| Lesson 25 "Life After Layoffs" |
| Words & Phrases | Paraphrasing |
| fine-tune | make small adjustments to in order to achieve the best performance |
| disturbing | causing to feel anxious |
| grapevine | the circulation of rumors and unofficial information cf. through the grapevine=by [through] word of mouth |
| bow out | quit, leave, retire from, step down |
| payroll | a list of a company's employees and the amount of money they are able to
be paid cf. Is she a volunteer or on the payroll? |
| let someone go | allow someone to go free, dismiss an employee |
| liaise | cooperate on a matter of mutual concern |
| healthcare | a pharmaceutical company, medical electronics, |
| outplacement | the provision of assistance to redundant employees in finding new employment |
| pharmaceutical | relating to medical drugs |
| diverse | widely varied |
| people in their 60s | sexagenarian |
| resign | voluntarily leave a job, quit cf. terminate |
| get the chop | fired, dismissed |
| *eke out a living | manage to make a living with difficulty |
| cut the mustard | meet a necessary standard to achieve success |
| sign on | commit oneself to employment |
| *overqualified | too highly qualified for a job, having more education or skills that the job requires, |
| interface with | interact with cf. (computing) a device or program enabling a user to communicate with a computer |
| pull rank | take unfair advantage of one's seniority |
| ajar | slightly open |
| expertise | great skill or knowledge in a particular field |
| hierarchy | a ranking system ordered according to status or authority cf. hierarchic, hierarchical |
| give sb the ax | fire, dismiss, drop |
| in exchange for | instead of, in lieu of, |
| *telecommute | work from home |
| consolidate | make stronger or more solid, combine into a single unit |
| benefit | payment made by the state or an insurance scheme to someone entitled to
receive it extra incentives an employee receives in addition to his/her salary |
| phase | carry out in gradual stages cf. phase out=gradually discontinue in stages |
| tap into | obtain money or information from |
| *sabbatical | a period of paid leave granted to a university teacher for study or travel
(traditionally one year for every seven years worked) |
| morale | the confidence, enthusiasm, and discipline of a person or group at a particular time |
| listless | lacking energy or enthusiasm cf. list=desire, inclination |
| *jump the gun | start too soon before the right time |
| deteriorating | worsening, degenerating |