Here you will learn English collocations connected with work. Flexible working hours, work-life balance, a major drawback, and more.
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Harry
Collocations Connected with Work
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Hi there. This is Harry. And welcome back to a podcast where I try to help you to understand the English language. Okay, so what do I have for you now? Well, in this particular podcast, we’re going to take a look at some English collocations connected with work.
Collocations Connected with Work
flexible working hours
Meaning: there’s flexibility at the beginning and the end of the day so that you can fit it in with your the rest of your life. For example, drop kids to school, attend doctor appointments, etc.
You can start at eight and finish at four or start at nine and finish at five. So as long as you get your eight hours on nine hours, whatever your boss requires, then there’s flexibility. Perhaps you are not an early morning person, and therefore 10 o’clock suits you better. So we all like to enjoy flexible working hours.
Example:
The concept of flexible working hours is that it is unnecessary for all employees to begin and end work at the same fixed times.
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INSANITY: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.
the minimum wage
Meaning: the lowest wage per hour that your employer is legally required to pay you
It could be €8 an hour, €9, €10, depending on which jurisdiction you’re in. They set and established what the minimum wage is going to be. So whatever number of hours you get, it’s multiplied by the amount of the minimum wage, and that is what you can expect to achieve in your weekly or monthly salary.
Example:
All employers are required to pay at least the set minimum wage to their employees.
work-life balance
Meaning: getting the right balance in your day in your week between your work and your private life
Of course, this could include now, because of the Internet, getting emails outside of working hours, getting messages from bosses and people, effectively putting pressure on people to work outside the normal working day or working week.
Example:
For parents, it is vitally important to have a good work-life balance.
temporary contract
Meaning: a contract for a temporary period. You start one day and it ends with a definitive end date in three weeks.
Example:
Some employers provide only temporary contracts on a year-to-year basis.
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managerial responsibility
Meaning: supervisory responsibilities and duties
Example:
Managerial responsibilities include directing and overseeing personnel, administrating important procedures and processes.
a foolproof solution
Meaning: a solution that can’t go wrong, usually a foolproof solution is easy enough to find
Example:
Recently I have come up with a foolproof solution to this old problem.
a major drawback
Meaning: a major inconvenience, something that’s going to stop us for a while
Example:
A major drawback was that nobody spoke English in that place.
Collocations Connected with Work
heavy workload
Meaning: huge amount of work that you have to do, having more work than you’re required to do
Example:
I always have a heavy workload before the Christmas break.
employment agency
Meaning: this is where we go to find a job, people we contact who we might be able to put us in line for an interview.
Example:
There many employment agencies in our towns and cities.
sick leave
Meaning: a period of time when an employee is allowed to be off work due to illness
Example:
After one month, employees are entitled to sick leave pay to cover absences due to illness or injury.
poor working conditions
Meaning: conditions that are not suitable to work
Example:
It’s unfortunate that so many people around the world have to work in poor working conditions.
a promotion ladder
Meaning: it is a metaphorical ladder that we like to climb to show that we have made progress in an organisation
So we start at the bottom of the ladder or the first step on. Then, as each year, a couple of years goes by, we get a promotion. We move up the ladder just as we climb up any ladder.
Example:
Getting up that promotion ladder takes more than just doing your job well.
So that’s the end of those particular collocations connected with work. Let me just run through them again:
- flexible working hours
- the minumum wage
- work-life balance
- temporary contract
- managerial responsibility
- a foolproof situation
- a major drawback
- a heavy workload
- employment agency
- sick leave
- poor working conditions
- a promotion ladder
That’s all for today. Thanks for listening. If you need to contact me, please do and join me again soon.
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English phrases for business presentations
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