Work/Jobs Vocabulary
A nine-to-five – A term used for a typical office-based job where the working hours are 9 am till 5 pm
A steady job – A job that offers constant work and a good income.
Annual leave/Holiday – The paid time when a worker is entitled to not attend work
Be made redundant – Dismissal from a job because the employer needs to reduce costs/workforce etc… Being made redundant does not mean that the employee did something wrong, rather, the job does not exist anymore
Benefits – The additional extras that an employer provides aside from salary. For example, a car, healthcare, gym membership etc…
Bonus – An additional remuneration given as extra to a normal salary. It is often based on performance.
Candidates – The people applying for a job vacancy
Career – An occupation performed for a large part of someone’s life, often with progression and advancement
Career prospects – The chance of progression and advancement in a job
Colleagues – The other people who work with you
Commute – The journey to and from work
Commuters – People making the journey to and from work
Dismiss/Fire/Sack – To remove a person from a position of employment for either not performing well or committing a breach of rules
Employer – The person or company that provides a job
Employment – Paid work
Employee – A person performing a job
Entrepreneur – A person who starts one or multiple businesses
Flexitime – The process where the employee chooses the hours they work
Full-time – A job that involves working around 40 hours per week
Interview – Part of the selection process consisting of questions used to choose from the different candidates for a specific position
Maternity/Paternity leave – The time that a woman/man takes off from work following the birth of their child
Minimum wage – The lowest amount of money an employee can legally be paid
Morning/Night shift – Related to working hours
Overtime – Time worked that is additional to what is normal
Part-time – A job that typically involves 20 hours or less per week
Private sector – Companies/organisations that are not owned or funded by the government
Profession – A paid occupation, especially one that involves extensive training and qualifications
Public sector – Organisations/bodies owned and funded by the government
Resign – To voluntarily leave a position of employment
Retire – Leave a job and stop working, usually because you have reached retirement age
Salary – The money an employee receives for working
Unemployment – The state of not having a job
Working environment – The place and the conditions (salary/benefits etc) provided by a job
Work/Jobs Collocations, Idioms, and Phrasal Verbs
A desk job – A job that involves spending all or most of the time sitting at a desk
A heavy workload – A lot of work
A perk of the job – A benefit of the job
In the rat race – Competing with others for money or power
Labour-intensive – Something that requires a lot of work
Land a job – To be offered a job
Lay-off – To make redundant
Job satisfaction – How content or satisfied an employee feels working in a particular job
Living wage – A salary that pays for the necessities of life. For example, rent, food, transport etc…
Move up the career ladder – To progress in a job/Gain promotion
Moving forwards – In the future
Homeworking/ Work from home– People who work from their house rather than a traditional style office
Pull a sickie – To pretend to be sick to not go to work
Put into practice – Put learnt knowledge into practical use
Stuck behind a desk – Working in a job that involves a long time sitting at a desk
Think on your feet – Think spontaneously
Start-up – A new business
To be a good team player – To get on well with other employees
To be well-paid – To receive a high salary
To gain experience – To spend time doing a particular job so that it becomes familiar
Unemployment benefits – The money/support given to the unemployed by the government
Working like a dog – Working a lot or extremely hard
Vocabulary list and definitions:
A field (of work): an area or type of career
Motivated about: wanting to do well in
Internship: working for a short time, sometimes unpaid
Apprenticeship: hands on, or practical work to learn a job
Hands on: getting involved and doing everything to help
Innovative small companies: with new, creative ideas
Cutting edge: the best new technology
Diagnose: to find out what is wrong
Pediatrics: specialist child medicine (also spelled paediatrics)
Routine check ups: a regular (not urgent) visit to the doctors
Huge appreciation: gratefulness and gratitude
Follow up care: an appointment after an operation or illness
Lucrative: money making or profitable
Highly merited: well deserved
Career ladder: moving up through promotions to the top of the company
Pension scheme: money for retirement
Job security: knowing you can keep your job / job safety
Start up community: new small businesses sometimes internet based
Working from Home
Flexibility: being able to change or be changed depending on circumstances
Work-life balance: the time spent at your job in comparison to the time spent on your personal life
Distraction: something that takes away your attention from something else
Burnout: fatigue or tiredness from being overworked
Sense of community: when members of a group have a feeling of belonging and that they matter to one another
Colleagues: people you work with
Camaraderie: the feeling of friendship and trust that people who work together or spend time together share
Teamwork: when people work together to accomplish a goal
Isolation: the feeling or state of being separated from others
Productivity: how much you work you produce in relation to how much time you spend
Workplace: any location where a person performs a job
Work remotely or remote work: when an employee works from home rather than an office and uses the phone and/or computer to communication
Telecommute: same as “remote work”
Chained to a desk: when someone feels forced or obligated to work exclusively from their desk
9 to 5: the typical hours of work in many countries. Also can mean normal sometimes boring or mundane jobs.
Carbon footprint: how much carbon dioxide someone/ somethings actions create
Sustainability benefits: the results of protecting the environment through less waste and less pollution
Environmentally friendly: describes things or activities that do not harm the environment
Financially viable: describes something that allows companies to generate income, fulfill responsibilities and continue to grow
Supervision: when someone manages a person or department to make sure rules are followed and work is done correctly
Lockdown: when people are not allowed to leave an area as a security measure
Hybrid work: work from both home and office
Autonomy: when you make decisions for yourself without the control of others