Oscar: Hello! We always meet by the water cooler!
Diana: I know! How are you keeping? Are you enjoying the four-day week trial?
Oscar: Yes, it’s great, isn’t it? I feel kind of guilty, though.
Diana: Why? It’s not like it’ll affect the company’s profits.
Oscar: But how can that be true? We’re working less for the same money!
Diana: Because we’re more productive! We use our worktime better.
Oscar: Yes, I do try to use every minute to get stuff done.
Diana: Exactly. But it’s so great I have more time with my kids. And I don’t have to waste Saturdays food shopping.
Oscar: I guess we’ll all be less stressed. As they say, a happy workforce is a productive workforce.
Diana: That’s right. Fewer people skiving off, too, now we have more personal time.
Oscar: OK, you’ve convinced me. I’ve got to get back to work, though. Less time for chatting by the water cooler, haha!
NOW LET’S REVIEW THE VOCABULARY!
Water coolers are places where office staff often casually meet to talk and gossip.
“How are you keeping?” is a variation of “How are you?”
‘Kind of’ is a casual expression, meaning ‘a little bit’ or ‘to some extent’.
A statement that starts with ‘It’s not like’ (or ‘It’s not as if’) indicates that it is not true.
‘To get stuff done’ means to complete your tasks or responsibilities. ‘Stuff’ is colloquial for ‘things’; in this context, work-related things.
‘Kids’ is a colloquial word for ‘children’. Literally, a ‘kid’ is a baby goat.
‘As they say’ is a phrase used to introduce a proverb or well-known saying.
When you don’t go to work or school when you should be there, you are ‘skiving off’.
‘To chat’ means ‘to talk in an informal way’. ‘Chat’ is also a noun, for example, ‘to have a nice chat’.
