Creature comforts in the workplace

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1 Creature comforts in the workplace World issues and culture Pet friendly policies Functional II Talking about current trends, giving rules. Modals. USA TODAY WEEKLY INTERNATIONAL EDITION march 6-8,2009. Lesli La Rosa. Black and white DUPLEX: pg. 5 y pg Ask the Ss: - What are the perks in your company? (Introduce perks: benefits at work) - Are there any unusual perks - Do you think it might be possible to take a pet to your office? 2. Hand out the picture and ask the Ss about the title and subtitle? 3. Ask Ss to make a list about things they would like the article to mention. 1. Ss read the article to compare their list to the text and add any new information 2. According to the article, What are the requirements for someone to bring their dog to their office? - Ask the students: - Activity 1 What words or phrases refer to not great candidates? 1

2 - Activity 2 Identify the modal verbs (should, would, can, must, can t) - Activity 3 Connect the modals with their functions. 1. Should Obligation 2. Would Ability 3. Can Prohibition 4. Must Hypothetical 5. Can t Advice - Activity 4 Complete the sentences with the correct modal verb. Ask the Ss to summarize and put the ideas together in a short speech (Ss can use the modal verbs) Ask the following question: - What do you think about the article? - What factor should we consider if we take dogs to our office? - Would you take your dog to your office? Why? Why not? 2

3 - Activity 1 What words or phrases refer to not great candidates? - Activity 2 Identify the modal verbs - Activity 3 Connect the modals with their functions. 1. Should Obligation 2. Would Ability 3. Can Prohibition 4. Must Hypothetical 5. Can t Advice - Activity 4 Complete the paragraph with the correct modal verb from the box. may Must(3) can t won t would(2) Still, not all dogs are great candidates for the workplace, including aggressive, territorial, hyper-active or vocal animals, as well as those that are shy or fearful. They have decent manners, be house-trained and well groomed, and they no be food thieves have constant flatulence, snore loudly or be excessive droolers, Palika says. The owner..not be bothered by any of this, but co-workers probably.be. Owners.. be honest in evaluating their pets, but many. or acknowledge characteristics or behaviors that.. make the animals an annoyance or distraction at work. Palika estimates that only about one out of every 50 or 75 dogs is already a perfect candidate for work detail. The vast majority need good basic obedience training and better social skills, she says. About half of those can become office-appropriate, if they receive the proper training. And if their owners still don t get it? That s where the rules come in. Fearing says. 3

4 Creature comforts in the workplace More dogs clocking in with owners Wet nose to the grindstone: Zola settles in at Replacements Ltda., a Greensboro, N.C., company that welcomes pets. Pets are part of our culture here, says Jeanine Falcon, Zola s owner 4

5 Creature comforts in the workplace More dogs clocking in with owners By Sharon L. Peters Special for USA TODAY Dog - friendly policies that allow employees to bring well-behaved pets to work are popping up in many offices and, by all accounts, the downsides are minimal. We always say around here that dogs have never broken anything. People have, but dogs, never, says Jeanine Falcon of Replacements Ltd., a company in Greensboro, N.C. that warehouses more than 13 million pieces of china, crystal and silver and ships out thousands of breakable items every day. It s part of our culture here to have pets, Falcon says. Most days.she says 20 to 30 dogs along with the occasional cat or rabbit are leashed, crated or penned up around the office. A recent survey by the American Pet Products Manufacturers Association found that 20% of companies now have pet-friendly policies, though experts believe most are smaller operations: The Human Society of the United States just released Dogs at Work: A practical Guide to creating Dog friendly workplaces by the society s Jennifer Fearing and California dog trainer Liz Palika. We re not proselytizing that the whole world should have dog friendly policies, Fearing says. But the Humane Society is making it easier to do so. Many companies inclined towards the idea have abandoned it when they realized how long it would take to establish whether there s sufficient interest and then to develop workable policies and sanctions. We ve done all that work, Fearing says, remove the obstacles. Created all the discussion points and presented possible forms, so now they can have the discussions about whether it s an idea that is right for their organization. Supporters say pets in the workplace reduce stress among owners who worry about home alone dogs, are calming presence for even the non-owners, and help employees form relationships. And in these times of disappearing benefits, pet- friendly policies are a free perk. Companies with such policies range from edgy cosmetics company Urban Decay to Healthwise, the Boise-based nonprofit health information provider. Most allow only dogs, but some, like Replacements, allow all kinds of pets. Many envision offices over-run with creatures, but that hasn t happened at the dozens of companies Fearing and Palika spoke with. Some owners realize their dogs aren t right for this sort of thing, or they themselves aren t right. Palika says. At the Humane Society itself, about 50 owners bring their dogs to work every day. The number of significant problems? Zero, says Fearing, though a couple of times owners have been called in reminded of the rules. The success, she believes, lies in the fact that the policy is a privilege, not a guarantee. No one wants to risk losing it, and defacto self-policing is in force. 5

6 Still, not all dogs are great candidates for the workplace, including aggressive, territorial, hyper-active or vocal animals, as well as those that are shy or fearful. They must have decent manners, be house-trained and well groomed, and they must no be food thieves have constant flatulence, snore loudly or be excessive droolers, Palika says. The owner may not be bothered by any of this, but co-workers probably would be. Owners must be honest in evaluating their pets, but many can t or won t acknowledge characteristics or behaviors that would make the animals an annoyance or distraction at work. Palika estimates that only about one out of every 50 or 75 dogs is already a perfect candidate for work detail. The vast majority need good basic obedience training and better social skills, she says. About half of those can become office-appropriate, if they receive the proper training. And if their owners still don t get it? That s where the rules come in. Fearing says. 6

English P48988A0112 E202/01. Pearson Edexcel Functional Skills. P48988A 2015 Pearson Education Ltd. Level 2 Component 2: Reading

English *P48988A0112* E202/01. Pearson Edexcel Functional Skills. P48988A 2015 Pearson Education Ltd. Level 2 Component 2: Reading Write your name here Surname Other names Pearson Edexcel Functional Skills English Level 2 Component 2: Reading 9 13 November 2015 Time: 60 minutes You may use a dictionary. Centre Number Candidate Number