My Answer

Ms. Grant and Mr. Persaud stated that it was completely out of their control whether or not people kept
their jobs. So they investigated factors which they may have been able to control. They found a strong
relationship between an individual's workplace and their quality of work. They attempted to assess and
improve these communication skills which lead to the formation of their Union. However, they
encountered difficulties in rating how individuals actually worked, simply due to the knowledge of the
fact that they were being tested. Essentially, individuals acted strangely with coworkers and employers,
as those ratings determined their careers. Which led to sensations of tension and intimidation in the
workplace as workers feared they would lose their jobs.

Model Answer
Mr. Persaud and Ms. Grant say that while workers are losing their jobs, there is not much they can do
about it, so they are focusing on other important issues they feel they can do something about. They say
the workplace is changing and they are focusing on workplace relationships and the way which people
behave towards each other in the workplace. When companies rate workers, it can cause a lot of
tension and bad feelings between workers and employers. Workers feel that they could lose their jobs
and have to start over somewhere else where they are not so comfortable with the people they work
with.

Piece
The excerpt below is the transcript of part of an interview aired in the program ON THE ROAD. The excerpt presents a discussion on on
the many topics discussed on the program.
Read the excerpt. Write a summary of what the interviewees said about The Workplace. Your summary should not be more than 110
words and should NOT be in the form of a dialog.

Interviewer: Good evening listeners. We have with us on ON THE ROAD, Ms. Grant who is active in the area of Human Resource
Development, and Mr. Persaud from the Union of Employees and Employers. Welcome Ms. Grant and Mr. Persaud.

Mr. Persaud:Thank you.

Ms. Grant:

Interviewer: Ms. Grant, this matter of people being afraid that they will lose their jobs. We were speaking about it while we waited…
really as worrying as people say? What are your reactions?

Ms. Grant: It is a worrying matter and we are at present not able to do anything about it. We are now looking at other things…thing
can really attack. We are not forgetting the fact that people are losing their jobs…it is serious…but we are working with
worker in a different way.

The workplace is not the same as it used to be. Things have changed so much. We have to look at it again.

Interviewer: You mean you have decided to work with those who continue to have jobs. Ha! ha!...You say you are now giving some
attention to the workplace. Tell us what you mean.

Ms. Grant: Yes, everyday we see situations in which changes in the workplace cause changes in the way workers relate to each o
and to their employers…Changes in the way they behave to each other.

Interviewer: Mr. Persaud, as a representative of this unique partnership of employees and employers, do you think Ms. Grant is doi
 right thing? Is this matter of how people relate to each other at the workplace something that really needs attention?

Mr.Persaud: I agree entirely with Ms. Grant. We want to improve the way people behave to each other. That is why our Union was f
We found that we had to make changes at the workplace. We had to change some job names and sometimes even wh
workers had to do.

Ms. Grant: And changes like those often cause problems.

Mr.Persaud: When we tried to look at how well people did their work, that was a really big problem. We said we wanted to rate how
worked and there were all kinds of disagreements.

Interviewer:Ms. Grant, is this part of the concern you expressed earlier? Could you explain for our listeners?

Ms. Grant: Mr. Persaud speaks very knowledgeably when he says how people get on with each other is as important as the jobs t
do. People sometimes get a little tense when they know they are being rated. Feelings run higher if they think they mig
their jobs because their rating is not good. And we know the side effects from bad feelings.

Interviewer:So you are saying that keeping the job can be as unsettling as losing the job.

Mr.Persaud: Yes. When people know that keeping their position can be affected by their rating they get very anxious.

Ms. Grant: It is tense. It means that people can hardly plan to make their job a career. They may have to leave one place and mak
fresh start somewhere else. That makes them “edgy”. They may feel threatened by other employees or even by their
employers.

Interviewer:Ms. Grant and Mr. Persaud we have run out of time today. Let me thank you on behalf of our listeners. Have a good we