Work and Jobs

1. Warm-up Discussion
a) Translate or give the Romanian equivalent to the above sayings and say which your
favourite is. Explain your choice.
 “Thank God, it's Friday!” (TGIF)
 "Make the best of a bad job"
 If a job is worth doing, it's worth doing well"
b) Answer the following questions.
 If you work…
What do you do? What are you in charge of? What are your responsibilities?
 If you don’t work…
What sort of job would you like to do? What routine would you like to have?
 What an ideal job be for you ?
 Do you agree with D. H. Lawrence that one should not do any job which he/she does not
like ? Why/Why not ?

1.2. Choosing a Job

What are your priorities in choosing a job?
 Opportunity for promotion
 Steady work
 Opportunity to learn a skill
 Opportunity to use one’s own ideas
 A good boss
 High pay/salary
 Job security
 Opportunity to be of public service
 Good working conditions
 Good working hours
 Clean and easy work
 Etc.

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1.3. Collocations of words connected with work
It’s not easy to get/ find work round these parts.
I’d love to do that kind of work.

What d’ you do for a living?

It’s difficult to make a living as a freelance writer.

[earn enough money to live comfortably]
I’ve been offered a job in Paris. She’s not prepared
to take on that job.
[includes the idea of ‘having personal
responsibility’]

Expressions connected with work

to work shift-work [nights one week, days next]
to be on flexi-time [flexible working hours]
to work nine-to-five [regular day work]
to go/be on strike [industrial dispute]
to get the sack [thrown out of your job]
to be fired [more formal than ‘get the sack’;

often used as a direct address: ’You’re fired!’]

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to be dismissed [more formal than ‘be fired’]
to be made redundant [thrown out, no longer needed]
to be laid off [more informal than ‘made redundant’]
to give up work [e.g. in order to study]
to be on / take maternity leave,[expecting a baby]
to be on / take sick leave [illness]
to take early retirement [retire at 55]
to be workaholic [love work too much]
to be promoted [get a higher position]
to apply for a job [fill in forms, etc.]

1.4. The Career Ladder

A. Getting a job
When Paul left school he applied for (= wrote an official request for) a job in the
accounts department of a local engineering company. They gave him a job as a trainee (=
a very junior person in a company). He didn’t earn very much but they gave him a lot of
training (= organised help and advice with learning the job), and sent him on training
courses.
Note: Training is an uncountable noun, so you can not say ‘a training’. You can only talk
about training (in general), or a training course (if you want to refer to just one). Here
you can use the verbs do or go on: I did / went on several training courses last year.

B. Moving up
Paul worked hard at the company and his prospects (= future possibilities in the job)
looked good. After his first year he got a good pay rise (= more money), and after two
years he was promoted (= given a higher position with more money and responsibility).
After six years he was in charge of (= responsible for / the boss of) the accounts
department with five other employees (= workers in the company) under him (= under
his responsibility/authority).

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C. Leaving the company
By the time Paul was 30, however, he decided he wanted a fresh challenge (= a new
exciting situation). He was keen to work abroad, so he resigned from his company (=
officially told the company he was leaving his job; you can also say ‘he quit the
company’) and started looking for a new job with a bigger company. After a couple of
months he managed to find a job with an international company which involved (=
included) a lot of foreign travel. He was very excited about the new job and at first he
really enjoyed the travelling, but…

D. Hard times
After about six months, Paul started to dislike the constant moving around, and after a
year he hated it; he hated living in hotels, and he never really made any friends in the new
company. Unfortunately his work was not satisfactory either and finally he was sacked
(= told to leave the company / dismissed / given the sack) a year later.
After that, Paul found things much more difficult. He was unemployed (= out of work /
without a job) for over a year. He had to sell his car and move out of his new house.
Things were looking bad and in the end Paul had to accept a part-time job (= working
only some of the day ore some of the week) on a fruit and vegetable stall in a market.

E. Happier times
To his surprise, Paul loved the market. He made lots of friends and enjoyed working out
in the open air. After two years, he took over (= took control of) the stall. Two years later
he opened a second stall, and after ten years he had fifteen stalls. Last year Paul retired (=
stopped working completely) at the age of 55, a very rich man.

1.5. Ways of working

a) I’m an office worker in an insurance company. It’s a nine-to-five job with regular
working hours. The work isn’t very interesting, but I like to be able to go home at a
reasonable time
We all have to clock in and clock out every day. In this company, even the managers
have to, which is unusual.

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Note: You .also say clock on and clock off.
b) I’m in computer programming. There’s a system of flexitime in my company, which
means we can work when we want, within certain limits. We can start at any time
before eleven, and finish ad early as three, as long as we do enough hours each
month. It’s ideal for me as I have two young children.
c) I work in a car plant. I work in shifts. I may be on the day shift one week and the
night shift the next week. It’s difficult changing from one shift to another. When I
change shifts, I have problems changing to a new routine for sleeping and eating.
d) I’m a commercial artist in an advertising agency. I work in a big city, but I prefer
living in the country, so I commute to work every day, like thousands of other
commuters. Working from home using a computer and the Internet is becoming
more and more popular, and the agency is introducing this: it’s called teleworking or
telecommuting. But I like going into the office and working with other people
around me.

1.7. Find adjectives that are used in front of ‘job’ and ‘ work’ when:
 The work is interesting and gives you positive feelings
 The work is not interesting
 The work involves doing the same things again and again
 The work is difficult and makes you tired.

1.8.Which person (1-5) is most likely to do each of the five things (a-e)?
1. A software designer in an Internet company. Has to be in the office.
1. An office worker in a large, traditional manufacturing company.
2. A manager in a department store in a large city. Lives in the country.
3. A construction worker on a building site where work goes on 24 hours a day.
4. A technical writer for a city computer company. Lives in the country.
a. work in shifts
b. work under a flexitime system
c. telecommute
d. commute to work

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e. clock on and off at the same time every day.

1.9.Discussion Points
 If you work…
Do you have a nine-to-five job?
Do you have to clock on and off?
Is there a flexitime system in your organization?
Are there people who do shiftwork in your company?
 If you don’t work…
What sort of working hours would you like to have if you worked?

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