Listening

Warm Up

Helpful Words and Phrases

Listen and repeat.

  1. emotionally
    • ex. She felt emotionally tired after listening to her friend's problems all day.
  2. drained
    • ex. After studying for hours, Michael was drained and wanted to rest.
  3. morale
    • ex. The company gave its employees a bonus to improve their morale.
  4. a perk
    • ex. I receive extra vacation days as a perk of being a manager.
  5. evaluate
    • ex. The doctor will evaluate the medicine to see whether it's safe to take or not.

Article

Read the article below and answer your tutor's questions.

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As the temperature rises this summer, small business owners might think about offering shorter work hours called “summer hours.” Summer hours can help employees deal with burnout. According to a report in May, 44% of 1,405 US employees experience burnout. 45% feel “emotionally drained” from their work, and 51% feel extremely tired at the end of the workday.

Small businesses have less budget compared to big businesses. So, it’s harder for them to offer better pay and benefits to improve morale. Summer hours can be a perk for employees at a low cost, such as letting them leave work earlier every Friday. But there are some things business owners should remember before offering summer hours.

First, consider the deadlines and how much work employees have. Give time off on different days, especially when employees can’t have time off at the same time. That way, the work still gets done. Second, business owners should have clear summer hours policies and explain them to the employees. Third, after the summer season, owners should evaluate what worked and what didn’t to make any necessary changes.

This material was based on an article by The Associated Press.

Discussion

Choose a topic and discuss the questions with your tutor.

Summer Hours

  • In your opinion, is having summer hours at work beneficial? Why or why not? Discuss.
  • Do you think shorter work hours should only be offered in summer? Why or why not? Discuss.
  • According to the article, business owners should evaluate the company’s summer hours policies and make any necessary changes. Why do you think this is important (ex. to improve the policy for next year, to look for other possible ways to improve the work environment)? Discuss.

Employees’ Morale

  • What is the importance of keeping employees’ morale up? Discuss.
  • In your opinion, what causes employees to have low morale (ex. too much work, low pay)? Discuss.
  • Imagine you have a small business. What perks would you give to your employees (ex. summer hours, additional vacation days)? Discuss.