El Which of these factors would motivate you to work harder?

Choose your top

five and rank them in order of priority. Explain your priorities.
bonus more responsibility working for a successful company
bigger salary threat of redundancy better working environment
commission hard-working boss promotion opportunities
praise supportive colleagues more time off
important job title perks more flexible working hours

El 10 co2.1, 2.2, 2.3 Listen to three people talking about their motivation at work.
Which of the factors in Exercise A do they mention? Who do/would
you agree with?

II Discuss these questions.

1 For what reasons might you change jobs? How often do you expect to do so in your
lifetime? Is changing jobs often a sign of success in your culture?
2 A recent US survey showed children preferred parents to go out and earn money rather
than spend more time with them. What does this show, in your opinion?
3 Would you prefer a male or female boss? Why?
H JOB SATISFACTION

El Look at the sentences below. Underline the words or phrases which can
Synonyms and be replaced with an item from the box without a change in meaning.
word-building assessment breakdown empowerment fringe benefits red tape remuneration
severance payment take iflaustrial aetiefl

1 If employees become too discontent, they rnay go on strike. take i11du,trial actio11
2 Most people like to have control over their work and therefore put autonomy near
the top of their list of motivating factors.
3 Dealing with bureaucracy is a very time-consuming, demotivating problem which
affects large businesses and organisations.
4 Overwork can lead to burnout if not spotted early.
5 Many job satisfaction studies, perhaps surprisingly, have found that often a
compensation package is not the most motivating factor for many employees.
6 Offering perks rather than a salary increase can be a way of retaining employees in
traditionally high staff turnover industries.
7 He received a very generous golden handshake when he left the company.
8 One way for managers to monitor and develop staff is by using appraisal interviews.

[I Complete each of these sentences with a word formed from the verb on the
left. Sometimes you will need to use a negative form.
s A T I s F v 1 a) The survey showed that staff working flexible hours were more 5.a.tii-.f1�.d. with
their jobs than those working fixed hours.
b) Low pay and poor working conditions create ............ workers.
c) Small European companies are top of job ............ league tables.

M O T I V A T E 2 a) What are the strongest ............ factors in people's lives?

b) Workers become ............ if they work long hours for low pay.
c) What was your ............ for becoming a salesperson?

IF R u s T R A T Ej 3 a) You could see the ............ building up in the workforce.

b) I find talking to him ............ because he never listens.
c) I felt so ............ with their attitude that I decided to resign.

[i E C O G N I S El 4 a) Employees are more likely to change jobs if they feel their work is ............ or
that others take credit for it.
b) Because of her people skills, she was able to achieve ............ and respect at the
company.
c) The company ............ his lifelong service on retirement with a formal dinner and
a substantial golden handshake.

II Discuss these questions.

1 What do you find satisfying and frustrating about your work or studies?
2 How true do you think these statements are?
a) There is no such thing as company loyalty these days.
b) Only successful people can have a good work-life balance.
c) Job satisfaction is about personality, not external factors.
d) Job satisfaction increases with age.
e) Improvements in technology lead to greater job satisfaction.
f ) Job sharing and job rotation are not good for motivation.
g) People who work from home tend to work harder than people who don't.
.... JOB SATISFACTION

lfJ4d1Mdi;H1•¥', • We use the passive when we are not interested in who performs an action or it is not
necessary to know.
Passives
Information about the takeover hod been leaked to the press.
• We often use it to describe processes and procedures because we are more
interested in the process itself than who carries it out.
The bottles ore filled before the labels are put on.
• We use the passive to write in a more formal style because it is less personal than
the active. It is often used in reports, minutes and business correspondence.
Your application hos been forwarded to the Human Resources Department.

I] Complete this extract with passive forms of the verbs in brackets.

1
Over time, job satisfaction ............ ............ ............ (define) in a number of ways.
2
Edwin Locke said that job satisfaction ............ ............ (determine) by the difference
between what one wants in a job and what one has in a job. Herzberg states that
satisfaction and dissatisfaction ............ ........... .3 (drive) by different things - motivation
4
and 'hygiene' factors (such as pay), respectively. Motivation ........................ ............
(can /see) as an inner force that drives people to perform. One of the most famous ways
of measuring job satisfaction is the Minnesota Job Satisfaction Questionnaire, which
..............•.........5 (create) in 1963. Some researchers say that people who ..........
7
... • . ..... ..6 (satisfy) with life tend to ............ ............ (satisfy) with their job.
t goad
ienM?
A software company with a 'Long hours' culture needs to ensure
that staff relationships don't damage behaviour at work

Background
Patrick � cGuire, CEO of San Diego-based Techno21, is facing a
- problem caused by the highly
compet1t1ve nature of the IT industry. Recently, employees have
been working much longer hours
than previously and often over weekends. As a result, a number
of staff have developed close,
�ersonal relationships with each other. Patrick has begun to think that the company may need to
introduce a policy to give these employees guidelines concerni
ng their behaviour at work.

Techno21 is a young company with a very relaxed atmosphere, and staff are encouraged to
socialise during their free time.

Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of working in this kind of environment.

Relationships at work: three cases

Patrick McGuire's assistant has prepared notes on three cases in which personal relationships
have affected staff performance and morale. Read about the cases in preparation for a meeting
on managing relationships at work.

1 Promotion application of 2 The sales conference 3 The loving couple

Judith Fisher

Peter Walters, the Chief Financial At the company's international sales About a year ago, two colleagues,
Officer, had a close relationship with conference , Brad Johnson, a sales Lisa Davis and Steffan Olsen,
one of his staff, Judith Fisher, but manager, met Erica Stewart for became romantically involved.
they broke up. A few months later, the first time. He attended all the They kept their relationship secret
Walters had to choose someone to discussion groups she was in and - or so they thought. However,
be promoted to be his deputy. Judith always sat at her table at lunch. the other members of their team
Fisher was one of three candidates. He texted her repeatedly, inviting suspected something was going on.
She didn't get the job. She claims her to have a drink or dinner with The team noticed that, at meetings,
now that it was because she'd had him. He was clearly very impressed Lisa and Steffan always supported
a personal relationship with Walters with her. each other's opinions. Also, they
which had gone sour. According would give each other loving looks
When they both got back to Head
to her, this was Walters's way of or be more tactile than was normal
Office, Brad Johnson asked for Erica
taking revenge. Patrick McGuire and among employees. Their behaviour
to be transferred to his sales team.
Veronica Simpson (HR Director) took upset the rest of the team.
Erica went to see Veronica Simpson
no action. Judith is now threatening A representative of the group talked
in order to reject Johnson's request. to the team leader and asked her to
to take legal action against the
However, Veronica strongly advised
company. do something about it.
Erica not to turn down the transfer,
saying: 'Brad thinks you have the
personal qualities to be a brilliant
salesperson. He needs bright young
people to strengthen his team and
he thinks you're the right person to
join his team.' Erica is confused and
cannot decide what to do.

"4>» �D2.9 Patrick McGuire has come up with a propos I

_
which he wants to discuss with Veronica Simpson. :J
Listen and take notes.
Are you in danger of burning out? 4 There Is a rumour going around that a proposed
company merger may mean some job losses.
You're turning up for meetings at the right time, but Do you:
in the wrong week. You're pouring milk into a) take a cursory glance at the job adverts
the wastepaper basket rather than your coffee. in the paper and took for your CV?
You've Jost your temper with half of the office, and b) bite your nails until your fingers hurt?
the other half are cowering under their desks. You c) find yourself hyperventilating?
could be suffering from burnout, a debilitating
condition caused by working too hard for too Jong 5 It's bedtime and you are exhausted after a
and failing to prioritise. Try this quiz to see if stressful day at the office. Do you:
you are in danger of se/f-combusting. a) lie awake for two hours, then make a start
on next week's assignment?
1 Your boss asks If you can work late for the third b) lie awake for five minutes, then sleep right
night In a row. Do you: through until morning?
a) say yes without giving it a second thought? c) tie awake for one hour, then read for a while
b) laugh politely and close the door on your way until you fall asleep?
out? 6 Some colleagues ask If you could help them with
c) say yes, but feel like crying? a problem, but you're In the middle of a project
2 Some of your colleagues want to play a practical with a tight deadline. Do you:
joke on your boss for April Fool's Day. Do you: a) schedule some time in your diary to work with
a) organise a brainstorming session to select the them when you're free?
best idea? b) agree to help, but become irritated when
b) tell them that there are more important things they don't grasp the solution straight away?
to be done? c) tell them to speak to someone who cares?
c) go to your boss and tell them what they are 7 There are a lot more things on your 'to do' list
planning to do? than you realistically have time for. Do you:
3 You arrive home one Friday night with a pile of a) divide the items into 'urgent' and 'important'
work only to discover that your friend has and start with the urgent things?
arranged a surprise weekend away. Do you: b) pick out the easy tasks and start with them?
a) leave the work behind and take Monday c) work overtime until they're all done?
off to catch up? 8 An old friend you haven't seen for ages asks
b) tell him/her that you're sorry, but you can't you to go out for a meal. Do you:
afford the time? a) have a fantastic evening of reminiscence?
c) agree to go, but insist on taking the work b) refuse the invitation as you are always too
with you? tired to go out on weekdays?
c) accept the invitation, and spend the evening
telling them all about your job?

from The Guardian