{"id":32969,"date":"2026-07-30T09:12:23","date_gmt":"2026-07-30T07:12:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/?p=32969"},"modified":"2026-07-30T09:12:24","modified_gmt":"2026-07-30T07:12:24","slug":"career-rust-out","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/2026\/07\/career-rust-out\/","title":{"rendered":"Career Rust-Out"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong><em>B2 \u2014 Upper Intermediate<\/em><\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Have you ever gone to work feeling bored and wondering if what you do really matters? That feeling may be career rust-out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As a result, you may experience lower productivity, frustration, and reduced job satisfaction.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To prevent or overcome career rust-out, individuals can develop new skills, seek greater responsibilities, set meaningful goals, or consider new career paths.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Watch the video about career rust-out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe title=\"What to know about career \u2018rust-out\u2019\" width=\"580\" height=\"326\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/l8AcAmci2Wg?wmode=transparent&amp;rel=0&amp;feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Vocabulary Questions:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>What does \u201c<strong>to suck the life out of someone\u201c<\/strong>? \u201d<em>The lack of inspiration <\/em><strong><em>is sucking the life out of you<\/em><\/strong><em>.<\/em>\u201d Use the expression in a sentence. Give a synonym.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>How does \u201c<strong>rust-out<\/strong>\u201d differ from \u201c<strong>burn-out<\/strong>\u201d? \u201d<em>Gabriela Flax experienced <\/em><strong><em>rust-out<\/em><\/strong><em> working in tech doing repetitive tasks each day.<\/em>\u201d Use the \u201crust-out\u201d in a sentence. Give a synonym.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>What is a \u201c<strong>stretch assignment<\/strong>\u201d? \u201d<em>You should go to your manager with a solution instead of asking them to solve the problem, like asking for that new <\/em><strong><em>stretch assignment<\/em><\/strong><em>, the option to attend a conference, maybe a workshop to learn a new skill.<\/em>\u201d Use the term in a sentence. Give a synonym.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Discussion Questions:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Why do some people lose motivation at work?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Can having too little work be as stressful as having too much work? Why or why not?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>What can employees do to overcome career rust-out?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>What responsibilities do employers have in preventing career rust-out?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Would you rather have a challenging job or an easy but repetitive job? Explain your answer.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Have you ever felt bored or unmotivated while studying or working? What helped you regain your motivation?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Do you think changing jobs is always the best solution to career rust-out? Why or why not?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>What kind of work environment helps people stay engaged and motivated?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>B2 \u2014 Upper Intermediate&nbsp; Have you ever gone to work feeling bored and wondering if what you do really matters? That feeling may be career rust-out. As a result, you may experience lower productivity, frustration, and reduced job satisfaction.&nbsp; To prevent or overcome career rust-out, individuals can develop new skills, seek greater responsibilities, set meaningful [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[291,292,290,14,156,480],"class_list":["post-32969","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-homework","tag-b2-upper-intermediate","tag-first-certificate-fce","tag-listening","tag-video","tag-work","tag-work-and-workplace"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v16.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Career Rust-Out | phone english blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/2026\/07\/career-rust-out\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Career Rust-Out | phone english blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"B2 \u2014 Upper Intermediate&nbsp; Have you ever gone to work feeling bored and wondering if what you do really matters? That feeling may be career rust-out. As a result, you may experience lower productivity, frustration, and reduced job satisfaction.&nbsp; To prevent or overcome career rust-out, individuals can develop new skills, seek greater responsibilities, set meaningful [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/2026\/07\/career-rust-out\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"phone english blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/facebook.com\/phoneenglish.es\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-07-30T07:12:23+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-07-30T07:12:24+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@phoneenglishes\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@phoneenglishes\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\">\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"1 minute\">\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/#organization\",\"name\":\"PHONE ENGLISH\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/facebook.com\/phoneenglish.es\",\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/phoneenglish\",\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/phoneenglishes\"],\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/#logo\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/phone-english1.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/phone-english1.png\",\"width\":200,\"height\":124,\"caption\":\"PHONE ENGLISH\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/#logo\"}},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"phone english blog\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":\"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\",\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/2026\/07\/career-rust-out\/#webpage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/2026\/07\/career-rust-out\/\",\"name\":\"Career Rust-Out | phone english blog\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-30T07:12:23+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-07-30T07:12:24+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/2026\/07\/career-rust-out\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/2026\/07\/career-rust-out\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/2026\/07\/career-rust-out\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"item\":{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"Blog\"}},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"item\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/2026\/07\/career-rust-out\/#webpage\"}}]},{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/2026\/07\/career-rust-out\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/2026\/07\/career-rust-out\/#webpage\"},\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/74786b784a3d32102e60c20d61b651c3\"},\"headline\":\"Career Rust-Out\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-30T07:12:23+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-07-30T07:12:24+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/2026\/07\/career-rust-out\/#webpage\"},\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/#organization\"},\"keywords\":[\"B2 - 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