Hello. My name is Emma; and in today's video, I am going to teach you some
great expressions we use when we talk about our coworkers. We can also use the
word "colleagues". Okay? So, you're going to learn some great expressions,
so when you go to work or when somebody's talking to you about work,
you'll be able to use some good expressions that are very popular. So,
let's get started. First thing I want to maybe remind you or tell you is what the
word "coworker" means. A "coworker" is somebody you work with. So, it's not
your boss; it's somebody... and not necessarily your friend —but maybe; it
can be — but it's somebody you see at work and you work with. Now, some people
use the word "coworker"; other people prefer the word "colleague", and they
mean the same thing. Okay? So, you have a choice; you can say: "My coworker" or
"My colleague". "Colleague" might be a little bit harder to spell, if you're
ever doing a writing assignment, so you can always stick with "coworker" because
it's a bit easier. So, let's look first at some positive or happy things we can
say about our "coworkers".
So, the first expression... and you can remember I have a smiley face, because
it's a very happy way to describe our coworker. The first expression I want to
teach you is: "go-to". Okay? So, you've seen the word "go" as a verb. When we're
talking about our "go-to", we're actually using this as a noun. Okay? So,
I'll give you a sentence that will help you understand that a little bit better.
But first, let's talk about what it means. A "go-to" is someone who is very
reliable. We can rely on them. Okay? And they're the most knowledgeable on
something. So, when we talk about our "go-to" at work —. the "go-to" is the
person we see when we have a question, or when we have a problem with
something, because we know they are very reliable and very knowledgeable. So, the
"go-to" is the first person you talk to when you need help and you have a
problem. So, here is my example: "She"... and "She" in this case is my
coworker. "She is my go-to when I need help." So, notice I put the word "my" in
front of this, so we can have: "my go-to", "your go-to", "his go-to", "her
go-to". And again, it's the person who's the most reliable and most
knowledgeable, and the person you go to for help. All right. So, that's the
first way we can describe a coworker: "She is my go-to."
The next expression also has the word "go" in it, but this means something
very different. We use the term or expression "going places" to describe
coworkers who are probably going to be very successful in the future. So, this
is a really nice way to describe somebody. If you think a person you work
with is going to be very successful, you can say: "They are going places." So,
we'll be so the person will be successful in their career. So, maybe
right now, you both have the same job; but if a person is "going places", this
means they're going to go very high in their career — they're going to climb
the ladder. And you can use it for yourself: "I want... I hope I will be
going places in the future." So, "going places" means being successful. Here is
our example: "Alain is going places. Alain is going to be very successful in
the future." That's what I think. All right. Let's look at some other positive
expressions to describe our coworkers.
All right. So, what's our next positive way to describe our coworker? Well, a
really nice thing to say about someone at work is to call them a "team player".
So, it's almost like comparing your coworker to somebody you would play a
sport with. You're both on a team, like a sport team. And so, a "team player" is
somebody who cares about the other members of your team; or in this case,
other coworkers, and really helps people out. They're focused on helping everyone
out; not just themselves. So, what we can say is that: "A team player is
someone who works well with others." Okay? So, they're not focused on
themselves; they're focused on the team. So, here's my example: "Shelly is a team
player. I love doing projects with her." You can also use this to describe
yourself. A lot of people, during job interviews, will say that they are a
"team player" — meaning they like to work well with others on projects, just
like you would if you were an athlete on a sports team.
So, my next expression is a newer expression, and that is the expression
of "work wife". We can also say: "work husband" or "work spouse". So, a
"spouse" is the way you can talk about someone you're married to. So, this is a
new expression. And what does it mean? Well, a "work wife" or a "work husband",
or "work spouse" is someone who is a coworker that you are very close to.
Okay? So, this is the person you go to for emotional support at work. When
you're having a bad day, this is the person you talk to about your bad day at
work. They're someone you trust, so they're a very close friend that's also
your coworker. So, this is the definition I've put: A "work spouse" is
a coworker who is like your husband or wife, because they have a very close and
supportive relationship with you. You can tell them anything. But for a "work
spouse" or "work wife" or "work husband", it's not romantic. Okay? So,
it's not a romantic relationship. It's an emotional relationship; that person
is the person there for you at work. So, many people love having a workspace; it
makes work a lot more fun and it helps with stress, so this is something people
are now talking about. They might say: "Lucy is my work wife; she always makes
sure that I take a break. And whenever I have problems, Lucy is there for me.",
"Hank is my work husband or work spouse — he is someone I trust and I can go to
whenever I have a problem." So, this is how we use the word: "work wife", "work
husband", or "work spouse". "Spouse" can be for a man or a woman; a "work wife"
is for a woman, and a "work husband" is how we would describe a male colleague.
Now let's look at some other expressions.
Okay. So, now let's talk about some of the bad things we can say about our
colleagues or our coworkers when we describe them. So, these are all
negative traits. And notice I put a sad face, because you don't want to work
with these types of people. So, the first expression is a common one we use
at work, and it's the expression of "not pulling his" — if it's a... if it's a
man — "her" — if it's a woman — "weight", so: "not pulling someone's
weight". What does it mean? Well, if someone is "not pulling their weight",
it means they are not working hard at work; and as a result, other people have
to work harder. So, they're not working hard enough. They're not contributing a
lot. So, other people are working very hard, adding a lot to the project.
Someone who does "not pull their weight" is not contributing a lot. It's almost
like if they weren't there, the project wouldn't be any different because
they're not helping. So, an example of this is: "Becky is not pulling her..."
Because Becky's a woman. Wait here. She's lazy. So, Becky is lazy. She's not
working hard. She's not contributing to the project. So, we can say: "Becky is
not pulling her weight." Sometimes bosses might tell an employee: "You need
to pull your weight around here." So, what can change is this word — it can
be: "her", "his", "their", "your". So, you can change the pronoun here, but the
main expression is: "not pulling his/her/their weight".
All right. Now let's look at another example that's sort of similar, and that
is the word "slacker". A "slacker". And for some of you this might be a hard
word to pronounce because we have an "s" and an "l" together. "Slacker". A
"slacker" is someone who is very lazy and does not work hard. So, if we look
at what I've written here: A slacker tries to avoid hard work. So, they're
the kind of person who whenever the boss comes to the office, a slacker might
hide in the bathroom, because they want to avoid hard work. They don't want more
work. They will do anything to avoid work. They don't do a lot. They have
very little effort. And when they do work, they don't try hard. So, their
projects are usually... we have another expression in English: "half ass", which
means that it's not their full potential. A "slacker" doesn't work hard
and they're quite lazy. So, my example sentence is: "Michel is a slacker." And
"slacker" is a word that is a noun. So, notice there's "a" in front of it —
there's an article. How many of you are slackers? Maybe while you're learning
the language some of you might be slackers. That's okay. I'm not judging.
So, "slacker". It's a good word. Now let's look at some other expressions we
can use.
All right. So, now let's look at some more negative or bad things we can say
to describe a coworker. The next expression I really like. What I've
written here is: "two-faced". So, if you think about a face — you have a face.
And in this case, when we describe somebody, we're talking about two faces.
This can help you remember this expression. So, someone who is
"two-faced" appears one way when they talk to you, but then they do something
differently when they talk to other people. So, for example, maybe they tell
you: "Oh, I love you so much. You're fantastic." And then when they talk to
other coworkers, they say: "That Emma, I don't really like her. She's terrible."
Okay? So, that's "two-faced". So, it's someone you cannot trust. What they say
is not trustworthy. They talk behind people's backs. So, what they say to you
that's positive; behind your back, they might say something negative. So, to
help you remember the word "two-faced", pictures are a great way to remember
vocabulary, and I am very proud of my art. This is an Emma original. It's
almost like a Picasso. So, if you notice, half of the face is happy. So,
imagine your coworker, when they talk to you, they look like this. They look all
happy, and nice, and kind; and you think: "Wow. What a great person." But
really, as soon as your back is turned, they're like this — angry, they talk
badly about you, they're mean; they're not nice. So, you see two faces — you
can remember "two-faced". And you can use this expression to talk about other
people; not just coworkers. But we use it a lot when we're talking about
coworkers, because unfortunately, sometimes when you work in an office, or
at any job, you might meet someone who is two-faced. Here is my example: "Watch
out. Peter is two-faced." So, you can't trust Peter.
All right. Let's look at our last expression of today, and that expression
I really like. I actually am a little bit like this, and that is "stress
case". "Stress case". So, notice the word "stress". When you have a lot of
stress, you're very worried and anxious; and you think: "Oh my goodness,
everything's going wrong. What do I do?" and you panic. So, that's stress. It's
that feeling when you don't feel in control. And then we have the word
"case". So, a "stress case" is a person who panics: "Oh my God. Oh my God. Oh my
God." Okay? That's a "stress case" — someone who overreacts. So, maybe you...
you might know somebody who, right before a test, they are a "stress case".
They're sweating. They're, you know, very nervous, they're very stressed.
They're panicking. They are a "stress case". So, sometimes we talk about our
coworkers this way. Maybe you have a coworker who, for example... In my
example, Jenny. "Jenny is a stress case. She has called me 18 times since lunch
to talk about the project." So, in this case, you can tell Jenny is a "stress
case". So, she panics a lot, because she has called 18 times to talk about
something. So, that means there's a lot of pressure, there's a lot of stress. A
"stress case" is somebody who overreacts often. So, it's okay, if, you know,
you're stressed when there's a big project and you feel a bit of stress.
But someone who's a "stress case" always is stressed; every day, they have a lot
of panic. And that can make other people feel a lot of stress, too. Okay? So,
"stress case".
So, thank you for watching. We've covered eight different expressions
today — four of them very nice things to say and four of them, you know, when
you're describing someone and it's a little bit negative — and we've been
talking about "colleagues" or "coworkers", which mean the same thing.
So, I hope you use some of these words. You can try them out in the comments. On
YouTube, maybe you can talk about coworkers you have, and think about it.
The best way to remember words is by thinking about people you know who are
like these words, because that will make it really strong in your brain and help
you remember better. So, thank you for watching. Please visit www.engvid.com.
And there, you can actually do a quiz to practice everything you've learned
today. You can also subscribe to my channel. There are many expressions to
learn in English; I've covered eight today, but if you want to learn more,
come check out and subscribe to my channel. I have a lot of videos about
different expressions. Just remember to ring the bell, so you know you are
actually subscribed. Finally — I know I have a lot to say — come visit me at
www.teacheremma.com where you can get some free resources on English, as well
as learn more about me. So, thank you so much for watching; and until next time,
take care.