People you work with – Vocabulary and Phrases
a colleague – a person you work with
Call one of your colleagues. He might help you.
a supervisor – a person who supervises workers or the work done by others
Supervisors manage a team of staff and organise their workload.
a subordinate – a person who is lower in power, importance
I have to check the work of my subordinates every day.
a boss – a person who employs workers and makes decisions
Would you like to be the boss? Would you like to have so much responsibility?
a team – a number of persons associated in some joint action
We need to work as a team.
a slave – one who works extremely hard
I was working like a slave and nobody thanked me in the end.
a graduate – a person who has received a degree or diploma on completing a course of study, as in a university, college, or school
to graduate from – to receive a degree or diploma on completing a course of study
He graduated from university in 1989.
straight-forward – direct, open
Our boss is not a straight-forward man. I never know what he thinks.
ambitious – full of motivation and ambition
She is an ambitious girl. I think she will become the manager soon.
creative – original, imaginative, productive
This designer is very creative.
hard-working – working hard
Have you always been so hard-working?
punctual – acting or arriving exactly at the time appointed; prompt
Our boss is punctual. So everybody has to arrive in time.
relaxed – free, not strict, informal
Jack is relaxed. Don't worry, he will not give you any troubles.
sociable – friendly or agreeable in company
You can't become more popular unless you are more sociable.
to socialize with – to associate sociably with others
I don't want to socialize. I hate parties.
practical – inclined to or fitted for actual work or useful activities
My husband is a very practical person.
reliable – able to be trusted
Jack is not very reliable.
intelligent – having intelligence
Our boss is a very intelligent and nice woman.
good-looking – charming
The manager was a good-looking man in his thirties.
modest – decent in behaviour, speech, dress, etc.
He is very modest. He doesn't need much.
shy – reserved
Jessica has been always so shy! She doesn't want to speak to anyone.
lazy – not wanting to work much; slow-moving
You can't be so lazy. Nobody will employ you!
stubborn – fixed or set in opinion; too determined
He is stubborn as a donkey. Nobody can change his mind.
self-confident – believing fully in one's own judgement, opinion, ability, power, etc.
We need to hire a young self-confident student.
bossy – too authoritative, domineering
She is so bossy when our boss is away.
calm – not excited; quiet
Now he's calm. But an hour ago he was so angry!
selfish – egoistic
You are so selfish!
amusing – causing laughter, humour
The teambuilding practice was quite amusing.
rude – not polite
The secretary was so rude.
patient – capable of quietly awaiting a result without complaining
It will be your turn soon — you must just be patient!
to make friends – to start a friendly relationship; to become friends with someone
John easily makes friends.
to go out with – to have a date
He is going out with the receptionist.
to gossip/a gossip – talk about the personal or private affairs of others
I never pay any attention to gossip.
to introduce sb to sb – to present (a person) to another
May I introduce my colleague to you?
to get on well with somebody – to have a good relationship
Susan gets on well with everybody.
to have something in common – to share interests, hobbies, etc.
I'm afraid we have nothing in common.
to have a sense of humour – to be able to smile; to like jokes and humour
I like colleagues who have a sense of humour.
to bully somebody – to be bossy to; to be aggressive
Her big brother always bullied her when she was young
to smoke – to draw in and puff out the smoke from (a cigarette etc)
I don't smoke, but my boss smokes cigars.
a smoker – a person who smokes
My brother is a heavy smoker.
to chat – to have an informal conversation
They chatted about the weather.
to have a chat – to have an informal conversation
to make excuses – to present reasons for being freed from tasks, responsibility, etc.
Bush cannot make excuses for Sharon's suicidal war.