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BUSINESS ENGLISH · BUSINESS ISSUES · UPPER-INTERMEDIATE (B2-C1)

WAITING
IN LINE
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1 Warm-up
What is a perk? Look at the list of perks below. Can you add some more?

• free lunches
• company laptop
• company car
• gym membership

What kind of perks are common in your business or sector?

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2 Keywords

Match the words to their correct definition.

1. nurture a. (adj.) given free, usually as a favor or to say thank you

2. forward-thinking b. (adj.) progressive

3. extravagant c. (v) help someone develop

4. reforms d. (v) give to someone for a specific purpose

5. complimentary e. (adj.) grouped closely together

6. clustered f. (adj.) excessive, lacking in moderation

7. pool g. (v) combine resources, e.g. money

8. allocate h. (n) changes in policies or practices

Now complete the sentences on the next page.

1. I ordered a coffee and received a cake.

2. The company is very — they always keep up-to-date with the latest technology.

3. The boss is very . Yesterday, he treated his staff to champagne and strawberries.

4. There have been in the workplace. People are not as stuck to their desks as in
the past.

5. The company tries to employees who have potential.

6. The firm’s workstations are so that the employees can interact with each other.

7. The new office was designed to more space for staff.

8. We decided to our money and hire a limousine.

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3 Predict the answers

You are going to read an article. Predict the information below then check your answers.

1. Why does Google make staff wait for lunch?

a. as a punishment

b. to encourage interaction

c. because there aren’t enough cooks

2. How does Google’s HR department decide who gets promoted?

a. by rolling dice

b. with data

c. via recommendations

3. New Google employees are warned about the "Google 15". What does this refer to?

a. 15 pounds of weight that they will put on

b. 15 days to impress their boss

c. 15 phone calls that they have to make

4. How many people work at Google’s New York office?

a. 200 b. 2000 c. 20000

5. Why did Google hire a team of behavioral scientists?

a. to improve workers’ motivation

b. to help staff lose weight

c. to improve customer relations

6. What is the name of Google’s headquarters in Silicon Valley?

a. the Googlehouse

b. the Googledome

c. the Googleplex

7. Which building did Steve Jobs use for his animation studio headquarters?

a. a former factory b. a former cemetery c. a former hospital

8. What was at the center of the office?

a. a statue of himself b. a giant computer c. a bathroom

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Perks for Employees

Why would a firm want longer lines in its canteen? To encourage creativity, it emerged this week —
and it’s not the only way the search engine is rewriting office rules.

1. To most people, a long line for uses data to decide which 7. At Facebook, meanwhile, staff
lunch is a sign of their office employees deserve a promotion are given a budget to personalize
canteen’s inefficiency. or require extra nurturing. their workspaces, and often
It also conducts controlled pool the money with their close
2. But to Google, a long waiting
experiments to optimize the colleagues to decorate entire
time for its famous free lunch is
creative environment. desk clusters.
a corporate strategy, designed
to encourage innovation among 5. Take those meals, for example:

employees. Dan Cobley, the Google famously offers staff 8. Internet firms such as Google
search giant’s UK managing freshly prepared free lunches and Facebook were not the first
director, told a conference of — and breakfasts, and dinners. to bring changes to the work
business leaders that Google’s New employees are warned environment, however. Hewlett-
mealtime lines are intentionally about the "Google 15", the 15 Packard introduced an open-plan
kept long, "because we know pounds that many of them put office to drive interaction back in
people will chat while they’re on when presented with all the 1970s. In 2000 Steve Jobs
waiting. Chats become ideas, that complimentary food. Last bought a former factory for his
and ideas become projects." year, the company decided its US animation studio, Pixar. The cafe
employees were eating too many and bathrooms were situated in
3. Mr. Cobley told his audience that free sweets, thus threatening the center of the office, forcing
forward-thinking firms should their own well-being and, employees to engage with each
nurture interaction between consequently, their productivity. other.
their staff. Google has a history A team of behavioral scientists
of perks and workplace practices was hired to help change staff 9. Thanks in large part to technical
that seem extravagant. Yet, Mr. appetites. In just seven weeks, innovations, especially in mobile
Cobley insisted, they inspire the calorie consumption of the technology, the demands placed
creativity. And businesses 2,000 employees at the firm’s on the workplace have changed
everywhere seem to agree: the New York office reportedly dramatically in recent decades.
modern office is more open, dropped by 3.1 million. As a rule, architects traditionally
collaborative, flexible and even
6. Lunch lines are not the only allocated 250 square feet of
fun.
opportunity for interaction. At office space to each employee,
4. Google may be known best the Googleplex — the firm’s who was chained to his or her
for its online innovations, Silicon Valley headquarters in desk and the weighty computers
but it is equally famous in California — workstations are that came with them. Now,
the business sphere for its clustered in threes and fours, and with laptops, smartphones and
revolutionary reforms in the clusters are divided by glass cloud file storage, workspaces
the corporate workplace. walls. This allows sunlight to have shrunk to around 150 sq ft
The firm’s HR department spread through the building. per person.

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4 Collocations from the text

Complete the questions below with the following nouns.

changes demands experiments interaction office rules space weight

1. Which company is rewriting ? → ____________________

2. Who conducts to optimize creativity in the workplace? → ____________________

3. How much do new Google employees put on? → ____________________

4. Which company first brought to the work environment? → ____________________

5. Which company first tried to drive in the workplace? → ____________________

6. Why have the placed on the workplace changed in recent decades? →

____________________

7. How much is allocated to each employee nowadays? → ____________________

Now, answer the above questions.

5 Find the word

Part A: Find a word or phrase in the text which means...

1. → appeared (v, subtitle)

2. → the state of feeling happy and healthy (n, para. 5)

3. → encourage (v, para. 8)

4. → heavy (adj., para. 9)

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Part B: Complete the table below with the correct form of the words from Part A.

Noun Verb Adjective Adverb

1 2 3
emerge

4 5 6
wellbeing

7 8 9
drive

10 11 12
weighty

Part C: Now use words from Part B to fill in the gaps in a short text below. Remember to use the
correct part of speech for each gap.

1
"In recent times, a unique strategy has among our leadership. They’re promoting
2
longer queues in the canteen, not to test our patience, but with a specific .
3
Their rationale centres around promoting spontaneous interactions during
these waits, fuelling creativity and innovation. Although it might seem unconventional, it’s a testament
4
to how much the company values our . By merging the mundane act of queuing
with an aim to boost innovation, we’re ushering in a refreshing angle to workplace productivity."

6 Talking point

Answer any of the questions below.

1. What do you think of Google’s practices?

2. Are there any other ways businesses can encourage interaction?
3. Is staff interaction important in your business?
4. How has the workplace environment changed in recent years in your business, sector or country?
What do you think workspaces will look like in the future?

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