Tag: work

Rules for Better Work-Life Balance

B2 – Upper Intermediate

Most of the time, employees sacrifice their personal time thinking they’d eventually be able to progress up the corporate ladder and somehow secure their job not realizing the dangers of not having a good work-life balance.

Watch the video to know how we can better protect our personal time while still being committed at work.

Discussion Questions:

  1. What are the 3 rules mentioned in the video? Do you do them?
  2. How do you think flexible working helps in achieving a healthy work-life balance?
  3. Why do you think some people become workaholics?
  4. Who do you think is responsible for overwork – the company or the employee? Explain your stand.
  5. How do you ensure that you have a good work-life balance?

The Case for International Civil Servants

B2 – Upper Intermediate

More than ever, the works of high-quality international civil servants are needed when it comes to worldwide efforts in tackling issues such as climate change and digital technologies.

Read the article below about the case for international civil servants.

The case for international civil servants

Discussion Questions:

  1. What are your thoughts on the functions of international civil servants?
  2. What are some challenges international civil servants face?
  3. Talk about the presence and importance of international civil service within your own country.
  4. Share your insights on this statement, “These officials’ special status extends global governance beyond cooperation among nation-states, but it does not reflect a utopian attempt establish a world government.“.
  5. How exactly can international organizations and civil servants champion “common good”?

How to Weigh Job Benefits

B2 – Upper Intermediate

When you finally got a job offer, after weeks or even months of job searching, you might want to think twice before accepting it. Not every job offer is the right one for you, so you’ll need to evaluate it carefully before accepting it. The hardest part when deciding whether to accept a job offer is weighing the benefits.

Watch the video below on how to weigh job offers.

Discussion Questions:

  1. What influences your choice of company to work for?
  2. In your opinion, what is the most important benefit offered by your company?
  3. What made you decide to accept your company’s job offer?
  4. If you can make a suggestion to your company, what benefit/s would you like your company to offer to its employees?

Boy Band Diplomacy

B2 – Upper Intermediate

The South Korean boy band BTS has become phenomenal global sensation. There is no doubt, they have taken the world by storm. They have brought their country a lot of honor, putting South Korea on the map.

Read the article on South Korean government delegating public diplomacy roles for the world-famous boy band members.

https://www.insider.com/south-koreas-president-taps-bts-presidential-envoys-for-un-meetings-2021-7

Discussion Questions:

  1. What can you say about SK government’s decision to delegate a boy band as presidential envoys to international meetings?
  2. Should celebrities be given such roles? Why or why not?
  3. The SK government plans to hold various activities with BTS to help promote international cooperation in tackling global issues. What do you think of this idea?
  4. How would you feel if your government decided to do the same? And if they really did, who’d be the best bet for such a role?
  5. How can celebrities help in addressing global problems?
  6. Who are some celebrities in your country that are known to be putting huge efforts in certain causes? How are they contributing to your country?

Toxic Workplaces Increase Depression Risk

B1 – Intermediate

Being satisfied at school or at work can, at times, be challenging. Work environment satisfaction is determined by how much a person likes what he/she is doing.

 Having a negative and a toxic work environment can cause anxiety and depression which may lead to some mental and health problems.

Let’s read the article below to know more about toxic workplaces increase depression risk.

https://breakingnewsenglish.com/2106/210627-toxic-workplaces-4.html

Discussion Questions:

  1. What can workers do about toxic workplaces?
  2. How do bad workplaces affect people?
  3. What responsibility do managers have to create a positive workplace?
  4. What is your ideal workplace?
  5. How is your workplace like?
  6. Have you ever worked in a toxic workplace? How was it?

Four-Day Workweek’s Overwhelming Success

B2 – Upper Intermediate

Throughout the years, governments and employers have been spending loads of effort to improve employees’ work-life balance.

One of the ideas is the four-day workweek that has been around for years even before the pandemic started. It is in which workers work fewer numbers of hours or days while still being paid the same amount. This concept is starting to gain international attention. In fact, some countries have started experimenting with it, one of which is Iceland.

Click the article and read how the four-day workweek experiment turned out in Iceland.

https://www.bbc.com/news/business-57724779

Discussion Questions:

  1. What is your reaction and thoughts on this news? What does it mean for all workers around the world?
  2. How did the four-day workweek experiment turn out in Iceland?
  3. Do you think a four-day workweek at your office would affect your productivity?
  4. What are some effects of a good work-life balance?
  5. Do you think a four-day workweek will become the norm in the future? Why or why not?

Career Search

B2 – Upper Intermediate

Assigning a job as “male” or “female” hurts both genders. It lessens the chances of the excluded gender to be considered in the same position regardless of how highly-qualified the person is. There are jobs that are gender-stereotyped such as firefighters, hairdressers, nurses etc. Fortunately, gender lines are blurring in the recent years.

Listen to the audio about career search.

Career Search

Discussion Questions:

  1. What career does the woman want to pursue? How about her boyfriend?
  2. What’s Ryan’s opinion on their career choices?
  3. Do you agree that some jobs are gender-specific? If so, give examples.
  4. How did you decide on your chosen career?
  5. How easy/difficult was it for you to establish yourself in your chose field? Share your experience/s.

The Crazy Starbucks Order

B2 – Upper Intermediate

You are a regular at this cafe. All you want is your customized drink from your favorite cafe. So you order it. 

You are a barista at this coffee shop. All you want is to come in to work and have a normal day.

Watch the video and see the story of the 13-ingredient order at Starbucks that got a barista fired from his job. Be ready to answer the questions that follow.

Discussion Questions:

  1. What do you think of the barista posting something like that?
  2. What are your thoughts on getting fired for your social media posts about things related to work?
  3. What do you think about the customer’s order and stand that his order is okay as long as he tips generously?
  4. What are usual reasons people would want to quit their jobs?
  5. At restaurants or cafes, what kind of customer are you?

Professionals Want To Go Back To the Office

B2 – Upper Intermediate

COVID-19 has lead to more and more employees working from home. 98% of people surveyed said they would like the option to work remotely for the rest of their careers. With workers finding some challenges in this new work setup, not everything is positive.

Let’s read the article to find out what these 6 professionals shared about their experiences working from home and why they want to go back to working in the office again.

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/return-to-office-work_l_60818168e4b01e14f06eb30a

Discussion Questions:

  1. Are you currently working from home? What’s your daily routine like for working?
  2. What’s your biggest struggle with working remotely?
  3. How can companies with remote workforce benefit from implementing flexible/remote working?
  4. What do you do when taking breaks and to recharge throughout the day?
  5. Are remote workers happier than office employees? Explain your point.

Payday Loans

B2 – Upper Intermediate

Life is tough and it is even tougher for people who are short of cash.

Payday loans are a form of cash advance to help people cover their expenses until their next paycheck comes in. For some, it is an easy way to have a temporary solution to their money problems.

Listen to the audio and read the transcript about payday loans.

Payday loans

Vocabulary Questions:

  1. What does the idiom “Give it to me straight.” mean? “What do you mean complicated? Give it to me straight. Where did you get a loan?” Use it in your own sentence and give a synonym or similar expression.
  2. What does “to run someone dry” mean? “Exactly, because they can run you dry.” Use it in your own sentence and give a synonym or similar expression.
  3. What does “quicksand” mean here? “And then people like you get locked into a vicious loan cycle that is almost impossible to escape. Like quicksand.” Use it in your own sentence and give a synonym or similar expression.

Discussion Questions:

  1. How do you react/feel when someone tries to borrow money from you?
  2. Are payday loans a help to people or not? Explain your thoughts about it.
  3. Are payday loans common in your country? What is your opinion about their high interest rates?