Episode 256
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Hey everyone, welcome back to another episode of the podcast. I'm Georgiana, your English teacher, and my mission is to help you speak English fluently.
Great! Let's start!
Today, we're going to discuss a newspaper article.
It talks about five signs that indicate the need to find a new job.
Let's take a look!
#1 You hate it when they ask you about your job.
According to the article, if you hate when people ask you about your job, it may be time to consider a change.
I believe it makes a lot of sense. If every time someone asks you, "How are you doing at work?" you feel bad, maybe there's a problem. Who wants to feel that way? Nobody, right?
But maybe, when you're not at work, you simply want to disconnect. That is, to stop thinking about work. So, in this case, you might hate being asked about your work because you want to talk about other things. So, this sign is perhaps not so clear.
#2 You have a lousy time on Sundays.
Yes, it happens a lot. The weekend is short; as they say, it goes by quickly. So it's normal to feel sad because the next day is Monday and you have to work.
According to the article, if you have a lousy time on Sundays, which means you are very sad or negative, it indicates that the next day, you have to work on something you don't like at all.
And I completely agree. I think that, to a certain extent, this sign is reasonable. It is not normal to have a bad time every Sunday. Maybe you need a change, look for a new job.
#3 It affects your self-esteem.
If your job makes you feel bad about yourself, it affects your self-esteem. I have my reservations. It's true that a toxic work environment is not the best thing for your self-esteem, but our worth goes beyond our work.
#4 You hate logging into LinkedIn.
The fourth sign was a bit unexpected. According to the article, considering a job change is advised if you hate logging into LinkedIn. This point, I don't see it clearly. LinkedIn is simply a platform that helps connect people and companies. To say that hating LinkedIn is a sign that you need to change jobs, I'm not so sure.
#5 Poor Sleep Quality.
And the last sign the article gives us is if your job stresses you out so much that you can't get a good night's rest. In part, I agree with this. If you wake up at night thinking about work or have nightmares about it, that's not okay. However, it's important to keep in mind that factors beyond work can also affect our ability to sleep well.
As you can see, several signs could indicate it is time to look for another job. But remember, there is no magic list that will tell you when is the perfect time to do it. Everyone is different.
So, what do you think these signs mean? Do they indicate that it's time for you to start looking for a new job?
Now, let’s practice.
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GRAMMAR MADE EASY
POV Story: Grammar in Context
Read the same story in two different points of view and notice how the grammar changes naturally.
Past Tense - Singular
I will tell you the same story twice. So make sure to focus on the changes.
Henry has always been very dramatic, but lately, his work pushes him to extreme limits.
Whenever someone asks him about his work, Henry turns into a Shakespearean actor, playing out a comic tragedy: "How am I doing?" he exclaims with a dramatic sigh, "Ask heaven, who sometimes sees me crying in the bathroom!".
On Sundays, Henry has a hard time inventing fanciful scenarios of what Monday will be like. Sometimes he even counts down the seconds until he has to go into the office.
His self-esteem is also affected. One day he feels like the king of the world when he manages to fix the printer. The next, he feels terrible when he forgets to use a paper clip on his documents.
Henry hates LinkedIn. Whenever his friends accomplish fantastic things, he can only assume, "Surely they don't have to fight the coffee machine to get a decent dose of caffeine."
Finally, he gets such lousy rest that he dreams about endless PowerPoint presentations. In one dream, he found himself presenting "100 Ways to Chase Mice"... In a room full of cats who were CEOs.
One time, during a team meeting, Henry stood up, took a theatrical bow, and said, "Folks, I'm quitting. I can't take it anymore." So he quit his job for a much better one: bed tester.
Past Tense - Plural
Henry and Jane have always been very dramatic, but their work has pushed them to extreme limits lately.
Whenever someone asks them about their work, Henry and Jane turn into Shakespearean actors, playing a comic tragedy: "How are we doing?" they exclaim with a dramatic sigh, "Ask heaven, who sometimes sees us crying in the bathroom!".
On Sundays, Henry and Jane have a hard time inventing fanciful scenarios of what Monday will be like. Sometimes they even count down the seconds until they have to go into the office.
Their self-esteem is also affected. One day they feel like kings of the world when they manage to fix the printer. Next, they feel terrible when they forget to use a paper clip on their documents.
Henry and Jane hate LinkedIn. Every time they see their friends accomplish fantastic things, all they can assume is, "Surely they don't have to fight the coffee machine to get a decent dose of caffeine."
Finally, they get such lousy rest that they dream about endless PowerPoint presentations. In one dream, they found themselves presenting "100 Ways to Chase Mice"... In a room full of cats who were CEOs.
One time, during of a team meeting, Henry and Jane stood up, took a theatrical bow, and said, "Folks, we're quitting. We can't take it anymore." So they quit their job for a much better one: bed testers.
In the end, Henry and Jane get a better job. During the day, they sleep in a bed to test it, and at night they rest after the hard work. Not bad 🙂
Thanks for listening, and I’ll see you in the next episode.
Review
Vocabulary
Review the most useful words and expressions before listening again.
burned out
physically or emotionally exhausted from prolonged stress.
toxic work environment
a workplace with harmful behavior or conditions.
career growth
progress and advancement in a profession.
underappreciated
not valued as much as deserved.
work-life balance
a healthy division between work and personal life.
job satisfaction
the level of happiness a person feels at work.
red flag
a warning sign of a possible problem.
move on
leave a situation and begin something new.
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