彼女(の転職)を祝して・記念して(お別れの食事会をしました)」。 collective gift:「共同の贈り物(に一線を画して、抜け駆けしてもいいでしょうか?)」。 *何人かで共同してお金を出し合い、1つの贈り物をすること(いわば、寄せ書きの贈り物版)といったイメージです。それから「私」は抜けたいわけですね。