Beware of backstabbers!

15 maja 2014

Beware of backstabbers!

The topic for today is ‘’difficult coworkers’’.

Lekcje angielskiego przygotowuje firma

Task 1
Read the text below to get the general idea:

Admittedly, job takes up a huge part of our days and lives. People spend a great amount of time at work daily, monthly, annually and they come to work for many reasons. Some employees just work for the sake of performing their duties, others, when the opportunity occurs, make long-lasting friendships, still others just take every effort to make our life at the workplace miserable. They are often referred to as difficult or challenging coworkers, but for the majority of colleagues they are mere nuisances or troublemakers.
Such awkward individuals exist in most companies and they come in various kinds. Some are typical bullies who intimidate or insult people by nature and with pleasure. There are also negative coworkers who always exhibit negative attitude to everything and everybody. There exist nasty bosses who are obsessively inquisitive or control-freaks. There are gossipers too, who enjoy spreading made-up stories and harmful opinions just to discredit other employees. And finally, there come backstabbers, who secretly do bad things to someone else, especially by disseminating unpleasant information about them, in order to gain advantage for themselves.
Eminem believes that backstabbers are only powerful when you have your back turned, since they never act openly, face to face – as the term itself suggests. Acting secretly, they might cause a lot more harm than one might even expect. Dealing with difficult coworkers is neither pleasant nor easy, but it might be helpful either to confront them in person or to build an alliance with other colleagues to solve the problem together. If these solutions do not work, ignoring or avoiding a toxic person at the workplace might be an option. When all the above fail, the only possibility left is, unfortunately, applying for another job.

Task 2.
Study the underlined words in the text carefully and match them with their synonyms (S) or antonyms (A):

1. TOXIC: (S) ………………………….., (S) ……………………………..
2. SPREAD: (S) …………………………………..
3. SHORT-LIVED: (A) ……………………………….
4. FRIGHTEN: (S) ……………………………………
5. INSULT: (S) ……………………………..
6. IN ORDER TO: (S) …………………………
7. CONFRONT: (A) ……………………, (A) ………………………………
8. ANNOYING PERSON: (S) ……………………………….,
9. NOSY: (S) …………………………………
10. OPENLY: (A) ………………………………

Task 3
Watch the video ‘’Dealing with a difficult co-worker‘’ and gap-fill the sentences below; the first letter of each word has been given:

1. Begin by becoming a (t) …………………………. – (p) …………………………… observer.
2. You (r) …………………………………. from the situation and you behave as if you were (w) ………………………………… TV.
3. That helps you to be more (o) …………………………….. and (r) ……………………………… that their (r) …………………………………… might have nothing to do with you whatsoever.
4. In fact most people don’t give enough thought about us for that to (a) ………………………………. the way they (b) …………………………………….
5. Their (b)……………………………. comes out of whatever they are (s) ………………………………………… with.
6. They might have something (h) ……………………………………… at home or they have got a big (d) …………………………….. that they are trying to meet.
7. Have some (e) ……………………………… for what they might be going through and that might (s) ……………………………. the problem right there.
8. If you’ve got somebody that you are working with that is (r) …………………………… day after day, it might be actually a part of their (b) ……………………………………. style.
9. Some (f) ………………………… just have so much of a sense of (u) ……………………………… , so much (c) …………………………………………, so much drive to get results that they don’t even (r) ………………………….. when they are sort of (s) ………………………………. on people along their way.
10. If you’ve got the kind of (r) ……………………………………with them to talk about their behavioral styles you can say: You know, I have (n) ………………………………… that you are so (d) …………………………….. to the results that sometimes you don’t realize when you may be (o) ………………………………. people.
11. Another way to (a) ………………………………… it would be to say: I’ve had the feeling lately that you are (u) ………………………….. with me about something because of the way that you have been (i) …………………………………… with me.
12. I just want you to know that I am open to (c) …………………………….. criticism.
13. And usually if they have got any (d) ……………………………… at all at this point , they are going to (a) ………………………………. If they don’t, then you know that you are (d) …………………………….. with somebody that is just that way, it’s how they see the world and you are probably never going to change them.
14. So now, you work on (d) ………………………………… a buffer (z) ………………………between you and them.
15. You (o) ……………………………………, you document, you (f) ………………………………….things so that you are (e) ……………………………….. as much of the subject as possible.

Beware of backstabbers!

Task 2.

1. TOXIC: (S) …challenging.., (S) …difficult…..
2. SPREAD: (S) ……disseminate…………..
3. SHORT-LIVED: (A) ……long-lasting…….
4. FRIGHTEN: (S) ……intimidate…………
5. INSULT: (S) ………offend……..
6. IN ORDER TO: (S) ……for the sake of………
7. CONFRONT: (A) …avoid…, (A) ……ignore…
8. ANNOYING PERSON: (S) ……nuisance…….,
9. NOSY: (S) ……inquisitive……
10. OPENLY: (A) ……secretly……

Task 3

1. Begin by becoming a (t) ……..third…… – (p) ………….party…… observer.
2. You (r) ………remove………… from the situation and you behave as if you were (w) …….watching…. TV.
3. That helps you to be more (o) ……..objective…… and (r) ………realize……. that their (r) ……..rudeness……. might have nothing to do with you whatsoever.
4. In fact most people don’t give enough thought about us for that to (a) …….affect………. the way they (b) ……..behave…..
5. Their (b)……….behaviour…….. comes out of whatever they are (s) ……..struggling………. with.
6. They might have something (h) ……happening…. at home or they have got a big (d) ……..deadline….. that they are trying to meet.
7. Have some (e) ……empathy… for what they might be going through and that might (s) …….solve…… the problem right there.
8. If you’ve got somebody that you are working with that is (r) ……rude………. day after day, it might be actually a part of their (b) …..behavioural.. style.
9. Some (f) …..folks… just have so much of a sense of (u) ………urgency……… , so much (c) ……competitiveness……., so much drive to get results that they don’t even (r) ……realize….. when they are sort of (s) …….stepping….. on people along their way.
10. If you’ve got the kind of (r) ………relationship…..with them to talk about their behavioral styles you can say: You know, I have (n) ….noticed……. that you are so (d) …….dedicated…… to the results that sometimes you don’t realize when you may be (o) …….offending….. people.
11. Another way to (a) ……..approach…….. it would be to say: I’ve had the feeling lately that you are (u) ……..upset…… with me about something because of the way that you have been (i) ……interracting….. with me.
12. I just want you to know that I am open to (c) ………………………………. criticism.
13. And usually if they have got any (d) ……decency… at all at this point , they are going to (a) ……apologize…… If they don’t, then you know that you are (d) ……..dealing…… with somebody that is just that way, it’s how they see the world and you are probably never going to change them.
14. So now, you work on (d) …….developing……. a buffer (z) ……zone…….. between you and them.
15. You (o) ……objectify………, you document, you (f) ……..formalize……. things so that you are (e) …….eliminating….. as much of the subject as possible.