Men are working fewer hours than before the pandemic,
while women are working more -
At least in the UK. This is News Review from
BBC Learning English, where we help you understand news headlines in English.
I'm Beth, and I'm Georgie.
Make sure you watch to the end to learn the vocabulary
you need to talk about this story.
And remember to subscribe to our channel
so that you can learn more English from the headlines. Now,
the story. Men in the UK
are working fewer hours, while women are working more. Since the pandemic,
the average number of hours worked in the UK
has dropped, especially in men. At the same time,
the number of women working full time has increased - possibly
due to more flexible working.
Some experts believe
that the overall drop in working hours may be bad for the economy.
You've been looking at the headlines, Georgie,
what's the vocabulary that people need to understand this news story in English?
We have 'pick up the slack', 'drive a trend'
and put in. This is News Review
from BBC Learning English.
Let's have a look now
at our first headline. This one's from City AM.
Men are working much less than they used to. Women
are picking up the slack.
So this is about the story that men are working less
and women are working more.
We're going to look at the expression 'pick up the slack'.
Can you start by explaining 'slack'?
It comes from sailing. A rope
that is slack is loose.
It's not tight.
There are a few expressions that come from it,
but 'to pick up the slack' means to do work that someone else hasn't done.
Ah, OK. So if someone is going on
holiday, and they haven't done
all the work that they're supposed to... Don't worry, Beth.
I'll pick up the slack.
I'll do the work for you.
Thank you. Now
you said that there are some other expressions that use the word
'slack'. Can you give us some examples?
Sure, if you 'cut someone some slack',
you're flexible and let them not do
what they're supposed to. 'Slack off',
that means you're relaxing or just being lazy.
Well, we cannot slack off because we've got more News Review to
do, so let's look at that again.
Let's have
our next headline.
This one's from Fortune: Millennial men in the UK
are helping drive a trend of falling working hours,
and it might be starting to hurt the country's economy.
We're going to look at the expression 'drive a trend'. But what
'driving' is going on here?
'Drive' is being used to mean 'move something forward',
but it's not a car.
It's a metaphor. 'Trend' is the other part of the expression, and
it means a pattern of behaviour.
So something that 'drives a trend' causes
a pattern to happen.
OK, so this headline is saying that working hours in the UK Are falling.
That is the trend, and men working fewer hours
is making it happen.
It's driving it.
You often see this in the news.
Something is happening, a trend, and it makes us
ask the question:
"What is driving this trend?"
So, for example, high petrol prices could drive a trend for electric cars.
Yes, that's right.
OK, let's look at that again.
Can we have our next headline, please?
This one's from the Telegraph: Men work less since Covid,
while women put in more hours. We know the story,
but we're going to look at the phrasal verb, 'put in'.
Who's putting what, where? This headline is about women in the UK
They are putting in more hours.
They're spending more time working. This
meaning of 'put in' is very similar to 'spend'.
OK, so we spend time, but we can also spend money and spend effort.
So can we also say that we put in money and effort?
Yes, as well as putting in time,
you can also put in effort.
Or put in money.
It suggests that something, isn't easy.
If you have to put in the effort to achieve something,
it's hard work, and putting in money often means that you're investing in something.
OK. And we want you to put in the effort
and look at that word again.
We've had to 'pick up the slack' -
do work that someone else hasn't done. 'Drive a trend' -
make a pattern happen.
And 'put in'- spend.
Now if you've enjoyed this, we think you'll love
this 6 Minute English episode all about flexible working
Click here to watch!
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