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Real Easy English

Easy level

Talking about hard jobs

Episode 260918 / 18 Sep 2026

(Photo: Getty)

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Introduction

Georgie and Neil have a real conversation in easy English about bad jobs – the work they have done in the past which they didn't enjoy. Learn to talk about being stressed, annoyed or exhausted, and find out what job Neil did in Canada which actually made him lose money...!

Vocabulary

stressful
causing worry or tension

exhausting
very tiring; taking away all your energy

annoying
causing impatience or slight anger 

take (something) personally
feel like someone is criticising you, when they are actually criticising the situation

take (something) to heart
allow someone's words or actions to hurt you deeply

Learn more about work

 

Transcript

Georgie
Hello Neil.
 
Neil
Hi Georgie. How are you?
 
Georgie
I'm very well, thank you. How are you?
 
Neil
I'm excellent, thank you.
 
Georgie
Good. Neil, have you ever had a bad or difficult job?
 
Neil
Oh yes. There's one in particular that I remember.
 
Georgie
Ooh, that's intriguing. I'm sure we're going to hear about it a bit later because that's what we're talking about today in Real Easy English – bad or difficult jobs we've had.
 
Neil
Yes, and people should remember that they can get a free worksheet for this podcast at bbclearningenglish.com.
 
Georgie
That's right. So Neil, tell us all about your bad or difficult job.
 
Neil
Well, what happened was I found a job picking beans on a student holiday while I was in Canada.

Georgie
Ooh. On a farm?
 
Neil
Yeah, but we had to travel a long way. And when we got there, we discovered that you got paid by the amount that you picked.
 
Georgie
OK.
 
Neil
And it cost $10 to get to this place on the coach and we worked really hard all day. And then I got my beans and weighed them. And I got paid $8.
 
Georgie
Oh wow. Was it a full day's work?
 
Neil
Oh yeah. Hard, hard work in the heat, in a field.
 
Georgie
Was it fun, at least? Were you with friends?
 
Neil
It's a good story now...
 
Georgie
OK.
 
Neil
...but at the time, it was very annoying.
 
Georgie
Exhausting, it sounds.
 
Neil
It was exhausting.
 
Georgie
All day in the heat. I had quite a difficult job – it was just a temporary one. I was working in customer service, so I had to pick up calls from customers who were needing help or were unhappy about the service they had.
 
Neil
OK. That sounds interesting. What didn't you like about this job?
 
Georgie
Well, the company was having a difficult time, so many or most of the customers that were calling were unhappy about the service, and so I had to talk to people who were very angry, and it felt like they were angry with me, even though it wasn't my fault. The company changed the warehouse where they kept the products and the delivery company at the same time, so it was just all a big mess and I found it really stressful.
 
Neil
Yeah, you say stressful. How else did it make you feel?
 
Georgie
It made me feel very anxious because I took it too personally. Like I said, it felt like they were angry with me, even though I had nothing to do with it.
 
Neil
If you heard somebody else talking about this kind of job, what advice would you give them?
 
Georgie
Ooh, I would say, don't take it to heart. As I said, I was taking it too personally, but you need to realise that you can only do your best. And at the end of the day, you can go home and enjoy yourself, relax, and tomorrow is a new day.
 
Neil
That's a very positive attitude.
 
Georgie
Yes. What advice would you give to people doing the job that you had in Canada?
 
Neil
I think it's really important to do some research before you say yes to a job, if you're lucky to be able to choose. So, probably find out how much you're going to get paid, what it means, and how much you have to pay to get to the place to do the job.
 
Georgie
Yeah, that's very important. And that's some good advice.
 
Neil
OK. So, let's recap the vocabulary that we used in the conversation.
 
Georgie
Good idea.
 
Neil
We had a few adjectives to describe work. You said that your job was stressful.
 
Georgie
I did. So, you can describe something as stressful, and the emotion that you feel is stressed. You said that your job was exhausting, so it was very hard work, so you got very tired doing it. That's exhausting and the feeling is exhausted.
 
Neil
Yeah. And I think I also said my job was annoying.
 
Georgie
Yes.
 
Neil
And if something is annoying, it makes you feel annoyed.
 
Georgie
Yes, that's right. I also used the expression take something personally, which is when you feel that someone is angry with you when they're actually angry at the situation.
 
Neil
Yeah. And you used another expression with a similar meaning – take something to heart. If you take something to heart, just as you explained, you feel bad. You feel someone is attacking you, but it's just the job.
 
Georgie
OK. Well, that is the end of this episode of Real Easy English, but Neil we'll be back next week, won't we?
 
Neil
We will. Thank you for listening and goodbye.
 
Georgie
Goodbye!

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