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Speaker 1: Today we're going to look at the topic of job

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culture in America. I'll show you how these concepts shape

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the daily lives of American workers, and then we'll go

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over some useful vocabulary words and phrases that'll help you

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talk about work culture in your own conversations. Let's dive in.

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Speaker 2: Welcome to another Happy English podcast, coming to you from

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New York City. And here's your English teacher, Michael all Rye.

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Speaker 1: Thank you John, and thanks everyone. It's Michael here from

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Happy English and I help people speak English better. This

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is Happy English Podcast, Episode seven forty. Job culture in America.

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People living here in the US have a hard time

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separating from work. Now, this doesn't mean that we are

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always checking our work email. What we do is who

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we are. Many Americans define themselves based on what their

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profession is. If you work with Americans, or if you

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know any Americans, you know that when you first meet

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they are sure to ask you what do you do,

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which is a common way of asking about someone's job.

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Most Americans take pride in what they do and are

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more than happy to talk about work even when you

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first meet them. Here in the United States, work culture

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is a central part of life. Of course, this work

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culture varies greatly depending on the industry, company, and region. However,

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there are certain themes which are common across the board.

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American culture is often characterized by a strong emphasis on productivity, innovation,

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and individual achievement. Many American workers are driven by a

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desire to succeed and to climb the career ladder, which

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can sometimes lead to long hours and a high level

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of dedication to work. However, this focus on work has

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also sparked conversations about the importance of work life balance.

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For many Americans, achieving a balance between their professional and

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personal lives is a constant challenge. The idea of work

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life balance involves finding time not only to be productive

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at work, but also to enjoy time with family, friends,

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and personal interests outside of work. This balance is crucial

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for maintaining overall well being and avoiding burnout. In recent years,

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more companies have recognized this and have started offering flexible

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work schedules, remote work options, and other benefits to help

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employees manage their time more effectively. And now let's have

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a look at the key vocabulary from this lesson. First

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of all, we have productivity. Productivity means the rate and

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amount that something is produced related to the time and

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effort needed. In other words, what you get out of

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what you put in. By the way, we also use

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the adjective form productive to mean that a lot of

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something is produced compared to the work and time used

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to produce it. Here are some examples. High productivity is

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valued in American work culture, often leading to long work hours.

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Companies often focus on increasing productivity to stay competitive in

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the market. I had a productive morning. I was able

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to finish everything on my to do list. Here is

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a way to increase your business English productivity. There is

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a podcast from all Ears English called Business English, and

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they will help you feel more confident with your business English.

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My friends Lindsey, Michelle and Aubrey show you real business

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English vocabulary for the global economy. In the Business English podcast,

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you can learn vocabulary for socializing and making small talk

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with colleagues. They also cover English writing, presentations, job interviews,

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telephone English and more. In the next few weeks, they'll

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be talking about how to deliver a strong proposal to

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your manager in English and idioms you can and cannot

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use at work. Follow the new Business English podcast from

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all Ears English. Just type all Ears English into your

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search bar wherever you are listening to this podcast right

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now now and choose Business English podcast and hit follow next.

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We have burnout or to be burned out. We use

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both to talk about the feeling when you are mentally

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and emotionally exhausted, usually because of stress. Let's look at

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some examples. Burnout is common in high pressure jobs, where

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employees feel overwhelmed by their workload. To prevent burnout, it's

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important to find ways to relax and recharge outside of work.

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I was totally burned out from a job I had

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for a short time in twenty ten, so I quit

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and started my own company. One way to prevent burnout

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is to have a good work life balance. A person's

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work life balance means that they are spending enough time

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outside of work on things like family, hobbies and personal activities.

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In other words, there's a good balance between the time

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you spend working and the time you spend on living.

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For example, my friend Paul always tries to maintain a

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good work life balance, but it's true that many people

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struggle to achieve work life balance, especially when they have

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demanding careers. Companies that promote work life balance often have

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higher employee satisfaction as well. Having a flexible work schedule

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will also help prevent burnout. A flexible work schedule is

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one that allows employees to choose their working hours within

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certain limits. Here are some examples. Jenny appreciates her flexible

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work schedule, which lets her start and finish work at

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times that suit lifestyle. A flexible work schedule can reduce

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stress by allowing employees to manage their time more effectively.

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These days, more and more companies are offering flexible work

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schedules to improve work life balance for their employees. And finally,

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we have the career ladder. A ladder is a tool

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which has steps and is used to climb up to

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and down from high places. With this image, we have

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the career ladder or the company ladder, which means a

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progression of roles and responsibilities in your career. As you

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work in a company, you'll typically receive promotions to higher positions,

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bringing your career up the ladder. Let's look at some examples.

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The opportunity to climb the career ladder is a motivating

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factor for many works in America. This is a true story.

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My aunt was one of the first employees of a

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cosmetics company in the mid nineteen forties and went up

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the company ladder to become the head of the HR department. There.

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Frankie has been steadily climbing the career ladder at his company,

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starting as an intern and now managing a team. Keep

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in mind, the best way to remember this and any

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other word or phrase in English is to take that

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word or phrase, write it in a sentence that's true

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for you or true in your world, and then memorize

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your sentences. Did you know that you can get the

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chance to practice this kind of English with me directly.

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You can get more practice using your English when you

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join my podcast Learner's study group. There you can make

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new friends, join us for live group lessons every week

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where we practice these podcast lessons together. Plus you get

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access to the PDF, transcript and audio download for every

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Happy English podcast in the past and in the future.

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And on top of that, each episode has exercises where

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you can practice this English point with speaking and writing

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checked by me. To learn more, just visit Myhappy English

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dot com and choose podcasts lesson seven forty. Remember learning

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another language is not easy, but it's not impossible, and

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I'm here to help you on your journey.

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Speaker 2: This podcast is brought to you by Happy English. Please

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visit Myhappy english dot com. Show your support for happy

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English by leaving us a review. Get English, Get happy,

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Happy English.