A What do you think is good about working from home? What’s difficult?
B Read the posts on an Internet forum. What two things does Rina want help with?
CRead again. Summarize what Theo, Lynn, and Kosuke suggest.
Rino I just started my own small business and am working from home. I need to make some rules for myself. Any suggestions?
Theo You have to imagine you’re going to an office. Get up, get dressed, and have the same working hours every day. You can take short breaks, of course, but you can’t waste time. Fa example, you shouldn’t do chores during working hours because you’ll never get your work done. And you roust not miss your deadlines!
LynnMake time for yourself. You can’t spend all of your time on work. Sometimes, it’s hard to stop working when your office is in your home.
Rino Thanks! I see it’s going to be important to manage my time. Now, any tips on how to manage my files? I work for a lot of different employers, and my wages are different for each contract.
KosukeThere are a lot of great computer programs to help you with that kind of thing.
Rino Thanks, Kosuke. May I email you? I’d love to chat more about those programs.
KosukeOf course! My rule for working at home: Get help when you can!
PART 2
Voicino 1
Listen and repeat.
AFind and underline six of these words in the posts. Then write all of the words in the correct places in the chart and discuss what they mean. Then listen and write.
Apply
career
contract
employer
fire
hire
manage
profession
retirement
salary
wage
working hours
Nouns:
Verbs:
BWhich problem do you think is worse for people who work at home – not working
enough or working too much? Why?
PART 3
It's your turn
It’s your turn
A Make a list of rules for working or studying at home. Think of as many ideas as you can. Be creative!
B PAIR WORKCompare your lists. Then choose your three best ideas.
C Present your three ideas to another pair. Which ideas are the most helpful?
PART 4
Practicino 1
Complete the sentences with the words in the box. Different answers are possible.
can’t
could
may
must not
1 This is the third time you’ve been late. You ……….. be late for work again.
2……….. I take a break now? I need to eat something.
3 You ……….. work at home on Friday. I’d like you to be here in person for the meeting.
4 He ……….. come to the meeting. He might have some good ideas to share.
5 ……….. I work on the project, too? It sounds like fun.
Practicino 2
Think of someone you know who can work from home sometimes. Answer the questions.
1 What is his or her job?
2 Who is his or her employer?
3 What is his or her salary or hourly wage? If you’re not sure, you can guess.
4 How often can he or she work from home? Are there times when he or she can’t work from home?
5 Does this person find it easy or difficult to manage his or her time? Explain.
6 What are his or her working hours from home? Can they be different from the hours at his or her usual workplace?
7 Would you like to have his or her job and the ability to work from home? Why or why not?