The British government has asked companies to pay for English lessons for staff and to give them study time. The Home Secretary said that people need to be able to speak English to become a "full member" of British society.
February 26th 2008 |
Business culture
The TUC (Trades Union Congress) in Britain released a
report today revealing that single women in their 30s doe more unpaid overtime than anyone else.
February 22nd 2008 |
Business culture
Are you snowed under at work? Too many projects, and too many deadlines? Sometimes work can be overwhelming, especially if your boss seems unaware of how busy you are. A recent
article stresses the importance in letting your boss know that you are overworked. Here are some useful phrases for asking for help in prioritising and resetting deadlines.
Over the last year, more than 900,000 people have called the Learndirect careers helpline to help them change jobs. The typical call is from an office worker or IT consultant enquiring about becoming electricians or plumbers. The job with the most enquiries is a "domestic energy assessor"; the person who checks houses for their energy efficiency. This information is included in Home Information Packs, which are compulsory in the UK when people want to sell their houses.
January 29th 2008 |
Business culture
Friday is the day when many English colleagues go to the pub after work to celebrate the end of the working week. Even if you only go for a couple of drinks, it's a great opportunity to socialise with your colleagues in an informal atmosphere.
One of the most unpleasant things about working in an office is the "minefield" of office politics: how co-workers act to gain advantage in the organisation. Even if you don't want to get involved in power struggles or other people's arguments, you still need to be aware of the relationships between people so that you can do your job without becoming sidetracked.
January 22nd 2008 |
Business culture
If you feel you're
underpaid, but overworked, it may be time to ask for a pay rise. Here are some cultural dos and don'ts for getting a pay rise from an English-speaking boss.
January 9th 2008 |
Business culture
The Trades Union Congress (TUC) which represents nearly seven million workers in the UK
has reported that almost five million people in the UK work up to an extra seven hours a week of unpaid overtime, worth about £5000 per year.
January 4th 2008 |
Business culture
The British government has advised local councils to avoid automatic translations of public information, and instead to put greater focus on learning English. The government claims that widespread translation of everything from street signs to council leaflets means that some immigrants do not learn English. Last year, the BBC claimed that local councils spent £100m on translations.
If you learned English some years ago, you might find that some of the words you knew for jobs have changed.
