Office English / Rules

How important is it to follow the rules at work?

Um, usually there are systems in place for a reason. And, uh, you also don't want to get in trouble with your bosses.

But probably because I've been at work for a long time, and I think I'm probably aware of which rules are more important than others.

In this episode of Office English, we're talking about rules and guidelines.

Hello and welcome to a new series of Office English. Your podcast guide to the world of work. I'm Pippa.

And I'm Phil. Find a transcript for this episode on our website, bbclearningenglish.com.

So, we've just heard from some of the BBC Learning English team about rules at work. So Phil, can you explain some of the different kinds of rules that there are at work?

Yes, and again, this may depend on the kind of place that you work. Some places have lots and lots of rules. Other places may be a little bit more flexible, but most places will have at least some non-negotiables. And when we call something a non-negotiable, it means this is the rule. You can't argue with it. You can't negotiate around it. You just have to do this. It's non-negotiable.

Mhm. Yeah. And then by contrast you might have some rules that we would call on-paper rules. And this means that on paper you're supposed to do something. But in reality maybe not everyone does it. It's a bit more flexible. So there might be something written down that people are supposed to do, a certain way of doing something, but it's just not practical. It's not something that actually happens.

Um, another thing you might have are guidelines or recommendations, which are things they might not be a rule that you absolutely have to stick to, but it might be good advice to use.