ESL WORKSHEET - Back to the office

LESSON PLAN FOR ENGLISH TEACHERS

ATTRACTING EMPLOYEES

BACK TO THE OFFICE

LinguaHouse
Mar. 13, 2024

Level: Pre-Intermediate (A2-B1)
Type of English: Business English
Tags: Business People; Companies and Jobs; Desk Work; Office Life; Work; Business Ethics; Health and Well-Being; Jobs; Problems and Solutions; 16-18 Years Old; 18+ Years Old; Article Based
Publication date: 03/13/2024

This worksheet looks at the steps companies are taking to encourage employees to come back to the office. Students will read an article on the subject and listen to three employees talk about their work situation. Exercises focus on reading and listening skills, related vocabulary and provide an opportunity for students to discuss questions on the topic (by Joe Wilson).

• CLICK HERE to download the student’s worksheet in American English.
• CLICK HERE to download the teacher’s lesson plan in American English.
• CLICK HERE to download the student’s worksheet in British English.
• CLICK HERE to download the teacher’s lesson plan in British English.
• CLICK HERE to download/listen to the audios (Am/Br English).

AUDIO TRANSCRIPT

Speaker 1 (female): My company has started offering free nail treatments as an incentive for us to come back to the office. It’s nice, I’ll admit. It’s very relaxing to be able to get a pedicure during lunchtime, especially because I’m on my feet a lot during the day and running up and down stairs in my job as a personal assistant. But it feels like a false reason to go into the office. We can all do our jobs from home perfectly well with no need to be in the same building. We didn’t have any problems adapting to remote working during the pandemic. I think they are just trying to have a reason for renting the big office that we have. I think eventually, they will give up and give us all money to help us set up our home offices. I’ll miss the pedicures if that happens, but not the commute!
Speaker 2 (male): Our company has begun offering us a gym membership as well as access to a mental health advisor as a perk to coming into the office. I really like it, honestly. As a designer, I can work quite happily on my own which I do when I’m at work, but on Tuesdays and Thursdays when I go into the office, it’s a really good chance to get together with other designers about any problems that come up. Also, I’m ready to be around people after spending time on my own. So, I think it’s a really nice balance. Now I get to keep in shape, talk about my problems and work with people and alone. I don’t think I’ve ever been happier.
Speaker 3 (female): I’ve been happily going into the office every day since everything opened up again. I understand why people like to work from home, but for me, I like to be able to divide my personal and professional life. When I was working at home, it felt like I was always doing something, either for work or with my house and never really got to just chill. I work as a writer for an advertising agency, so I’m happy to just quietly work on what I need to do. My company provides cheap lunches as a perk which works really well for me. On most days, I get to have my choice of what to eat as there aren’t many other people around. I can go in, get my work done, and have a good lunch for less than it would cost me at home, then I go home and watch a movie or meet friends without my work belongings everywhere.

Adapted from: https://www.linguahouse.com/esl-lesson-plans/business-english/attracting-employees-back-to-the-office. Accessed on March 15, 2024. © 2008–2024 LinguaHouse.com. All rights reserved.