Page 120 - Perfect Phrases ESL Everyday Business

Part 6

Stress at Work

Miscommunication

Marta came from Germany to her multinational company’s north-
east U.S. office. Since her company agreed to pay for her to come
and stay in the United States, she thought she would be working
in the U.S. office. Her company in Germany arranged for her to take
English classes and agreed to foot the bill for these classes. When she
reported to the site on the first day, however, the manager showed
her to a cubicle with a desk, a phone, and a computer. He said, “Make
yourself at home.” That was the last time anyone communicated with
Marta about her job. While she thought she was being sent here to
work for the U.S. office, the company in Germany was under the
impression that she wanted to combine her vacation with seeing the
U.S. facility. People in the U.S. office thought Marta needed a place to
work independently while visiting the country.
Marta suffered a great deal of stress because neither the Ger-
man nor the American branches of her company clarified what was
expected of her. She was also partly responsible for the stressful situ-
ation because she had not asked precisely what was expected of her.
Marta found herself in a foreign country with a lot of spare time
trying to make herself understood. She had studied English as a For-

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