Episode 222 Business English Job Satisfaction

Disclaimer

I am using an automatic transcript service as it is not possible for me to do it on my own and I cannot afford human transcription at the moment. The service claims to have about 95% accuracy, which means there will still be some mistakes, so my apologies for having a less than perfect transcript, but I hope I can afford human transcription soon and I will solve this problem. However, the service is pretty good, and the transcript is almost perfect.

Transcript

Welcome to a new episode from English plus podcast. Today’s going to be the first episode in our business English advanced series. And we will talk about job satisfaction. But before we start, let me remind you that you can find the transcript of this episode in a link. I will leave in the description and you can also find a link that will take you to Patreon.

[00:00:26] Well, you can become a patron of English plus podcast. You can support the podcast. And by doing that, you will get a PDF practice worksheet custom made for every single episode we create. So that being said, let’s start right away by talking about job satisfaction. And what gives you job satisfaction?

[00:00:44] When you say that you are satisfied or you’re not satisfied? Today, we’re going to focus on job satisfaction. We’re not going to talk about the things that make you dissatisfied with your job. So to do that, we will listen to three accounts by three different people talking about the reasons why their job is satisfactory.

[00:01:02] So without further ado, let’s start with the first person who starts with saying her job is so rewarding. So what does she say? I work in advertising. I love my work. It’s really a rewarding and stimulating, satisfying and interesting originality and creativity are very important in this industry. Of course, we have to come up with produced lots of new ideas.

[00:01:28] No two days are the same. I could be contacting film companies for new advertising campaigns one day and giving client presentations the next I like the client contact. And I’m very much hands-on involved with the productive work of the agency rather than managing it. While I joined agency, I hit it off with my colleagues immediately.

[00:01:50] I still get on well with them and there’s a very good rapport between us. This is all part of my job satisfaction. So let’s stop here and think about the key words and the key ideas, why this person is satisfied with their job. First, she talked about it’s really rewarding and stimulating. Now, when a job is rewarding, you’re not just talking about the money.

[00:02:12] You’re talking about all the benefits to you because you do this job. And of course you can include the money in saying that a job is rewarding. Money is a part of it, but it’s not everything rewarding is even more. And you can say it’s stimulating. It’s interesting. So these are two reasons why this person is satisfied.

[00:02:30] Other things she talked about, she talks about originality and creativity, originality, and creative. She said these things are very important in the industry. Of course, when we talk about originality and creativity, we’re talking about ideas. You need to come up with. To come up with an idea that needs to come up with new ideas.

[00:02:50] And that is the creative side or the original side of the job on our keywords here are originality and creativity. Some people like it, some people like to have jobs which demand a lot of originality and creativity. Some people prefer other jobs with more routine agendas, but for this person, absolutely originality and creativity are very important and she likes it.

[00:03:13] What else? She used a very interesting expression. She said no two days are the same, no two days out at the same. You’re talking about a job. That’s not routine at all. Nothing is really repetitive. One day she said I could be contacting film companies for new advertising campaigns. The next day I could be giving client presentations.

[00:03:32] So she does different things every day. And that is very interesting for her. No two days are the same. That’s why she satisfied, but that’s not all. She also said that she likes the client contact. The client contact when you have to meet clients and talk to them, maybe give them presentations or try to convince them with some products, et cetera.

[00:03:53] But that is the client context. Some people like it, some people don’t like it for this example, he or she likes the client contact. That’s our keyword here. And she also said I’m very much hands-on. What does it mean to be hands-on when you’re hands-on that means you’re involved with the productive side of the job.

[00:04:10] Not only the managing side, when you’re just managing the thing and you don’t do things with your own two hands, that means you’re not so much hands-on but he or she said I’m very much hands-on. Involved with the productive work of the agency, rather than managing it. And she likes it. Some people don’t, but she does.

[00:04:29] And when she came to talk about the relationship she has with her colleagues, she said, when I joined the agency, I hit it off with my colleagues to hit it off, hit it off with your colleagues. That means to have a very good relationship with those people. And then she continued by saying, I get on well with them.

[00:04:48] That’s the same meaning to have a good relationship, but to hit it off, to have a very good start, very good start of a relationship with somebody, a successful start. And here also, there is a key word she used here. She said there’s a very good rapport, our app or T there’s a very good rapport between us also talking about the good relationship between the employees in the company and all that.

[00:05:12] Gives her job satisfaction. Well, for some people that might sound like a dream job for some others, maybe not a nightmare, but maybe not that interesting. So it depends, of course it’s always depend job satisfaction depends on who you are and what you want for this person. It’s the dream job she’s ever wanted.

[00:05:29] And she has it good for her. Now let’s move on to talk about the second person for today. And this person is an aircraft engineer. Let’s listen to what he has to say about his job, but also remember he is satisfied and he will talk about the aspects that make him satisfied with a job. I’m an aircraft engineer.

[00:05:48] I work on research and development of new aircraft. I love putting ideas into practice. I like working on my own, but it’s also great being part of a team. I like the teamwork and the sense of achievement when we do something new. And of course the planes we produce are very beautiful. Is there anything I don’t like?

[00:06:11] Well, I dislike days when I’m chained to a desk. I don’t like admin and paperwork. Sometimes I feel I’m snowed under there’s so much to do, and I don’t know how to deal with it. And in a large organization like ours, there can be a lot of bureaucracy or red tape rigid procedures that can slow things down.

[00:06:32] So here, this man, or this aircraft engineer started talking about the things he liked about his job, and then talked about a couple of things he did not like about his job. At least these things were not his favorite side of the job, but first let’s talk about the positive things he said. I love putting ideas into practice and for an engineer.

[00:06:53] Of course, this is very satisfactory, especially for passionate engineers, passionate engineers. Don’t want to just draw blueprints and they never see the end result of their designs. No, they’d like to put ideas into practice. They design the, see the thing done, and that is to put ideas into practice, not just theoretical stuff.

[00:07:13] They want practical applications for their ideas. And that’s a part he loves about his job. He also said, I love working on my own. Some people love working alone or on their own, like you said, I love working on my own, but he doesn’t mind the teamwork. He said also it’s also great being a part of a team.

[00:07:32] I like the teamwork. Some people like teamwork, some people don’t, some people don’t mind it. It’s okay if I work with other people, but I prefer working on my own. So that’s also, again, depends on your character, on what you want and on your job in some jobs, yes. You may work on your own, but in other jobs you have to work with other people, actually in most jobs, you have to work with other people, especially if you’re working in a big organization, like our engineer here, he also talked about the sense of achievement.

[00:08:02] And that is when he related it to the planes they produce. Now, of course, when you finish something and when you see your idea from start to finish from the beginning to the end, and then you see this idea take shape and become a practical thing, something you can use, there’s a sense of achievement. You have achieved something.

[00:08:21] So here you can use it as an expression. I love the sense of achievement I have when I do something new, like this man said, And of course the planes we produce are very beautiful. He said, so these were the good things, the things that made him satisfied with his job. But what about the things he doesn’t like that much?

[00:08:38] He talked about a couple of those. He said I don’t like it when I’m chained to a desk. Of course it’s not literally speaking chained to a desk, but. You can imagine it. And I’m sure if you’ve ever had a job before and you had to stay on your desk, not to move, just to do a lot of paperwork and admin work, you might have felt this way.

[00:08:59] Like you’re chained to a desk and this is an expression we can use in English. By talking about, I feel I’m chained to a desk. I can’t move because I have to do a lot without moving around and for a person who loves, as he said before, putting ideas into practice, the sense of achievement, building things, he’s an engineer.

[00:09:17] Of course he wouldn’t like being chained to a desk doing the admin and paperwork. Now the admin is the administrative necessary of course work you have to do. And the paperwork, which is also necessary. But he doesn’t like it. And a lot of people don’t like that, but some people do. So maybe the admin and paperwork is something that gives you job satisfaction.

[00:09:38] I don’t know. But for this man, definitely. It’s not part of his job satisfaction, but it’s a part of the job and he has to do it. And he said, sometimes I feel I’m snowed under now, when you feel you’re snowed under, that means there’s so much to do and you don’t know how to deal with it. You’re snowed under, you have a lot to do, and you don’t know where to start.

[00:09:58] And then he talked about the bureaucracy or red tape. He said, because he works in a large organization. Of course, there can be a lot of bureaucracy or red tape. Now, even when we talk about bureaucracy or red tape, you are referring to proceed or rules, especially when you see them unnecessarily and caused delay unnecessary delays, because there is this bureaucracy things have to go from one person to the next, to the other, and a lot of different people before.

[00:10:27] They get into action and that is bureaucracy or red tape. And that is obviously something, our friend, the engineer doesn’t like, so that was about the engineer. Now let’s talk about the third end, last person for today talking about her job satisfaction. And she is in luxury goods sale. I’m in luxury goods sale.

[00:10:48] I have some nice perks like company car. I have to meet demanding sales targets every month. So the work can be very stressful. But I enjoy the flexibility that I have in working when I want to, without someone breathing down my neck all the time, unlike my husband who has to travel into London every day, I don’t have to commute to an office.

[00:11:10] I’m out seeing clients. Most of the time, my boss allows me to telecommute. I can work from home when I’m not seeing clients. I only get two weeks a year vacation time. If there’s a family emergency, I can take time off without having to ask my boss. I work quite long hours, about 60 hours a week, but I enjoy my job.

[00:11:30] So obviously she is also satisfied with her job. She likes it. Of course, there are sides that are difficult, stressful, et cetera, but there are good sides as well. Let’s talk about this. Chief stopped the bug. Nice perks. Now perks are special benefits that are given to people who have a particular job or belong to a particular group.

[00:11:52] Now, in her case, she said the perks and she talked about the company car. Now the company card is not given to every employee in the company. Obviously it is given to some people who work for the company, and that is a perk. That is a special benefit. So she likes the fact that she has some nice perks.

[00:12:09] And then she talked about that she has to meet demanding sales targets. And that can be very stressful. Of course, stressful is not easy because she has tough targets to meet, but that is not a problem because she also have other good things like when she said, but I enjoy the flexibility that I have in working.

[00:12:29] Her work is flexible. It is not a regular nine to five job at all. No, she has flexible time and she enjoys working without someone breathing down her neck. Now, this is a very interesting expression that you would want to learn. I really want to work without someone breathing down my neck. That is an expression to say that someone supervising or monitoring me all the time.

[00:12:57] Breathing down my neck. So of course it’s an idiom, but we can use it to talk about being monitored or watched all the time. I guess, almost all people don’t like it to be breathing down their neck all the time. And of course she likes it because she doesn’t have to work with someone breathing down her neck all the time.

[00:13:16] I also, there’s another good thing about her work that she doesn’t have to commute to an office. She doesn’t have to use. Any kind of transportation, maybe even this perk, she has the company car. She doesn’t have to commute to an office. He doesn’t have to go there every day. So her boss allows her to telecommute, to work from home.

[00:13:35] When you telecommute, that means you can work from home. Her boss allows her to do that. And that’s a very good thing for her. Some people may not like it. Of course, you have to be disciplined to get the work done. But you do it from the comfort of your own home, especially when it can be done from home.

[00:13:52] So there’s no reason to commute every day. You would save a lot of time and it will be more convenient for you. So she said, I can work from home when I’m not seeing clients. Of course, when she sees clients, she has to travel to see clients, but that is not commuting. Commuting is going to the office and coming back from the office every day, that’s different.

[00:14:10] When she goes to see her clients, they may be in different places and that’s not commuting. So she can telecommute and that is a thing she likes very much. And then she talked about her vacation time. She gets two weeks, a year of vacation time. And then she also talked about time off now, vacation time.

[00:14:26] Of course, it’s different vacation time. You have a set number of days every year. You can take as vacation time, according to your company’s policy, you can take them all at once or you can take them separately. Depends on what kind of work you do, but she has two weeks. A year, vacation time, but then when there’s a family emergency, I can take time off.

[00:14:47] Time off is not included in your vacation time. That’s a different thing. And you may be allowed to take time off and you may not also depends on the company’s policy, but when you take time off, most of the time you take it from your vacation time. But anyway, you may not even be allowed to take time off under any circumstances.

[00:15:06] Some companies are that tough. But for her case, she can take time off even without having to ask her boss when there’s a family emergency. Of course. And maybe one downside of her job is she has to work quite long hours. She works 60 hours a week. Well, that’s a lot of hours a week, but she said, I enjoy my job.

[00:15:27] She’s okay with it. She’s fine with working 60 hours a week. So she’s satisfied. And that brings her job satisfaction. So that’ll be all for today’s episode. We talked about three different people. We talked about different ways that bring people, job satisfaction. And that was the key topic of today’s episode, job satisfaction.

[00:15:48] I hope you found the information I shared with you. Interesting and useful. And of course we will talk about more ideas in business English in the episodes to come in this series, business English advanced. So before leaving you, let me remind you that you can find the transcript of this episode in a link.

[00:16:04] I will leave in the description and you can also become patrons of the show on Patreon and support our show and help us continue the show with our daily program. And by doing that, you will get PDF practice worksheet, custom made. For every single episode we release with that being said, this is your host, Danny.

[00:16:23] Thank you very much for listening to another episode from English plus podcast. I will see you next time.