A Toxic Workplace
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the ARTICLE (for teachers)
A Toxic Workplace
If the veracity of an article can be trusted, pressure, stress, and job insecurity form the foundation on which
Amazon is built. In its quest to become the company where people can discover anything they want online,
employees are encouraged to work well after midnight; complain at slow responses regardless of the time of
day (or night); bicker and argue in meetings to poke holes in any suggestion; and rat one another out. The
corporate philosophy permeates every level of the organization, and it ignores all that gets preached and
practiced as good management these days.
Over one hundred former employees provided information on the article, providing such personal accounts of
grown men crying as they exited meetings. Each month, employees must justify their performance on a variety
of metrics, with the bottom performers culled.
What results is a ruthlessly competitive environment. It has been called "rank and yank," which alludes to
ranking the performance of employees and yanking the least productive. And evidence in other organizations
demonstrates that such a system sows distrust. After all, if colleagues are likely to stab you in the back,
teamwork and knowledge sharing get thrown under the bus.
Jeff Bezos, the CEO of Amazon, quickly responded to the article, explaining that the environment at Amazon is
friendly but intense. He explained that he couldn't recognize the toxic workplace portrayed in the article, and
doubted any tech company could survive, let alone thrive, with such practices. He concluded that callous
management practices would not be tolerated.
Teacher's Notes:
* Underlined words in red typeface are the recommended vocabulary for this lesson.
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A Toxic Workplace
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WARM-UPS
Select one or all of the following warm-up activities.
1: Define: What does "toxic" mean? Can you use it in a sentence? Can you give examples?
2: Brainstorm: Brainstorm with a partner(s) words and ideas associated with "toxic workplace" for 2 minutes.
Spend another 5 minutes or less discussing the words and ideas together.
3: Title: Speculate and/or discuss the contents of today's article from its title: "A Toxic Workplace."
4: Speculate: Write in the missing words for today's article title: "A (
) Workplace." Why did you
choose these words for the blanks?
5: Do you agree or disagree? Why?
a. A company's work environment should be supportive.
b. The turnover rate of employees isn't very important.
c. Money and stock options are the best employee motivators.
d. I would want to work for an international company like Amazon or Apple.
e. I would want to start my own company someday.
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VOCABULARY
Select one of the following vocabulary acquisition activities.
1: Vocabulary match: Individually or in pairs/groups, match the words in column A (from the article) with the
best choice in column B.
a. veracity
b. bicker
q. proclaim
c. permeate
d. preach
s. succeed
e. account
f. justify
u. describe
g. sow
h. portray
w. story or narrative
i.
thrive
y.
j.
callous
z. pass through every part of something
r.
t.
v.
support
fight
insensitive
x. truthfulness
plant or create
2: Fill in the Blanks: Fill in the blank with the correct word.
permeates
justify
a. If the (
accounts
veracity
callous
preached
sows
thrive
portrayed
bicker
) of an article can be trusted, job insecurity form the foundation on which Amazon is built.
b. Employees (
) and argue in meetings to poke holes in any suggestion.
c. The corporate philosophy (
) every level of the organization.
d. It ignores all that gets (
e. There are personal (
f.
Employees must (
) and practiced as good management.
) of grown men crying as they exited meetings.
) their performance on a variety of metrics.
g. Evidence in other organizations demonstrates that such a system (
h. Bezos couldn't recognize the toxic workplace (
) in the article.
i.
He doubted any tech company could survive, let alone (
j.
He concluded that (
) distrust.
), with such practices.
) management practices would not be tolerated.
3: Define: Define each word, correctly pronounce it, explain the meaning and/or usage, and offer an example
sentence to the class.
a. veracity
c.
permeate
b. bicker
d. preach
e. account
g. sow
i.
thrive
f.
h. portray
j.
callous
justify
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WORD RECOGNITION
1: Word Search: Find the target words (in bold). Time yourself, and see how many words you can find in three
minutes. In five minutes. In ten minutes.
permeates
accounts
callous
sows
portrayed
justify
veracity
preached
thrive
bicker
S
P
S
C
K
S
Y
M
N
G
H
P
C
S
O
E
E
E
N
Z
C
O
F
L
Q
V
F
Z
U
J
C
F
T
S
V
V
V
W
I
G
Z
H
V
O
O
R
N
A
E
R
I
E
V
S
T
E
H
R
L
K
K
D
E
Y
A
R
T
R
O
P
S
Q
H
L
A
U
O
M
X
E
M
L
V
A
S
A
U
O
A
M
C
J
R
P
I
B
R
A
S
C
Z
A
J
C
E
E
C
E
E
I
Y
C
E
D
A
I
K
F
E
Y
W
T
P
C
Z
C
N
E
P
L
K
T
U
T
V
E
P
K
K
O
Y
H
B
W
L
B
T
Y
G
G
F
E
V
U
F
C
X
Z
T
U
I
M
N
H
P
R
F
N
I
E
I
F
U
V
O
K
H
G
B
U
O
T
T
A
W
B
Z
J
M
U
E
J
A
T
U
S
U
R
E
V
I
R
H
T
S
R
S
R
V
W
J
P
T
C
P
R
E
A
C
H
E
D
B
G
L
2: Target Word Pool: Find the target words (in bold) with their exact match. Time yourself, and see how many
words you can find in three minutes. In five minutes. In ten minutes.
permeates
justify
accounts
veracity
impeached
sowing
verifiable
permeate
thrived
bickered
voracious
portrayed
callow
injustice
portrait
sows
thrive
portraying
callous
justified
accountable
sowed
port
sow
unaccountable
bicker
preaching
biker
preacher
permeable
portrayed
bicker
thriving
bickers
accounts
thrift
impermeable
callousness
justify
preach
callous
preached
thrive
veracities
justifiable
thrice
bickering
justice
permanent
calling
sows
callously
portray
preached
accountant
veracity
permeates
verily
account
sews
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A Toxic Workplace
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pre- or post-COMPREHENSION
1: Word Association: Brainstorm words associated with today's topic for two minutes. Present to the class.
2: Brainstorm Questions: Brainstorm questions that you would like to ask about today's topic. Answer the
questions without looking at the article.
3: True or False?: Guess (before the article) or answer (after the article) whether the sentence is true or false.
If false, correct the sentence.
a. The truthfulness of the article can be trusted.
b. Employees at Amazon must work after midnight, and also disagree during meetings.
T/F
c. More than one hundred current employees gave information for the article.
d. "Rank and yank" causes a lot of negative results in a company.
T/F
e. Bezos said the article was completely untrue.
T/F
T/F
T/F
4: Questions: Answer the questions to check comprehension.
a. According to the article, what are employees encouraged to do?
b. What is mentioned about good management?
c. What must employees do on a monthly basis?
d. What is "rank and yank?"
e. What did Bezos say about the article?
5: Vocabulary: In pairs/groups, remember how the words were used in today's article.
a. veracity
c. permeates
e. anecdotes
g. sows
i. thrive
b. bicker
d. preached
f.
h. portrayed
j. callous
justify
6: Fragments: Remember how the fragments were used, and complete the sentence from today's article.
a. If the veracity of an article can be trusted...
b. Each month, employees must justify their performance on...
c. And evidence in other organizations demonstrates that...
d. Jeff Bezos, the CEO of Amazon, quickly responded to the article, explaining...
e. He concluded that callous management practices...
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post-COMPREHENSION
1: Vocabulary: Circle any additional unknown words/phrases in the article. In pairs/groups, use your
dictionaries to understand the meanings. Present to the class.
2: Class Questions: Read through the article once more, and write down any questions that you would like to
discuss in pairs/groups or as a class. Discuss.
3: Summarize: Work with a partner to summarize the article in your own words.
4: Discuss (part I): Talk about the following questions in pairs/groups. Remember to support your answers!
a. Did you like this article?
b. What was your general impression after reading this article?
c. Do you think the negative article about Amazon is true? Why/not?
d. If the article were true, why would anyone want to work in such an environment?
e. Would you want to work at a company like Amazon? Why/not?
f.
What is the best place you have ever worked at? How about the worst place? Why?
g. Who is the best manager you have worked for? How about the worst manager? Please explain.
h. What are some ideas and practices to create a positive, supportive environment?
i.
What are some ideas and practices to maximize employee productivity?
j.
What are standard business practices in your home country?
5: Discuss (part II): Assume you were interviewing for a new position in your company. What three questions
would you ask to determine if the company had a positive or negative atmosphere? Next, go around the class
and ask your questions, and see what sort of answers you receive.
a.
b.
c.
6: Google Search: Type "work environment" into Google news and read additional articles on this topic.
Discuss or write an essay about your findings.
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STUDENT HANDOUT (the article)
A Toxic Workplace
If the veracity of an article can be trusted, pressure, stress, and job insecurity form the foundation on which
Amazon is built. In its quest to become the company where people can discover anything they want online,
employees are encouraged to work well after midnight; complain at slow responses regardless of the time of
day (or night); bicker and argue in meetings to poke holes in any suggestion; and rat one another out. The
corporate philosophy permeates every level of the organization, and it ignores all that gets preached and
practiced as good management these days.
Over one hundred former employees provided information on the article, providing such personal accounts of
grown men crying as they exited meetings. Each month, employees must justify their performance on a variety
of metrics, with the bottom performers culled.
What results is a ruthlessly competitive environment. It has been called "rank and yank," which alludes to
ranking the performance of employees and yanking the least productive. And evidence in other organizations
demonstrates that such a system sows distrust. After all, if colleagues are likely to stab you in the back,
teamwork and knowledge sharing get thrown under the bus.
Jeff Bezos, the CEO of Amazon, quickly responded to the article, explaining that the environment at Amazon is
friendly but intense. He explained that he couldn't recognize the toxic workplace portrayed in the article, and
doubted any tech company could survive, let alone thrive, with such practices. He concluded that callous
management practices would not be tolerated.
Notes:
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STUDENT HANDOUT (fill in the blank)
Fill in the blank with the correct word.
bicker
justify
variety
regardless
accounts
thrive
portrayed
foundation
veracity
permeates
callous
ruthlessly
toxic
sows
preached
A Toxic Workplace
If the (a. _______________) of an article can be trusted, pressure, stress, and job insecurity form the
(b. _______________) on which Amazon is built. In its quest to become the company where people can
discover anything they want online, employees are encouraged to work well after midnight; complain at
slow responses (c. _______________) of the time of day (or night); (d. _______________) and argue in
meetings to poke holes in any suggestion; and rat one another out. The corporate philosophy
(e. _______________) every level of the organization, and it ignores all that gets (f. _______________)
and practiced as good management these days.
Over one hundred former employees provided information on the article, providing such personal
(g. _______________) of grown men crying as they exited meetings. Each month, employees must
(h. _______________) their performance on a (i. _______________) of metrics, with the bottom
performers culled.
What results is a (j. _______________) competitive environment. It has been called "rank and yank," which
alludes to ranking the performance of employees and yanking the least productive. And evidence in other
organizations demonstrates that such a system (k. _______________) distrust. After all, if colleagues are
likely to stab you in the back, teamwork and knowledge sharing get thrown under the bus.
Jeff Bezos, the CEO of Amazon, quickly responded to the article, explaining that the environment at
Amazon is friendly but intense. He explained that he couldn't recognize the (l. _______________)
workplace (m. _______________) in the article, and doubted any tech company could survive, let alone
(n. _______________), with such practices. He concluded that (o. _______________) management
practices would not be tolerated.
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STUDENT HANDOUT (extended listening)
Listen and fill in the missing sentences. Compare your answers with a partner, and
then listen once more.
A Toxic Workplace
If the veracity of an article can be trusted, a) _____________________________________________________
__________. In its quest to become the company where people can discover anything they want online,
employees are encouraged to work well after midnight; complain at slow responses regardless of the time of
day (or night); bicker and argue in meetings to poke holes in any suggestion; and rat one another out.
b) _________________________________________________________________, and it ignores all that gets
preached and practiced as good management these days.
c) _________________________________________________________________, providing such personal
accounts of grown men crying as they exited meetings. Each month, employees must justify their performance
on a variety of metrics, with the bottom performers culled.
What results is a ruthlessly competitive environment. It has been called "rank and yank," which alludes to
ranking the performance of employees and yanking the least productive. And evidence in other organizations
demonstrates that such a system sows distrust. After all, d) _________________________________________
________________________, teamwork and knowledge sharing get thrown under the bus.
Jeff Bezos, the CEO of Amazon, quickly responded to the article, explaining that the environment at Amazon is
friendly but intense. e) _________________________________________________________________, and
doubted any tech company could survive, let alone thrive, with such practices. He concluded that callous
management practices would not be tolerated.
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STUDENT HANDOUT (notes)
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ANSWER KEY
Vocabulary
1. Vocabulary Match:
2. Fill in the Blanks:
a.
x
f.
r
a.
veracity
f.
justify
b.
t
g.
y
b.
bicker
g.
sows
c.
z
h.
u
c.
permeates
h.
portrayed
d.
q
i.
s
d.
preached
i.
thrive
e.
w
j.
v
e.
accounts
j.
callous
pre- or post-Comprehension
1. True or False:
2. Fragments:
a.
F
a.
pressure, stress, and job insecurity form the foundation on which Amazon is built.
b.
F
b.
a variety of metrics, with the bottom performers culled.
c.
F
c.
such a system sows distrust.
d.
T
d.
that the environment at Amazon is friendly but intense.
e.
T
e.
would not be tolerated.
Student Handout
1. Fill in the Blanks
a.
veracity
i.
variety
b.
foundation
j.
ruthlessly
c.
regardless
k.
sows
d.
bicker
l.
toxic
e.
permeates
m.
portrayed
f.
preached
n.
thrive
g.
accounts
o.
callous
h.
justify
2. Extended Listening
a.
pressure, stress, and job insecurity form the foundation on which Amazon is built
b.
The corporate philosophy permeates every level of the organization
c.
Over one hundred former employees provided information on the article
d.
if colleagues are likely to stab you in the back
e.
He explained that he couldn't recognize the toxic workplace portrayed in the article
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