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BUSINESS ENGLISH · BUSINESS ISSUES · UPPER-INTERMEDIATE (B2-C1)

WORKING
FROM HOME

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14CN-J4JB-ZIME

1 Warm up

Discuss the following questions.

1. In what situations do people work from home in your company?

2. Is working from home something that people in your company do a lot or not? Why?
3. Are there rules for working from home? If so, what are they?
4. Do you personally prefer to work from home, or go to the office? Why?
5. What do you think are the advantages and disadvantages of working from home?
6. If you could choose a country to work from, which would it be and why?

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WORKING FROM HOME

2 Understanding concepts

In the video you are about to watch, the speaker talks about a "distributed workforce". In pairs, look
at the following definitions and decide which one describes this way of working.

a. Employees who are often travelling to other locations, but come into the office when they are not
away.
b. Employees who work for the same company but from different areas in a country or maybe even
different countries.
c. Employees who commute from home into the same office space on a daily basis.

Which of the other two definitions are for:

An office workforce?

A field workforce?

Now, look at the following jobs in the box. Write the jobs in the correct column below.

sales representative bank manager IT technician web designer

software engineer consultant Human Resources

manager

distributed workforce office workforce field workforce

1 2 3

4 5 6

Can you add any other jobs to the table?

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UPPER-INTERMEDIATE (B2-C1)

WORKING FROM HOME

3 Understanding vocabulary

Look at the following metaphors from the talk. In pairs, decide what the metaphors mean in a business
environment.

1. nomads
2. everyone is on an equal playing field...
3. when hiring, big tech companies fish from the same small pond...
4. leave a trail
5. we want to make sure everyone is on the same page
6. consider how you can tap into global talent

In pairs answer these questions.

1. Is it possible for people to be nomads with your company? Do you think being a nomad is a good
idea? Would you like to work in this way? Why/why not?
2. What can you do in your company to ensure that everyone is on an equal playing field?
3. When your company is hiring, where do they fish from?
4. What do you do or what can you do to leave a trail at work?
5. What can you do in your professional life to make sure that everyone is on the same page with
business decisions?
6. What does your company do to tap into talent?

4 Watching for comprehension

Watch the first part of the video (00:00-02:00) "Why working from home is good for business" by
Matt Mullenweg and answer the following questions.

Part A - Listen for general ideas

1. The talk is by Matt Mullenweg who is the CEO of a ___ company.

a. technology b. travel

2. His employees are based ...

a. in California. b. all over the world.

3. It’s important for his workers to have ...

a. a good Wifi connection. b. an office to work in.

4. One of the benefits of working for Matt’s company is that you can choose ...

a. how long your commute is. b. what you want your work environment to
be like.

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WORKING FROM HOME

Part B - Listen for details

Watch the video again and try to choose the best ending.

1. The speaker uses the word distributed and not remote because ...

a. in his company, some people are essential, some aren’t.

b. everyone is of equal importance.
c. no one is watching TV.

2. The speaker believes that ...

a. opportunity is equally distributed in the world, but talent is not.

b. talent and opportunity are equally distributed throughout the world, but intelligence is not.
c. opportunity is not equally distributed throughout the world, but talent and intelligence are.

3. The main advantage that the speaker gives for distributed work is ...

a. everyone can decide how they want to work.

b. everyone can control the temperature of their room.
c. you can commute to work if you want to.

4. The first suggestion the speaker has for building distributed working in a company is ...

a. make decisions in the kitchen.

b. keep a record of decisions made that everyone can access.
c. have one person make all the decisions.

5. The second suggestions the speaker makes is ...

a. try to spend three or four weeks apart.

b. spend half the time working, half the time playing.
c. schedule productive time together.

6. The final suggestion the speaker gives is ...

a. allow people to create their own work environment.

b. buy the employees coffee.
c. buy a good chair and a desk for the employees.

In pairs, discuss the questions.

1. Did you find the talk useful? Why/Why not?

2. Do you like the idea of working like this? What do you think will be the positives and the negatives
of working in this way?

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WORKING FROM HOME

5 Talking point

The CEO of your company has come to you and asked you to make some recommendations for moving
the company towards a ’distributed workforce’. In groups, create a list of five recommendations you
will give and what benefits they will have.

Distributed workforce

1. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

2. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

3. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

4. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

5. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

The speaker mentions that his company pays a "stipend" (money given to buy work-related materials)
to employees to create a perfect work environment. If your company gave you a stipend, how would
you spend it to create an ideal home work environment?

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