Interview a staff member and ask questions using the questions suggested. Think of the additional ones.

Position: (What / job?)

Routine: (What / do/ each day?)

Hours: (What / hours/ work?)

Breaks: (How often / breaks?)

Lunch: (When and where / have lunch?)

Feelings about job: (What / like/ not like about job?)

Travelling: (Have / ever /travelled/ abroad/ business?) (Where/ go?)

Polite expressions

We use a lot of standard polite expressions in social situations. Here are examples of some important ones.

Asking people to do things	Agreeing	Refusing
Can you…?	Yes, certainly	I am sorry, but …
Will you…?	Yes, of course	I am afraid…
Could you…?	No, not at all
Would you…?
Could you possibly…?

Asking for permission	Agreeing	Refusing
Can I…?	Yes, certainly	I am sorry, but…
Could I…?	Yes, of course	I am afraid…
May I …?	Please do
Could I possibly…?	By all means
Would you mind if I used your phone?	No, not at all

Thanking	Replies
Thanks	You are welcome
Thank you very much indeed	Don’t mention it
It’s very good of you	Not at all
	It’s a pleasure

Apologizing	Replies
Sorry	It’s OK
I am extremely sorry	No problem
	It doesn’t matter
	Don’t worry about it

Offering help	Accepting	Refusing
Do you want a hand?	That would be great	No, it’s all right, thanks
Can I…?	Yes please. Thank you very much	That’s kind of you, but I can manage.

Work - life balance.

Read the text and answer the following questions.

1. What is a good work-life balance for you?

2. Why is work-life balance so important for you?

3. Do you like working under pressure? Why? Why not?

4. Is it important to have a certain level of stress in the workplace?

5. What should companies do to reduce stress at work?

6. How important is the working environment in reducing stress?

Work-life balance is the ability to give a good amount of time to your work and to outside interests, e.g. family. It is an interesting question as everybody has a different sense of what works for him/her. People like work that is rewarding and gives them satisfaction. However, the fact is that most jobs nowadays have become demanding with longer hours and greater pressure. That is why more and more people want to get away from what they call the rat race, the feeling that work is too competitive. They are looking for lifestyle that is less stressful or completely unstressful. They are looking for more relaxed ways of living and working. Some of them choose to work from home to be nearer to their families. People are looking for a better quality of life, healthier work-life balance. Choosing to work in less stressful ways is known as rebalancing. Specialists are sure that stress might be part of people’s job satisfaction. There are lots of things that can make people feel under pressure at work –for example, having too much to do, not feeling in control, and also not having good relationships with the people that they work with. All of these things can build up, and when pressure gets too much, it spills over into feelings of stress. Many companies can really help their employees by being flexible in how they expect staff to work. To solve the problem if some employees do not like travelling in rush hour, they could come in a little bit early and leave a little bit early or company ‘management could ban staff from working at weekends or introduce flexitime for parents with young children or perhaps, allow some staff work from home. Not a bad idea to set up a counseling service with a professional counselor. Staff could go there and talk about their problems.