ESL Podcast 312 - Different Work Styles
autonomy - independence; ability and opportunity to work alone, without other people; the freedom to make one's own decisions
Many teenagers fight with their parents because they want more autonomy.
self-directed - under one's own control; able to make one's own decisions about what one will or won't do, and in what order; without control by other people
Megan is a self-directed learner and learned about biology on her own before she took a class in school.
close - tight; very involved in another person's activities, work, or life
Do you have a close relationship with your grandparents?
supervision - monitoring; being in control of and responsible for another person's work
Without supervision, Ed would spend the whole workday playing games on his computer.
to slack off - to not do what one is supposed to do; to not work hard; to play or be lazy when one should be working
Olga slacked off all semester, and now she has to study a lot if she wants to pass the final exam.
apprehensive - nervous and worried about something that will happen in the future
Sheila is apprehensive about going to Europe on vacation because she has never left the U.S. before.
collaborative - cooperative; with two or more people working well together
The presentation was a collaborative effort of the entire team.
creative - imaginative; with new and interesting ideas; not thinking like everyone else does
Melissa is a very creative artist who has new designs that are unlike anything else we've ever seen.
adverse to risk - uncomfortable doing something new because it might fail; afraid to take a chance
People who are adverse to risk can keep their money in the bank instead of investing it in the stock market.
to challenge the status quo - to do things that are unexpected; to not do what people expect one to do; to question why things are done a certain way and suggest new ways to do things
Ingot didn't like the way that things were done at work, so she decided to challenge the status quo and try her new system.
resourceful - using whatever one has to solve a problem or get work done
Henry is so resourceful that when his car broke, he was able to fix it by using a knife and some tape.
follow-through - the ability and willingness to do what one has said one would do; the ability and willingness to fulfill one's promises; the ability and willingness to continue working on something until it is finished
Franka has many good ideas, but her follow-through is terrible, so nothing ever happens.
to fall through the cracks - to be forgotten because one is concentrating on other things
Hansel is working two jobs and taking care of his children, so some less important things, like cleaning the house, are falling through the cracks.
to exercise authority over (someone) - to tell someone what he or she should or shouldn't do; to be the boss of someone
Benny tries to exercise authority over his younger sister, but she usually doesn't let him.
to take charge - to be in control of something; to lead something; to be responsible for something
Ever since Eddie took charge of the company, the workers have been much happier.
to back off - to become less controlling; to take less of a leadership role; to not be as involved in something; to give other people an opportunity to do something
I often help my children with their homework, but I need to learn to back off and let them do it themselves.
you can't teach an old dog new tricks - a phrase used to mean that it is difficult to teach an older person to do something differently, or that it is difficult to get an adult to change his or her habits
Violet has been asking her husband to put down the toilet seat for almost 15 years, but I guess you can't teach an old dog new tricks.