Advanced English Conversations (2) - Robert Allans, Matt Edie, A. Mustafaoglu 2020

Set 16 - That isn’t in my job description

Carl: You don’t look yourself, Diana. What’s up?

Diana: The truth is my boss is making a habit out of asking me to run personal errands. Yesterday he asked me to pick up dry cleaning and today he wants me to talk to his kids’ tutor. I just don’t want to say “that isn’t in my job description” which can be job-killing, you know!

Carl: Chill out! You don’t have to overthink it. I mean as long as these requests don’t cross the line, it could be a chance to get out of the office for some change of air. Or you could just mention a task that will suffer if you stop to take care of the personal errand.

Diana: That’s not the case! What’s getting me down is that my boss may no longer respect me, thinking of me as more of a personal assistant than a valued contributor to the growth of business. This can mean eliminating the possibility that I might someday be moved into a more executive position.

Carl: Well I don’t think so. What you see as a frivolous errand may be the very thing that allows your boss to focus on the business at hand. Being the person who always reliably handles these tasks can be a stepping stone for greater value and higher positions.

Diana: I hope so. That’s a useful takeaway.

Vocabulary;

not to look oneself: not to have one's normal appearance of health or wellbeing.

make a habit out of: to begin to do something regularly, often without thinking about it.

run errands: to take a short trip to do a specific thing; to complete an errand.

job description: a list of the tasks and responsibilities involved in a job.

get out of: to escape or extricate oneself from a troublesome, difficult, unpleasant, or burdensome situation or circumstance.

get someone down: to cause one to feel saddened, depressed, discouraged, or dejected.

executive position: a person or group responsible for the administration of a project, activity or business.

frivolous: (adjective) not having any serious purpose or value.

stepping stone: a circumstance that assists progress towards some goal.

takeaway: the lesson or principle that one learns from a story or event.

Exercise;

Fill in the gaps with the appropriate phrases or words;

1. Are you feeling all right, Janet? You're not looking .......... today.

2. If you make a .......... of investing some of your spare income, you'll be pleasantly surprised how much can build up.

3. The main .......... for me is that we need to continue to communicate all the things we're doing for our customers.

4. Don’t take this course for granted. It could be a stepping .......... to another career.

5. She thought that reading romantic novels was a .......... way of spending her time.

6. Recruiting for any position in the organization is important, but even more important when it is an .......... position.

7. His rejection from Harvard has really gotten Stephen ..........

8. Even though the economy has recovered significantly, many are still finding it hard to get themselves .......... of the cycles of poverty and debt.

9. Sorting out everyone's social life isn't part of my job ..........!

10. Can you see if your father can come pick you up? I've been running .......... all day, and I don't want to trek across town yet again.

1. yourself 2. habit 3. takeaway 4. stone 5. frivolous 6. executive 7. down 8. out 9. description 10. errands