Answer Key: Your office is More Annoying Now

Lesson Plan:  Back at Work After the Pandemic: How to Handle Annoying Office Colleagues

II. While Reading Activities

Word Inference

  1. olfactory  älˈfakt(ə)rēōlˈfakt(ə)rē| adjective relating to the sense of smell: the olfactory organs.
  2. confront |kənˈfrənt| verb [with object] meet (someone) face to face with hostile or argumentative intent: 300 policemen confronted an equal number of union supporters.
  3. overdrive  |ˈōvərˌdrīv|  verb [with object] (usually as adjective overdriven) drive or work to exhaustion: the overdriven mothers of ten or eleven hungry children.
  4. handle |ˈhandl|  verb manage (a situation or problem): a lawyer’s ability to handle a case properly. • informal deal with (someone or something): I don’t think I could handle it if they turned me down.
  5. (the) gossip |ˈɡäsəp| noun  • chiefly derogatory a person who likes talking about other people’s private lives.
  6. in (or into) the groove |ɡro͞ov| informal performing consistently well or confidently: it might take me a couple of races to get back into the groove.
  7. reaction |rēˈakSH(ə)n|  noun an action performed or a feeling experienced in response to a situation or event: Carrie’s immediate reaction was one of relief.
  8. pause |pôz|  a temporary stop in action or speech: she dropped me outside during a brief pause in the rain | the admiral chattered away without pause.
  9. tolerance |ˈtäl(ə)rəns| noun the ability or willingness to tolerate something, in particular the existence of opinions or behavior that one does not necessarily agree with: the tolerance of corruption | an advocate of religious tolerance.
  10. takeaway |ˈtākəˌwā| noun 1 a key fact, point, or idea to be remembered, typically one emerging from a discussion or meeting: the main takeaway for me is that we need to continue to communicate all the things we’re doing for our customers | [as modifier] : the takeaway message.

Source: New Oxford American Dictionary

Grammar Focus: Word -Recognition

For many workers, the commuter train has already left the station. And after controlling our own environment at home, returning to work means we’ll be faced with annoying behaviors among our colleagues again: loud talkers, nosy cubicle mates, the olfactory emanations of the shared microwave.

Reading Comprehension: Identify The  Speakers

  1. Darian Lewis, who, with his wife, Monica, founded the Monica Lewis School of Etiquette in Houston. “You know all those things you wanted to change in your workplace prior to the pandemic, but you just couldn’t figure out how to do it? Well, seize the opportunity right now.”
  2. Lindsey Pollak, a workplace expert and the author of Recalculating: Navigate Your Career Through the Changing World of Work.  “There are three things to keep in mind when you’re getting back in the groove. Acknowledge that we are out of shape dealing with other people. Lower your expectations and assume that you’re going to have some annoyances. And really give thought to the new habits that you want to create from Day 1, and be deliberate about making changes now.”
  3. Sozan Miglioli, a Zen Buddhist priest and president of the San Francisco Zen Center. “There’s actually a big difference between responding and reaction. What I do is pause, breathe and connect with the present moment.”