This is the Business English Podcast, episode 45.
Three phrasal verbs to complain about a lazy colleague in English.
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What's going on, Michelle? How are you doing today?
Hey, Lindsay. I am good. I am good. Not too much.
What's going on with you? Oh, I'm feeling kind of lazy today, actually.
Oh, lazy? Really? Yeah, I'm feeling lazy.
I had a hard time getting out of bed and I just wanted to watch TV, watch Netflix all day, you know, that kind of thing.
Oh, I get that, too. I get that, too. Yeah, yeah.
I was just kind of feeling lethargic, you know, physically lethargic because I think I had too much meat last night.
You know, I had a big steak and I'm not used to eating that kind of meat.
Oh, really? It kind of like weighed on you, right?
Exactly. Michelle, do you know anyone in your life who's kind of lazy?
My dog was lazy. He's not alive anymore.
But when I think of lazy, I think of my old dog.
What kind of dog was it? A beagle. Oh, was he fat?
Yes. Very much so. Oh, no. So he was he was kind of lazy, but he was the cutest.
He was the cutest. Oh, my gosh. So I think people I mean, I think everybody can be lazy at certain points.
And definitely that makes me think of just like wanting to sit in and watch TV.
And also, I think in the wintertime, it's it can be the hardest, right?
Yeah. Do you feel lazy in the winter sometimes?
Yeah. Oh, yeah, for sure. Like, I mean, yeah, sometimes I'm like, okay, well, at night, I'm just, you know, kind of watching TV staying in, but it's too cold to do anything else.
Yeah, that's true. But I mean, for you, it seems like you're not lazy at all when it comes to work ethic.
I think you're a hard worker. I think you work, you have a good work ethic, and you're very conscientious.
Yeah, I think so. Thank you. I mean, that's part of why we've been able to publish so consistently over the last couple of years that you've been like very dedicated to the show.
So I appreciate that. Oh, well, thank you.
I love doing this show. So of course. I know our listeners love it.
Yeah. Well, it's funny, though. I think laziness can be like for me, I've struggled with a certain kind of laziness that it's not lazy on the surface, right?
Like I'm up every day. I'm working hard on All Ears English.
I would never let anything obvious slip.
But then there are other ways in which I can kind of be lazy and also procrastinate.
Like I would it's easier for me to just go down the to do list and accomplish the easy tasks and get them done.
And I feel productive, but I'm not always doing the most important thing.
Do you know what I mean? So that's a form of laziness that disguises itself as hard work.
That's interesting. Yeah. Yeah, you gotta you gotta prioritize.
Yeah, sometimes I exactly I don't know. Yeah, that that that is a form of laziness, but it doesn't seem like it when you're doing.
I know that's where that's where the subtle that's why we have to start paying really close attention to ourselves.
And think like, oh, we could tell ourselves a lie and say, even though we're accomplishing all these to do tasks, right, like checking our email and little things that need to get done, not necessarily moving the needle forward with important things.
Do you ever like, I don't know, maybe I talked about this before, but there's sometimes, so I write to-do lists all the time, like all the time.
And I think it's like really, really helps me just get it down on paper or the computer.
But do you ever, when you have a to-do list and you do something that you realize you never added to the to-do list that you added just so you can cross it off?
Sure. No, I do. I've done that before. Yeah.
I did that yesterday like five times. Well, because I had put like a general thing on the to-do list, like a more general.
And then when I broke it down into pieces, I was like, well, I did this piece, so I'm going to put that one. specifically on the to-do list just so i can well i highlight my my things in green once oh jeez michelle you said a little over the top with the to-do list i don't know it's just in my email it's just like a draft in my email and i highlight things when i've done it yeah yeah yeah it's just an ongoing thing not bad though it does it is it is helpful Well, that's why you get stuff done.
I mean, whatever you need to do to get stuff done is my position on that.
I like that. Otherwise, I think about it too much, you know?
Oh, yeah. That's really why I do it. Totally.
All right. Cool. I like that. So that's a way to prevent being lazy, just putting things down on paper and just attacking them.
Right. Absolutely. I love that. So we have a question, actually, from a listener today, and that's where this episode was built from.
So, Michelle, could you read our listener's question?
I don't have the listener's name, unfortunately.
Okay. Okay, well, here we go. Yeah. So it starts with as a... Wait, hold on.
No, it starts with hi, guys. There we go.
I was looking up. Okay. Hi, guys. I just discovered your podcast.
And I think it's really useful for all of us that always wonder how to speak naturally and how to connect.
Thanks. You're welcome. Thank you. Anyway, I have a strange question.
I heard someone using the word sloppy or sloopy.
I don't know. The person wrote sloopy, but I'm not sure if they meant sloppy.
Yeah. When referring to sort of lazy people, probably sloppy.
What does it actually mean and what other words could we use instead?
Thanks. Good question. Good question. Well, let's start off by answering this question about sloppy.
Let's assume that they meant sloppy, not sloopy.
Okay. So what does sloppy mean, Michelle?
Well, it can be like actually messy. Yeah.
But it can also just mean like that your work or what you're doing isn't like tightened up.
You know what I mean? Yeah. Isn't careful.
Right. And often it happens because we're being lazy.
Yes, yes, exactly. Or we're trying to rush things, right?
We're moving too fast or being lazy. We're not dotting our I's and crossing our T's, right?
I think we taught that phrase before. that's a good one yeah that's a good one okay so sloppy is that's we've defined that word for our listener here now we're going to give you guys other ways to describe someone who's lazy and lazy could be about the physical physically feeling lazy or more like in terms of the way you work okay okay so the first one is is lazy and we know that that just means you know we've so we've been talking about that right today so far so what's the next one michelle I like this one.
The next one is lethargic. Yeah, that's a high level word.
Yeah, I just like the sound of this word.
And I feel like the sound of this word really represents the feeling too.
You know what I mean? Like it sounds like lethargic.
Yeah. And what's another word that means the same thing?
Sluggish. Sluggish. Okay, what does this mean?
Is this about the physical or the mental or the work ethic?
That's like more about the physical, I think, right?
And it makes me think of, I mean, it probably comes from this, a slug, right?
It's like a slow, it's very slow moving.
Right, right. Yeah, so sluggish, I like it.
Yeah, sluggish. So, you know, maybe certain foods can make you feel lethargic.
Some people say that wheat makes them feel lethargic.
Mm-hmm. I don't know if there's anything to that, but some people maybe.
Yeah. Right. Certain foods and then other other foods would make you feel more light on your feet and kind of just feeling better, more energetic.
OK. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Cool. I like that.
So then these next ones, we're going to move into like kind of talking about your work ethic.
OK. OK. And I like this phrase social loafing.
I've never heard that. You never heard that?
No. Well, it reminds me of like group projects when one person, there's four people working on a project and one person just doesn't take on the responsibilities or just kind of counts on everyone else to do things.
Oh, yep. A lot of people don't like group projects because they're afraid of that.
For that reason. Yeah. Especially in graduate school, right?
Yep. Yep. Yep. Because in graduate school, we're all so busy, but we have to take responsibility.
So that's what social loafing is. I'm sure it happens in the workplace too.
Oh, I'm sure. Yeah. Oh, yeah. And what does it mean to blow something off?
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Shop JCPenney.com. Yes, JCPenney. To blow something off, it's like, it's really just that you don't do something kind of purposefully.
Exactly. You just don't do it. You kind of ignore it or you don't fulfill your responsibilities.
And this could be because you're lazy. Right, right.
Or it could be for some other reason. But anyways, yeah.
Right, right. And you could also blow someone off like or, you know, something or someone.
And that's really just like maybe canceling on them.
But yeah, just this ignoring something is basically what it is.
You got it. Exactly. And then the next one is to put something off.
So this is cool. We're getting some cool phrasal verbs in here, guys.
I hope you're writing these down, right?
This is gold. This is gold. Write these down, guys, and prepare to use them and recognize them to connect.
To put something off means to do what? is to procrastinate.
Yeah, exactly. Right. So can you think of something that you've been putting off lately, Michelle?
Oh, what have I been putting? I had to check my to-do list.
I'm sure I have. Finishing packing for Japan would be something.
I'm like, oh, I still have one more laundry to do.
I mean, I'm mostly packed, but I've definitely been packing off a little bit.
Oh, I'm the queen of putting things off.
Actually, I feel like sometimes the to-do list can facilitate putting things off because you figure if it's on your to-do list, you won't forget it and it's there, but then it could be there two months later still.
Yeah, I did have to buy my parents a gift for something and I haven't yet.
Yeah, that's been on there for a while. Yeah, you're right.
Yeah, bad. Okay, so guys, the last one is to slack off.
Okay. What does this make you think of when you hear it, Michelle?
I'm like, yeah, like, or we say like a slacker, like, yeah, someone who doesn't really complete their responsibilities.
I think of slack off as maybe like, like a, maybe a younger, like students or like, you know, like, I don't know, people in high school or something like that or college.
Yeah, exactly. They're just not doing what they're supposed to do.
Right. Yeah. To slack off. Oh, or you could just say you're slacking, right?
You're slacking here. You're slacking off.
Good. Yep. Nice phrasal verbs today. Okay.
Okay. So we're at work and we're going to have a conversation.
So person A is going to be the boss and person B is a coworker who's complaining to the boss about a lazy team.
Oh, that's so awkward. Yeah. Okay. All right.
So how about you be A and I'll be B. All right, Michelle?
Okay. Okay. Okay. Hi, Sarah. How was your day treating you?
Oh, it's fine. How about you? Well, not bad.
Now, what was it that you wanted to talk to me about?
Okay, well, I usually don't like to do this, but it's gotten to the point where I can't handle the situation on my own.
Hmm, what's the situation? Well, our new teammate, Mark, you know, the guy we hired back in March?
Oh, yeah, he came highly recommended from a respected colleague of mine.
I know, and that's why I'm surprised, but he's kind of loafing on our projects.
How do you mean? Well, we've been working on a new marketing slogan for the company together, and he does attend the brainstorming sessions, but when it's time to divvy up the tasks, he doesn't volunteer to do anything.
Oh, dear. Go on. No, that's pretty much it.
I mean, it just seems like he's slacking off.
And when he does take on a task, he just puts it off until the last minute and procrastinates.
Hmm. It's strange. I didn't get the impression that he was a lazy person initially in the interview process.
Okay, I'll have a talk with him. Thanks for letting me know.
Okay, good. So that was a that was a nice, realistic conversation, I think, and pretty in depth there.
What'd you think about that conversation, Michelle?
Yeah, I think it was good that you brought it up.
I think, you know, you never know kind of what the response is going to be.
So probably you would be pretty nervous to talk about this with me, especially when I said, Oh, that he came recommended and I was like, Oh, no, you know?
Yeah, I know. Exactly. That's why I waited so long.
But sometimes we need to do it, guys. And if you're learning English, you need to have the tools to be able to do it to describe what's going on with this person.
So. All right. So where did I start? I said, I know.
And that's why I'm surprised. But he's kind of loafing on our project.
So initially, when we talked about this phrase, we called it social loafing.
But we can actually just turn it into a verb.
He's loafing on our projects. Right. Okay.
Right, right, right. Sure, sure. And then do you want to – should we do the bonus phrase?
Yeah, just throw it out there. Why not? And then I said, how do you mean?
That's interesting. Why did I say that? Well, it's interesting because instead of saying, what do you mean?
You said, how do you mean? Because you're asking me to describe how is he loafing, right?
Right, right. So that's a bonus phrase for today because normally, guys, you would see what do you mean, right?
Yeah. I like this. It kind of sounds very professional.
Like, I don't know. It sounds buttoned up.
That's the phrase that you say that I always like. buttoned up how do you mean right don't you mean yeah and well I I didn't it didn't strike me that way but it strikes me as um just another way to say kind of what do you mean but it means something a little bit different I'm asking you for the way in which you mean that okay instead of saying what do you mean you say how do you mean right how do you mean how is he loafing Yeah, that's true.
Yeah, yeah. Okay. So then we said, what else?
What else did we say here? I said, no. Yep.
You said that's pretty much it. It just seems like he's slacking off.
Yeah. Slacking off. Slacking off, which we learned earlier.
And when he does take on a task, he just puts it off.
Okay. Until the last minute and... And procrastinates.
Good. Okay. And then I said, hmm. You said, hmm, strange.
I didn't get the impression that he was a lazy person initially in the interview.
Uh-huh. Right, right, right. And then, yeah, that's it.
Yeah. So it sounds like as the boss, I was very nice about this, I think.
You were. And now hopefully you're going to go investigate and take care of it.
Oh, gosh. I'm sure I'm looking forward to that.
Yeah. That's what the boss is supposed to do.
That's right. That's right. Get on it, Michelle.
Get on it. I'm going to work on it. I'll set them straight.
Yeah. All right. Very cool. So that was good.
So we've shown you guys these phrases. And this made me when I was writing this episode while I was taking care of my niece, I was trying to write this in between her nap time and breakfast time and whatever.
But I was thinking about that episode that we did about the American work ethic.
Right. And this concept of lazy. I mean, this can be so cultural.
Right. What? Gosh. Yeah. I mean, what one person might think is lazy.
Another person might think is strategic and smart.
Another person might think is just relaxing is lifestyle.
Right. So it's so cultural. The concept of what is lazy.
Right, right, right. Yeah, that's so true.
Yeah. So we did a great episode back. If you go back to 677, come back to allearsenglish.com.
We reviewed an article that we read where we talked about why it looks cool to say that you're busy in the U.S.
It's very interesting. Yes, yes. Yeah. I liked that episode.
Yeah, and it really reflects kind of the American work ethic and the idea of social mobility moving up and how it looks when you say you're busy or you say you're not busy.
Okay, so I'm not going to tell you any more, guys, but that was one of our best episodes, I think, so far this year.
So definitely go grab it, 677. And also grab the IELTS Energy podcast, guys.
If you're preparing for the IELTS exam, go and subscribe over there.
Michelle, anything else we should keep in mind?
Don't slack off, guys. Don't slack off. Don't slack off.
And ask yourself the tough questions because what we said back in the beginning, I'm sure you guys might struggle with too.
Sometimes laziness can disguise itself. You think it's hard work, but it can be lazy if you're not doing the right things.
Right. Especially if you're, if you're running a business or you're doing an important project, you could be just being lazy by doing the easy tasks.
You're getting things done, but are you really being productive?
Okay. So that's a question to ask ourselves today.
I like that. Perfect. Yeah. Very provocative.
All right. Very cool. Let's get off the air for today, Michelle.
I'll see you back here soon. Alrighty. See you later.
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