As adults, we will spend most of our waking lives 

in the workplace. This means that

our life satisfaction will be heavily impacted by the quality of our interactions with
co-workers. My work experiences with both outstanding and aggravating co-
workers have helped me determine the three traits that I most value in a co-worker:
reliability, a positive attitude, and an ability to handle disagreements.

To me, the most important characteristic that a good co-worker has is reliability.
Good co-workers will complete assigned tasks on time and deliver good quality
output. When I was an intern at a hoverboard manufacturing company, I had the
opportunity to be on two different work teams. Each member of the first team was
very diligent and did their fair share in developing an excellent market analysis
report that we had to submit to senior management. It was a great experience. On
the second team, there were two people who procrastinated in submitting their
portions of the logistics report, and when they finally did, their analyses did not
consider key variables that senior management explicitly asked for us to include. It
was a very frustrating experience for the other team members and I because we had
to stay up very late and redo those portions.

Another characteristic I really appreciate in a co-worker is a positive attitude.

Though I was not as experienced as the members of the first team were, they
complimented me on my hard work, and despite the challenges we faced tracking
down necessary data, they were always optimistic that we would generate a good
report. This encouraging work atmosphere really motivated me to do my best and
made my experience at work very enjoyable. On the second team, however, one
member regularly complained during team meetings that the final report would be
shoddy. This made for a depressing and stressful work environment. Consequently, I
really wanted to be back on the first team again.

Finally, I put a high value on the ability to handle disagreements effectively. People
in any organization will have diverse life experiences, different personalities, and
various perspectives. Being able to collaborate with a co-worker who can tactfully
facilitate discussions to resolve conflicts that inevitably stem from these differences
can help everyone have a more pleasant work experience and be more productive.

In sum, if I could design my ideal co-worker, the person would be reliable, positive,
and able to manage conflicts. Together such a co-worker and I could deliver great
results to our company and feel happy during the process.
(c) 2017 by Diacorda Amosapa

https://www.englishtutordia.com/toefl-essay-good-coworker-characteristics-1

outstanding - adj. great, excellent
~ Your work performance has really been outstanding these past six months.
~ She is an outstanding scientist.  She has made several important discoveries in
plant biology.

aggravating - adj.  annoying, being a source of anger; making a condition/situation

worse
~ I find it aggravating when someone nearby chewing gum when I’m trying to study.
~ It’s so aggravating when the commercial breaks in a show are almost as long as
the show.

diligent - adj.  careful in doing work well

~ She did several days of diligent research before she started writing her report.
~ All hospital staff must be very diligent in keeping equipment clean.

procrastinate - v. to wait to do something until very late

~ He usually procrastinates until the night a paper is due before he starts writing it.
~ We tend to procrastinate on doing tasks that are boring.

optimistic - adj.  believing that the future will be good

~ We are very optimistic that they will enjoy the show.
~ 70% of the restaurant owners said they are optimistic about the economy.
"Changing Families"
Family life today is very different to that of 100 years ago.

What are the main changes that have taken place?

How do you think family life will change in the future?

The family unit is a base for all civilization. Families provide a secure and nurturing
environment that both children and adults can depend on. While nobody can deny the
importance of families, significant changes are evident between the families of the past
and families of today. Moreover, the families of tomorrow may also transform into an
entirely different structure.

The families of a century ago were extended. That is, these social groups contained many
individuals. Brothers, sisters, uncle, aunties, parents and grandparents all lived under the
one roof and supported each other where possible. Family members had designated roles,
and each member of the family contributed to the general well-being of the collective. This
social structure has significant advantages, as the "human resource" of an expansive family
is substantial.

However, the families of today, particularly in Western countries, are nuclear. This means
that these modern families usually contain only parents and children, and, quite often,
young adults are encouraged to leave the family home as soon as they finish school. The
main advantage of this social structure is to encourage independence in young people.

Moving to the future, in my opinion there is one likely scenario for the family structure. I
believe there is a possibility of a return to a more extended family, however, the 'family'
may be more of a communal collective as opposed to an exclusive collection of blood
relatives. In the future, people may choose to live in large group households to enjoy the
support of a range of individuals that are not necessarily direct relatives.

Whatever does happen in the future, there is no doubt that the family unit will continue to
be a vital source of strength for all the people of the world.