No matter how much you like your job,
there are always a few things to complain about!
#1 – “My co-workers don’t pull
their weight, and I’m always picking up the slack.“
The idiom “pull your weight” means
to do your fair portion of the work or responsibility. So if your
co-workers aren’t pulling their weight, it means they are
being lazy and not contributing as much as they should.
As a result, you are always “picking up
the slack.” This idiom means to do extra work because other
people are not doing their part.
#2 – “I can’t stand the office
politics. It seems like kissing up to the people who call
the shots is the only way to move up the ranks.”
The expression “office politics” refers
to people using their power/influence in a company to get advantages for
themselves. It’s usually a negative thing.
The phrasal verb “kissing up to
someone” means to say and do lots of nice things for a person because
you want to get on their “good side,” so that they will favor you or help you.
Another way to say this is “buttering someone up.”
The people who “call the shots” are
the people who make all the important decisions.
The idiom “move up the ranks” means
to get a higher/better position in a hierarchy. In the context of a job,
this would mean getting a promotion, a better salary, or more authority in the
company. Another idiom for this is “move up the totem pole.”
#3 – “My boss loves to micromanage and
I can’t do my best work when she’s constantly breathing down my neck.”
To “micromanage” is to try to
control every single detail of a project or of someone’s work.
The idiom “breathing down my neck” means
the boss is closely watching or monitoring you. Imagine a person standing
behind you, so close that you can feel his / her breath on your neck. This is
considered very annoying!
#4 – “The job itself is rewarding,
but the salary and benefits leave a lot to be desired.”
The word rewarding means
something that gives you satisfaction and makes you feel good. You can describe
a job, volunteer work, or helping other people as “rewarding.”
The idiom “leave a lot to be desired” is
a polite/indirect way to say that it is unsatisfactory; it is not as good as
you would like it to be.
#5 – “I feel like I’m spread
too thin, but every time I wrap up one project, I’m given
two more – which, of course, need to be done yesterday.”
The idiom “spread too thin” means
that you are trying to do too many things, projects, or commitments at the same
time – meaning you can’t give enough attention to any of them.
The phrasal verb “wrap up” means
to finish or bring to an end.
Saying something needs to be done “yesterday” is
an informal way to say it needs to be done VERY URGENTLY, as soon as possible –
as if it were possible to travel back in time and finish the task yesterday!
