Sunday, June 30, 2013

Too stressed for work?

Have you ever missed work due to bullying, stress or anxiety?  Do you know someone affected by these issues?  It seems like we often hear about people stressing out, breaking down and burning out. 

First, practice your phrasal verbs related to work and stress on the BBC Learning English Site:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/radio/specials/148_phrasalverbs/page6.shtml

There you can listen to some conversations, read along and take a vocabulary quiz.

Now that you're warmed up, please read this article:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/10143915/One-in-three-absences-at-work-due-to-anxiety-and-stress-official-Government-survey-finds.html

List any new vocabulary that you find, define it and write an example sentence using it.

Then, answer these questions:

1.  Have you ever been too stressed to work?
2.  Would your doctor excuse you from work due to stress, anxiety or bullying?
3.  Do you know anyone who's burned out because of their job or colleagues? What happened?
4.  How would you or do you handle work-related stress or anxiety?
5.  Is there anything you'd change about your job to make it less stressful?  What?

Send us your vocabulary list and answers to sarah@virtualingua.de for corrections, suggestions and further learning tips!