This is the Business English Podcast, Episode 587.
What does a number on you at work?
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This is Real Business English, with your favorite American hosts, Lindsay and Aubrey, coming to you from Arizona and Colorado, USA.
Thank you so much.
Over on the All Ears English podcast.
Hello, Michelle.
How are you this fine day?
I almost said this fine morning, but it's not morning, so this fine day.
It's not the morning.
I am doing well, Aubrey.
How are you?
I'm great.
I'm excited to dive into this very interesting vocabulary.
A quick question first.
Michelle, are you a numbers person?
No.
Same.
I'm not.
We're language teachers.
We can't be expected to be numbers people as well.
No, I'm not a numbers person.
But I do like words and some of those words are numbers.
I like the words that are numbers.
Yes.
One, two, three is a good one.
Guys, we're going to teach an expression about the word number that is really useful.
So this expression is to do a number on someone or something really.
Yeah.
So this is going to be an interesting episode.
Guys, again, make sure wherever you're listening to the Business English podcast that you hit the follow button so that you never miss anything from us.
You don't have to go searching for us.
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Super easy.
So yes, and we did.
If you also follow Allers English, if you're listening to Allers English, this phrase will sound slightly familiar, because we recently talked about idioms five different idioms and this was one of them.
So we hinted briefly at it.
But stay to the end and we will share that episode number so you can go back to learn these other idioms that are related to this, because we do use these both in everyday conversations and at work.
Exactly.
Exactly.
So but what does it mean to do a number on something?
Yeah, it means to do something that really impacts someone in a negative way.
So it's generally impacting them more in some kind of emotional way, but not always.
But it's not positive.
No, I don't think it's ever positive.
No, it's not.
Yeah, I wouldn't be like this chocolate cake is doing a number on me, unless I mean like making me gain weight and it's negative.
It doesn't mean it's delicious.
It's affecting me negatively.
Maybe it's giving me too much of a sugar rush.
It's negative.
Right.
Yes, exactly.
So I mean, but what kind of impact might someone be talking about if they talk about doing a number on someone?
Yeah, it could be lots of different things.
It could be that it's holding them back from something or making them feel nervous or stressed.
It could also be about long term detrimental effects.
Yeah, or it could be something that is not so emotional but just more logical, like a financial impact or physical, like we talked about.
Absolutely some something with your body.
Um, like this, this new face cream is really doing a number on my skin, like maybe that would be like if it's giving you yeah, if it's making you break out or get like rashes.
So if it's a good face cream, we wouldn't say this, but if it's not good, then right, you're having some sort of physical reaction to it.
Or you could even say, like The pollen is really doing a number on my allergies.
Yes.
Do you get allergies, Michelle?
I get them so badly in Arizona.
My son gets them really bad.
He just had like a few days of really just itching, shoot little eyes.
I never had allergies growing up in the northwest.
My sister did.
She had terrible grass allergies.
We'd go camping and we couldn't bring wildflowers anywhere near her and they didn't affect me at all.
But then i moved to arizona and the desert pollens really do a number on my sinuses.
It's awful Yeah yeah, it's hard.
When you have allergies, I'm allergic to cats.
Oh, yeah.
Yeah.
So I wouldn't say this is necessarily informal or formal.
I think it's I think it can be used at work outside of work, like you mentioned.
Yeah, there are sort of more.
You know, saying do a number on is slightly more informal than some of the other options, like have a significant effect on right.
There are definitely more formal ways of saying this.
This is a little more sort of idiomatic feeling.
So it does feel slightly less formal, but perfect for everyday conversation and at work.
Yeah, definitely.
So let's do some examples.
So the first one is the way she gives feedback can really do a number on our team's confidence.
I wish she would learn to be a bit softer.
Yes, or their third loss really did a number on their overall morale.
Just means it's having a negative effect.
But this is a much more interesting way of saying that.
Right.
And I think of you know I'm a big basketball fan and sometimes you know they go on winning streaks or they go on a losing streak.
And it's like whenever they go on a losing streak, everyone says the team is broken.
Right.
You just think, oh, all of that talk and the losing, it could have a doing number on their morale.
It's hard to keep your spirits up when you're hearing all of that.
Exactly.
Or the cuts have really done a number on our budget for marketing.
So you can't spend what you want.
Or the constant turnover of our staff has really done a number on our ability to connect with clients.
Yeah, a lot of things that management might choose.
The higher ups choose.
Does a number on everything that everyone else is trying to do right?
It trickles down and there's effects everywhere.
Yeah.
Aubrey, has anything personally or professionally done a number on you or your life recently?
Insomnia has done a number on my sleeping schedule on my I'm like constantly tired.
I'm awake at 2am or 4am cannot go back to sleep.
So I probably need to see a hormone replacement therapist.
Wait, so do you fall asleep easily, but then it's that you wake up?
Yeah, I fall asleep fine.
And then I wake up in the middle of the night and I've stopped trying because I would just lie there for hours miserable, trying to fall back to sleep, and I can't.
So now I just get up and I'm writing a book actually in the middle of the night.
I'm like, I may as well be productive.
Yeah.
Get something done while I'm awake.
But then I'm tired late in the afternoon or early evening.
I'm drained because it does a number on you to be lacking sleep.
Yeah exactly, oh my gosh, sleep is so important, um yeah.
So for me, i would say, a recent spring break for my children has done a number on me.
Do it too.
Does a number on my house, does a number on my nerves?
Yeah,
And it's just, you know, I realized how much because we were out of town for a little bit.
And I realized just how much you know.
At a certain point, especially with children, I guess you crave that routine and you need everybody to be in their place and just doing their thing.
And it can be hard when all of that gets...
Yeah.
Disruptions to a mom's routine really do a number on everyone in the house.
So true.
All right.
We're going to talk a little bit more about this when we get back from the break.
Okay, we're back.
So let's talk about some other ways to say this.
So the first one, it's almost the exact same, but instead of to do a number on, it's to do a job on.
Have you heard that, Aubrey?
Yeah, I don't say this often, but I have heard it.
I would know what someone means if they say this that this did a job like the company.
Layoffs have really done a job on our team.
Do you say this a lot, Michelle?
No, I would say do a number on.
Much more common.
But I would, I mean, I hear the other one as well.
So if you're trying to decide between the two, I would go with number.
But you can listen out for this one.
Mm-hmm.
And then we have has made an impact on someone.
This can be positive or negative.
You can make a positive impact on someone.
A role model you know, a mentor, could have a positive impact on someone or negative.
You could say his lateness has made a huge impact on how he is viewed by management.
Not good.
Uh-oh.
Or this just kind of is about, excuse me, shaking something up.
So if you say, rattled someone to rattle someone um yeah, i think of you know, shaking something um, so it's the same as threw them off right, something threw me off.
I would say it rattled me a little more extreme than threw me off.
Maybe i feel like rattled is like i'm upset.
I'm so you know i'm, i'm emotionally upset about something shaken up.
Yeah, Shaking up.
The layoffs have rattled our entire team.
Yeah, this one definitely implies more emotional investment than like had an impact on them.
Right.
There's more, there's some kind of emotion involved usually if I say I'm rattled.
Yeah, definitely.
Michelle, do you ever get rattled in the middle of the night when, like there have been things that will happen?
I'll hear a noise in the night or I'll realize a door was left unlocked or just something strange.
And because now I'm awake in the middle of the night because I have insomnia.
Everything's creepier when it's dark and quiet and I get rattled a lot in the middle of the night.
Oh, I am... I am such... Like, in the night... Yeah, everything is totally different for me.
Even when I was staying at my parents', I was in, like... Just in the living room area.
Literally... one step away from my kids' room and down the hall from my parents.
And still, I'm just kind of looking around and everything looks weird.
I'm so bad at that.
Checking the shadows.
Yes, I'm so weird like that.
No, I definitely get very creeped out, afraid of the dark.
No, you just kind of get rattled by like, especially a new place, but any place when it's dark and quiet and they're creepy shadows, and it's just easy to get rattled.
Yes exactly, exactly.
All right, let's do a role play here.
Michelle and i are managers talking about recent layoffs.
You want to start us out?
Okay, here we go.
How's your team doing?
Not great.
Honestly, the layoffs have really rattled them, oh same.
I think they've had a huge impact on our morale, definitely.
Honestly, they've done a number on me as well.
I just don't understand what's going on.
I don't think the higher-ups have any idea that their decisions have done a job on everyone.
Hopefully this gets resolved soon And I love that you have this bonus vocab.
I noticed myself use this earlier today higher ups, which is a way we say like leadership, but it's kind of a more informal way of saying that.
We do use this a lot at work too, the higher ups.
It's kind of this general blanket term for every supervisor, all of the leaders, people that are decision makers.
Right.
Right.
And I said it because we in this role play, we are managers, but we're talking about people that are higher up than us.
It's interesting.
Yeah, because sometimes you wouldn't say leadership.
If you are leadership, you'll say the higher ups to indicate everyone that has seniority above you.
Interesting.
Yeah, exactly.
So let's go through this.
What did you say?
Or what did I say first?
You said, I said, I said, how is your team doing?
And you said, not great.
Honestly, the layoffs have really rattled them.
So yeah, they're emotionally impact.
They're shaken up.
Great.
Yeah, you can see if there are layoffs, people are upset, there's emotion involved.
This is when rattled is perfect, right?
It would almost feel a little too formal and not emotional enough to say these layoffs have had a huge effect on them.
That's devoid of emotion that you're wanting to put in there.
So rattled is better.
Right, exactly.
And then what did I say?
You said, I think they have had a huge impact on our morale.
So just kind of everyone's worried about their jobs and missing people that got laid off, right?
This general decrease in morale where like nobody's feeling really great about anything.
Yeah, yeah.
And then you said, honestly, they have done a number on me as well.
I just don't understand what's going on.
So it's not just that we're talking about our employees, right?
Our team, but even for the managers, like we're not making these decisions.
We're not the owners of the company.
And we're saying we've also had our... emotions, our morale impacted.
Exactly, right?
We have been affected as well.
And I'm sure that is the case.
A lot of you out there listening have had to fire someone, have had to inform people that they are laid off.
And that is an extremely difficult thing to do.
And it does affect the manager as well as the employees.
Nobody wants to be in that situation.
And it does a number on everyone.
Yeah.
And then I said I don't think the higher ups have any idea that their decisions have done a job on everyone.
So I'm saying that they've had this negative impact on everyone.
And sometimes this is the case, right?
Sometimes the higher-ups do understand that what they're doing has this effect.
And sometimes it seems like they're more callous that they don't seem to see it.
So it kind of depends on the leadership and how they are – how they are messaging this, right?
How are they are, what they're doing and the impression it's making.
Yes, exactly.
And Aubrey, you mentioned that there was an All Ears English episode where we talked about this expression as well.
What was that episode?
It is All Ears English episode 2575.
Five English idioms that hit hard.
And there are...
These all are pretty related meanings.
This is for more ways to say that.
I remember we talked about take a toll on, which is similar to what we talked about today.
So be sure to check out that episode so that you have a myriad of vocabulary to use for these types of situations.
If you're not following Allers English, be sure to hit follow on that podcast as well, so that you can get all of the vocabulary for both this, the Business English podcast, and our other podcast as well.
Yes.
Anything we want to say before we hit off the mic?
Well, it's interesting.
This really is a huge skill for connection, because you want to be communicating the things that do a number on you, that have a big effect on you.
If you have any coworkers or colleagues that you have a close enough relationship with you, it is therapeutic to share that.
When you have that heavy weight situation, things like this are happening, you know to be able to talk that out and share that burden with another person will bond you with them, will deepen the connection.
Exactly.
Very well said.
Guys, thank you so much for listening.
Aubrey, thanks for chatting about this with me today.
And guys, we'll talk to you on the next one.
Yes.
See you guys next time.
Bye.
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