Learn English: 8 common ways to describe your coworkers

Hello. My name is Emma; and in today's video, I am going to teach you some

great expressions we use when we talk about our coworkers. We can also use the

word "colleagues". Okay? So, you're going to learn some great expressions,

so when you go to work or when somebody's talking to you about work,

you'll be able to use some good expressions that are very popular. So,

let's get started. First thing I want to maybe remind you or tell you is what the

word "coworker" means. A "coworker" is somebody you work with. So, it's not

your boss; it's somebody... and not necessarily your friend —but maybe; it

can be — but it's somebody you see at work and you work with. Now, some people

use the word "coworker"; other people prefer the word "colleague", and they

mean the same thing. Okay? So, you have a choice; you can say: "My coworker" or

"My colleague". "Colleague" might be a little bit harder to spell, if you're

ever doing a writing assignment, so you can always stick with "coworker" because

it's a bit easier. So, let's look first at some positive or happy things we can

say about our "coworkers".

So, the first expression... and you can remember I have a smiley face, because

it's a very happy way to describe our coworker. The first expression I want to

teach you is: "go-to". Okay? So, you've seen the word "go" as a verb. When we're

talking about our "go-to", we're actually using this as a noun. Okay? So,

I'll give you a sentence that will help you understand that a little bit better.

But first, let's talk about what it means. A "go-to" is someone who is very

reliable. We can rely on them. Okay? And they're the most knowledgeable on

something. So, when we talk about our "go-to" at work —. the "go-to" is the

person we see when we have a question, or when we have a problem with

something, because we know they are very reliable and very knowledgeable. So, the

"go-to" is the first person you talk to when you need help and you have a

problem. So, here is my example: "She"... and "She" in this case is my

coworker. "She is my go-to when I need help." So, notice I put the word "my" in

front of this, so we can have: "my go-to", "your go-to", "his go-to", "her

go-to". And again, it's the person who's the most reliable and most

knowledgeable, and the person you go to for help. All right. So, that's the

first way we can describe a coworker: "She is my go-to."

The next expression also has the word "go" in it, but this means something

very different. We use the term or expression "going places" to describe

coworkers who are probably going to be very successful in the future. So, this

is a really nice way to describe somebody. If you think a person you work

with is going to be very successful, you can say: "They are going places." So,

we'll be so the person will be successful in their career. So, maybe

right now, you both have the same job; but if a person is "going places", this

means they're going to go very high in their career — they're going to climb

the ladder. And you can use it for yourself: "I want... I hope I will be

going places in the future." So, "going places" means being successful. Here is

our example: "Alain is going places. Alain is going to be very successful in

the future." That's what I think. All right. Let's look at some other positive

expressions to describe our coworkers.

All right. So, what's our next positive way to describe our coworker? Well, a

really nice thing to say about someone at work is to call them a "team player".

So, it's almost like comparing your coworker to somebody you would play a

sport with. You're both on a team, like a sport team. And so, a "team player" is

somebody who cares about the other members of your team; or in this case,

other coworkers, and really helps people out. They're focused on helping everyone

out; not just themselves. So, what we can say is that: "A team player is

someone who works well with others." Okay? So, they're not focused on

themselves; they're focused on the team. So, here's my example: "Shelly is a team

player. I love doing projects with her." You can also use this to describe

yourself. A lot of people, during job interviews, will say that they are a

"team player" — meaning they like to work well with others on projects, just

like you would if you were an athlete on a sports team.

So, my next expression is a newer expression, and that is the expression

of "work wife". We can also say: "work husband" or "work spouse". So, a

"spouse" is the way you can talk about someone you're married to. So, this is a

new expression. And what does it mean? Well, a "work wife" or a "work husband",

or "work spouse" is someone who is a coworker that you are very close to.

Okay? So, this is the person you go to for emotional support at work. When

you're having a bad day, this is the person you talk to about your bad day at

work. They're someone you trust, so they're a very close friend that's also

your coworker. So, this is the definition I've put: A "work spouse" is

a coworker who is like your husband or wife, because they have a very close and

supportive relationship with you. You can tell them anything. But for a "work

spouse" or "work wife" or "work husband", it's not romantic. Okay? So,

it's not a romantic relationship. It's an emotional relationship; that person

is the person there for you at work. So, many people love having a workspace; it

makes work a lot more fun and it helps with stress, so this is something people

are now talking about. They might say: "Lucy is my work wife; she always makes

sure that I take a break. And whenever I have problems, Lucy is there for me.",

"Hank is my work husband or work spouse — he is someone I trust and I can go to

whenever I have a problem." So, this is how we use the word: "work wife", "work

husband", or "work spouse". "Spouse" can be for a man or a woman; a "work wife"

is for a woman, and a "work husband" is how we would describe a male colleague.

Now let's look at some other expressions.

Okay. So, now let's talk about some of the bad things we can say about our

colleagues or our coworkers when we describe them. So, these are all

negative traits. And notice I put a sad face, because you don't want to work

with these types of people. So, the first expression is a common one we use

at work, and it's the expression of "not pulling his" — if it's a... if it's a

man — "her" — if it's a woman — "weight", so: "not pulling someone's

weight". What does it mean? Well, if someone is "not pulling their weight",

it means they are not working hard at work; and as a result, other people have

to work harder. So, they're not working hard enough. They're not contributing a

lot. So, other people are working very hard, adding a lot to the project.

Someone who does "not pull their weight" is not contributing a lot. It's almost

like if they weren't there, the project wouldn't be any different because

they're not helping. So, an example of this is: "Becky is not pulling her..."

Because Becky's a woman. Wait here. She's lazy. So, Becky is lazy. She's not

working hard. She's not contributing to the project. So, we can say: "Becky is

not pulling her weight." Sometimes bosses might tell an employee: "You need

to pull your weight around here." So, what can change is this word — it can

be: "her", "his", "their", "your". So, you can change the pronoun here, but the

main expression is: "not pulling his/her/their weight".

All right. Now let's look at another example that's sort of similar, and that

is the word "slacker". A "slacker". And for some of you this might be a hard

word to pronounce because we have an "s" and an "l" together. "Slacker". A

"slacker" is someone who is very lazy and does not work hard. So, if we look

at what I've written here: A slacker tries to avoid hard work. So, they're

the kind of person who whenever the boss comes to the office, a slacker might

hide in the bathroom, because they want to avoid hard work. They don't want more

work. They will do anything to avoid work. They don't do a lot. They have

very little effort. And when they do work, they don't try hard. So, their

projects are usually... we have another expression in English: "half ass", which

means that it's not their full potential. A "slacker" doesn't work hard

and they're quite lazy. So, my example sentence is: "Michel is a slacker." And

"slacker" is a word that is a noun. So, notice there's "a" in front of it —

there's an article. How many of you are slackers? Maybe while you're learning

the language some of you might be slackers. That's okay. I'm not judging.

So, "slacker". It's a good word. Now let's look at some other expressions we

can use.

All right. So, now let's look at some more negative or bad things we can say

to describe a coworker. The next expression I really like. What I've

written here is: "two-faced". So, if you think about a face — you have a face.

And in this case, when we describe somebody, we're talking about two faces.

This can help you remember this expression. So, someone who is

"two-faced" appears one way when they talk to you, but then they do something

differently when they talk to other people. So, for example, maybe they tell

you: "Oh, I love you so much. You're fantastic." And then when they talk to

other coworkers, they say: "That Emma, I don't really like her. She's terrible."

Okay? So, that's "two-faced". So, it's someone you cannot trust. What they say

is not trustworthy. They talk behind people's backs. So, what they say to you

that's positive; behind your back, they might say something negative. So, to

help you remember the word "two-faced", pictures are a great way to remember

vocabulary, and I am very proud of my art. This is an Emma original. It's

almost like a Picasso. So, if you notice, half of the face is happy. So,

imagine your coworker, when they talk to you, they look like this. They look all

happy, and nice, and kind; and you think: "Wow. What a great person." But

really, as soon as your back is turned, they're like this — angry, they talk

badly about you, they're mean; they're not nice. So, you see two faces — you

can remember "two-faced". And you can use this expression to talk about other

people; not just coworkers. But we use it a lot when we're talking about

coworkers, because unfortunately, sometimes when you work in an office, or

at any job, you might meet someone who is two-faced. Here is my example: "Watch

out. Peter is two-faced." So, you can't trust Peter.

All right. Let's look at our last expression of today, and that expression

I really like. I actually am a little bit like this, and that is "stress

case". "Stress case". So, notice the word "stress". When you have a lot of

stress, you're very worried and anxious; and you think: "Oh my goodness,

everything's going wrong. What do I do?" and you panic. So, that's stress. It's

that feeling when you don't feel in control. And then we have the word

"case". So, a "stress case" is a person who panics: "Oh my God. Oh my God. Oh my

God." Okay? That's a "stress case" — someone who overreacts. So, maybe you...

you might know somebody who, right before a test, they are a "stress case".

They're sweating. They're, you know, very nervous, they're very stressed.

They're panicking. They are a "stress case". So, sometimes we talk about our

coworkers this way. Maybe you have a coworker who, for example... In my

example, Jenny. "Jenny is a stress case. She has called me 18 times since lunch

to talk about the project." So, in this case, you can tell Jenny is a "stress

case". So, she panics a lot, because she has called 18 times to talk about

something. So, that means there's a lot of pressure, there's a lot of stress. A

"stress case" is somebody who overreacts often. So, it's okay, if, you know,

you're stressed when there's a big project and you feel a bit of stress.

But someone who's a "stress case" always is stressed; every day, they have a lot

of panic. And that can make other people feel a lot of stress, too. Okay? So,

"stress case".

So, thank you for watching. We've covered eight different expressions

today — four of them very nice things to say and four of them, you know, when

you're describing someone and it's a little bit negative — and we've been

talking about "colleagues" or "coworkers", which mean the same thing.

So, I hope you use some of these words. You can try them out in the comments. On

YouTube, maybe you can talk about coworkers you have, and think about it.

The best way to remember words is by thinking about people you know who are

like these words, because that will make it really strong in your brain and help

you remember better. So, thank you for watching. Please visit www.engvid.com.

And there, you can actually do a quiz to practice everything you've learned

today. You can also subscribe to my channel. There are many expressions to

learn in English; I've covered eight today, but if you want to learn more,

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www.teacheremma.com where you can get some free resources on English, as well

as learn more about me. So, thank you so much for watching; and until next time,

take care.