Don’t confuse having a career with having a life.

Hillary Clinton

Slackers

1. Discuss the questions.

Who is a slacker?

Do you know any slackers?

Would you describe yourself as a slacker or

a go-getter?

How would your coworkers describe you?

According to 2022 statistical data, only 15 per cent of worldwide employees are
actively engaged at work, with 13 per cent declaring to be 'actively disengaged'.
2. Check you understand the words below. Can you
find pairs of words which mean the opposite?

competitive tedious

exciting unattainable

productive anxious

attainable underperforming

relaxed indifferent

3. Which of the adjectives above will you use to

describe …

a task at work?

a worker?
4. Complete the questions with the adjectives, then
answer the questions.

exciting relaxed tedious anxious

1. What is the most boring and _________ job you

can think of?
2. What was the most _________ project you have
ever worked on?
3. Are you ever _________ because of work? What
makes you feel this way?
4. What helps you stay calm and feel _________ at
work?

competitive attainable underperforming

productive unattainable indifferent

5. How do you know you are being _________ at work ?

6. Do you think unmotivated and _________
employees should be helped or fired right away?
7. How can you deal with a boss who is _________ to
their employees' ideas and suggestions?
8. Is being _________ at work a good or a bad thing?
9. Which is better: setting yourself _________ or
_________ goals?
5. Are these sentences true for you? Why? Why not?

1. I feel stressed and anxious when tasks pile up.

2. It is always exciting to take on new projects at work.
3. I sometimes help my underperforming colleagues
catch up with work.
4. I find it hard to carry out tedious, repetitive tasks.
5. If a goal seems unattainable I give up easily.
6. I always stay competitive and get ahead in my
career.

6. Look back at the phrasal verbs in bold. Which of

them means …
be successful?

do what you should have done before?

accumulate?

decide to do?

do and complete?

stop doing?
7. Name one thing that …

helps you carry out your duties effectively.

makes your work pile up.

helps you catch up at work after vacation.

would encourage you to take on more responsibility at

work.

would make you give up on your work and quit.

can help one get ahead in a job like yours.

8. You have to tell an underperforming employee
they need to catch up with their tasks. Do you
say:

1. I’m glad we’re taking the time to touch base. Is

everything OK? You don’t seem to be quite as
engaged at work lately.

2. I'm so fed up with your attitude! You are always

being late, and you are continually forgetting about
your tasks.

Or would you say something else?

9. Talk about a colleague who …

is always talking too loudly on the phone?

is always eating smelly food at their desk?

is constantly sending unnecessary emails?

is forever taking credit for other people's work?

is always complaining?

is repeatedly arriving late to meetings?

is continually calling in sick when they aren't?

10. Below are some negative traits of people at work.
How would you describe such workers' bad
habits?

Example: unfocused - She's always taking personal phone

calls at work.

apathetic

bossy

chaotic

cocky

indecisive

lazy

stubborn

unreliable
11. Think of two different people you work or used to
work with. Try to describe them using the
language you've learned today.
That's Conversation! - Slackers
B2-C1
Teacher's Notes
You may introduce the lesson by showing your
students a fragment of one of the videos
suggested below or asking them to read one of
the suggested articles before class.
2. competitive - indifferent; exciting - tedious;
productive - underperforming; attainable -
unattainable; relaxed - anxious
4. 1. tedious, 2. exciting, 3. anxious, 4. relaxed,
5. productive, 6. underperforming, 7.
indifferent 8. competitive, 9. attainable,
unattainable,
6. get ahead, catch up, pile up, take on, carry
out, give up
For tasks 9 & 10 you might need to explain the
use of Present Continuous for annoying habits.
Topics for possible research/students'
projects
• The 996 working hour system
• Quiet quitting
• Stress management
• Motivation in the workplace
MiniEbooki "That's Conversation!" podlegają ochronie na mocy prawa autorskiego. Fotografie: Pexels, Unsplash.
Copyright © 2023 IceBreaker Anna Barbarska
Present Continuous for annoying habits
Videos to watch:
• China’s Slacker Youths: Why They Went From
'Lying Flat' To 'Let It Rot' - CNA Insider
https://youtu.be/GJ7S-nKmAr4
• The Extreme 996 Work Culture in China - Vice
Asia
https://youtu.be/l8wWoQ3_F00
• Japan's teachers vulnerable to overwork deaths
- DW News
https://youtu.be/YSMV2H8u9As
• How burnout makes us less creative - TED
https://www.ted.com/talks/
rahaf_harfoush_how_burnout_makes_us_les
s_creative
• Office Phone Call - SNL
https://youtu.be/9LCMuKtpnPE
• I Am Declaring War on STRESS! - The IT
Crowd
https://youtu.be/MZTvMYQSl_w
• Vocational Guidance Counsellor - Monty
Python
https://youtu.be/NAOQH4xEyhM
• Anxious! The Board Game - Foil Arms and Hog
https://youtu.be/OQgGJZ-Rxz8
Work, career, motivation, stress
Work adjectives and phrasal verbs
Reading suggestions:
• China’s 9-9-6 work culture: Everything you
need to know - Kung Fu Data
https://kungfudata.com/insights/996-chinese-
work-culture
• The rise of ‘bai lan’: why China’s frustrated
youth are ready to ‘let it rot’ - The Guardian
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/
may/26/the-rise-of-bai-lan-why-chinas-
frustrated-youth-are-ready-to-let-it-rot
• From ‘Tang Ping’ to ‘Bai Lan’: The Rise of
Slacker Culture in China - LiveWire
https://livewire.thewire.in/out-and-about/
from-tang-ping-to-bai-lan-the-rise-of-slacker-
culture-in-china/
• Why ‘quiet quitting’ is nothing new - BBC
https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/
20220825-why-quiet-quitting-is-nothing-new
• 8 Ways to Go From Quitter to Go-Getter -
Entrepreneur
https://www.entrepreneur.com/leadership/8-
ways-to-go-from-quitter-to-go-getter/300935
• The Future Of Work Depends On Supporting
Gen Z - Forbes
https://www.forbes.com/sites/onemind/
2022/07/22/the-future-of-work-depends-on-
supporting-gen-z/?sh=36d89ab8447a