•You will hear five people talking about their jobs.•For each extract there are

M: I‘ve just moved to a fast-growing software company and it’s been hard coming to terms with the changes. I mean, I enjoy my new job a lot more. I have a lot more responsibility now and everything’s done in project teams and managed by objectives. The only thing I do miss, however, in that now, once a project’s running, the team’s pretty much on its own and left to solve any problem by itself. Before, there was always a superior I could turn to for help, and to be honest, I’d be much happier if that were still the case.  Especially when you’re starting a new job having someone to talk to can make things a lot easier.
F: My work is to produce technical document, you know,  user’s  manuals  and  that  sort  of thing-nothing creative. Our team’s responsible for its own work schedules. And as long as everything’s finished before the machine’s shipped, it’s up to us when we do it. So you’d think with e-mail and everything, we’d all be able to work from home or come and go as we please-but that’s not the case. Unfortunately, it’s   a   very   conservative   company   so everyone’s still clocking in and out at the same time. I suppose the managers have always worked a routine nine to five and just can’t imagine anything else being possible.
F: I’m an IT consultant and I’m working for a small leisure group on a one-year contract. So I’m traveling around Europe a lot, which I know sounds very glamorous, but it’s just a case of jetting in, fixing a hotel’s computer and then jetting out again. It also means I’m on call and have flexible working hours. I’m also responsible for the website, which I work on from home. What I miss is support from colleagues, you know, being able to discuss problems or things like the latest technology with other IT professionals in the same job. So, yes, it’s definitely the social side of my job I’d like to improve.
M: Well, I’m a temp and Um working as a PA for a law firm in Los Angelas now.  It’s a medium-sized firm that’s grown quickly so its organization is very much like that of a smaller company. OK, I know it’s unreasonable to expect a definite job description. I mean, if something  needs  doing,   then  I  think whoever’s available should do it.  But I’m already responsible for managing the diaries and correspondence of two senior managers, se when the telephone’s ringing all day and people keep asking me to photocopy reports or even make them coffee,  it just becomes impossible to get anything done.
F: I work for the UK subsidiary of a Japanese company and it’s very Japanese in terms of the way it’s run. I’ve just got a new boss, who’s come over from Japan. We seem to be getting on  pretty  well  with  each  other  at  the moment—he always has time for me and gives me lots of support. The only thing is, I don’t really have a huge say in what I do—which is all right but sometimes it would be nice to be able to show a bit of initiative. Our work processes are totally standardized as fixed routines, which I don’t mind. It’s just that I always have to consult him before I can make even the smallest alteration to any job of any sort.