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English at Work 

Episode 36: The power struggle  

Langua g e f or work ing  with s omeone new  

( Anna on the computer, singing to herself)  

Narrator:  Welcome back to English at Work where Anna  is very… well, very happy! 

You’re in a good mood Anna.  

Anna:  Well, I’m just back from France,  where everything went really well. It was 

quite an experience. 

Narrator:  Good. You got the contract for that big order. All you need to do now is to 

deliver what you’ve promised.   

Anna:  I know  ( singing to herself again) .  

Denise:  Hello Anna. Is Tom OK, he seems really grumpy since he got back from 

France?  

Anna:  He’s fine. He just had to sleep on the sofa last night. 

Denise:  Really?! I’m sure that’s  not  what he was planning. Now, did Paul mention 

he’s got a new member of staff for you to meet this morning?  

Anna:  No. 

Denise:  Typical!  Well, she’s  coming up in the lift  with Paul now. 

Anna:  Oh, so who is she ?  

Denise:  It’s Rachel. Do you remember? S he’s the woman who Mr Socrates 

recommended.  He says she’s brilliant and  allegedly one of his  best 

employees… oh,  here she comes now.  

Paul:   …and this is our office.  Ah, Anna, there you are. Did I mention  before you 

went to France,  that Rachel is joining us for a while ? 

Anna:  No. 

Paul:    Ah…  well… here she is.   This is Rachel. 

Rachel:  Hi! 

Anna:  Hi. I’m Anna. I work here as a Sales Executive. 

Rachel:  I know. You’re quite new aren’t you , ya ?  

Paul:   Not that new. She’s just won a great contract for us. Anyway, looks like 

you two are going to get on like a house on fire. Anna, I’d  like you to ,  sort 

of ,  work alongside Rachel. 

Rachel:  Alongside? Shouldn’t I be in charge? 

Paul:   Yes…  i t’s just ,  you know ,  you’re not famil iar with our office and Anna is, 

sort of,  across this new contract… so…  if you don’t mind? 

Rachel:  OK. Just for now,  but don’t think I’m  going to be told what to do .  

Anna:  I’m sure you won’t  be Rachel but maybe we could help each other? 

Rachel:   I’ll try. 

Anna:  Good! (To herself)   Oh dear. This is awkward. I’ve never  worked with 

anyone  like this  before. 

Narrator:  Well, now’s your chance Anna. Rachel may be awkward to manage but try 

these phrases which may help  things go more smoothly. Say “I understand 

you have lots of experience so I would like to use your skills to help with 

the task.” And “together we can do this job really well.”  But why not just 

start by making her a cup of tea. Good luck! 

Anna:  Oh thanks. (To Rachel)   Rachel, would you like a cup of tea? And then we 

could talk about this contract. 

Rachel:  I don’t drink tea. Let’s just get down to business.  

Anna:  Oh,  right.  

Rachel:  Now,   I think you need to check your stock and make sure you’ve got your 

oranges. 

Anna:   Err…  It’s lemons actually. 

Rachel:  Whatever. Just get them and… you know…  put them in a…  thingy…  a box. 

Anna:  Well, actually…  I understand you have lots of experience so maybe we 

could you use your skills for this task? 

Rachel:  Well, it’s tr ue, I  do have lots of experience . Thanks for recognising that.  

Anna:  So maybe…  we could work on this job… together?  

Rachel:  Oh ya, sure. Great. Of course. I can get hold of these oranges…   err… 

lemons, pronto. I know a man who can get some second - hand ones, it’ll 

save us loads of money. 

Anna:  But what about the quality?  

Rachel:  Quality?!  It’s  the cost we’ve got to worry about. Keep up Hannah.  

Anna:   Anna.  

Narrator:  Come on Anna. Don’t let her boss you around. It’s time to stand your 

ground. If she causes trouble say “let’s discuss this so we can agree on a 

plan of action” or “please respect my decision and let’s move on.” 

Anna:  Hmm,  OK,  I’ll give it a try. (To Rachel)  Rachel, I like your enthusiasm but… 

can we discuss this so we can agree on a plan of action? 

Rachel:  Of course. Why didn’t you say? Come on discuss… discuss…  talk !  

Anna:  Well,  we pride ourselves on quality products and our Imperial Lemon is 

particularly good… and I think our client is expecting that. S o I would like 

to send them what I had promised  in the contract .  

Rachel:  Oh ya, I see.  But I’m not really sure you’re right . 

Anna:  Well, if you could just respect my decision this time and we can move on?  

Rachel:  Well, just this once   Hannah . But I think I’m going to have to talk to Mr 

Socrates about you. 

Narrator:  Well done Anna for standing your ground. It can sometimes be tricky 

working with  a new member of staff,  but it’s important to try and develop a 

good working relationship –  remember business comes first!  Let’s hear 

t hose phrases again: 

I understand you have lots of experience ,  so I would like to use your skills 

to help with the task. 

Together we can do this job really well.  

Let’s discuss this so we can agree on a plan of action.   

Please respect my decision and let’s move on. 

Tom:   Hi Anna. Can’t believe we were in France this time yesterday. 

Rachel:  Oh hello, Tommy boy. Long time no see! This is  a nice surprise.  

Tom:   Err…  mmmm…  

Anna:  Have you two met before?   

Rachel:  We certainly have. Hey Tommy boy?  

Tom:   ( To himself)  Oh no!  

Narrator:  Ha ha. Looks like Tom is lost for words –  let’s hope he finds them in time 

for the next episode of English at Work. Bye!    

Listening Challenge  

What fruit does Rachel think they are sending to the new client?  

 (Answer:  oranges)