IELTS Listening Test Questions
20. Work
LISTENING
IELTS Listening Test Part:
3
Questions 1 - 2
Choose TWO letters, A - E.
What are TWO reasons Anna gives for why working from home is convenient?
A The home is more comfortable.
B People can take care of family members.
C People don’t need to spend so much time travelling.
D People can save money.
E People are able to be more productive.
Question 3 - 4
Choose TWO letters, A - E.
According to Chris, who might find remote work unattractive?
A People without a home office.
B People living in shared accommodation.
C People who like to socialise with colleagues.
D People sharing a small flat.
E Young people.
Questions 5 - 10
Choose the correct letter A, B or C.
5 Chris thinks that the studies showing remote workers feel isolated are
A not relevant to the situation today.
B only accurate for some companies.
C only based on a small data set.
6 What does Anna say about a supermarket chain’s work from home scheme?
A Employees were generally very satisfied.
B Some staff members weren’t happy with the scheme.
C All employees could work from home 2 days per week.
7 How did a remote work scheme help a consultancy firm?
A Employees stayed at the company longer.
B Employee productivity increased.
C It was easier to find skilled workers.
8 Why is it sometimes easier for people to work abroad if they work for a multinational company?
A Because the company has offices in other countries.
B Because the company frequently outsources jobs.
C Because the company has more specialist local knowledge.
9 Why do many companies have difficulties allowing employees to work remotely from abroad?
A Because of time differences between countries.
B Because of local taxation laws.
C Because of short working hours..
10 Why can it sometimes be challenging to work in a team with people from many different countries?
A Because of language problems.
B Because of issues with communication technologies.
C Because of cultural differences.
Audioscript
Chris: Now that we’ve done all the research into working-from-home schemes, we need to think about what we’re going to include in our report.
Anna: Right, we should probably start by talking about the benefits. I mean it’s great that so many companies are giving their employees the option to work from home now, at least a few days a week. It’s really convenient for people, especially if (Q1/Q2)they’re juggling work with family commitments or if they (Q1/Q2)live far from their workplace, it can save them a lot of time.
Chris: Yes, but it can be a burden for some people. It’s fine if you have a big home and you can set up a room as a home office, but lots of people don’t have this luxury, especially young people who (Q3/Q4)live in a shared house or (Q3/Q4)perhaps for people who share a small flat with a partner. It can be difficult to find space to work if both you and your partner work from home. Sometimes, there are lots of distractions at home too, especially if you have kids running around. Family members often don’t understand that you need to be left alone to work when you’re at home.
Anna: I suppose, but in most cases working from home is an option, it’s not compulsory. People can still go into the office if they want to.
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Anna: Right, and on the other hand we’ve also seen studies which show that people can feel quite isolated if they’re working from home. A lot of people appreciate the social interaction at work. It’s just not the same if you’re only speaking via phone or have video meetings.
Chris: Yes, but that research was focused on people who were working remotely all the time. (Q5)That’s pretty rare these days. Most companies want their employees in the office at least 3 days a week. So, should we look at some examples of remote working schemes, and say what we think is good or bad about them?
Anna: Sure, we could start with the scheme we looked at in a large supermarket chain. Their back office employees were given the option to work from home 2 days a week and reported high satisfaction levels, but obviously (Q6)shop floor staff didn’t have this luxury and felt it was unfair.
Chris: It was a good example of how difficult it is to implement remote working schemes within companies. It’s not always possible for all jobs to be done remotely is it.
Anna: What about the case of the consultancy firm that allowed all its employees to work fully remotely. They seemed very happy with the results.
Chris: Yes, they reported (Q7)improved employee satisfaction and employee retention levels. Their staff seemed to really appreciate being able to work from home.
Anna: Right, and in their case, they also allowed employees to work remotely in various locations around the world.
Chris: Yes, but they’re a special case I think. As a multinational, it was much easier for them to deal with having employees abroad. (Q8)They had offices in the countries which meant they could put these employees on the local payroll.
Anna: That’s a good point. Many of the companies we researched had to place time limits on employees working abroad when (Q9)they came up against issues with local laws and regulations, particularly regarding tax. While staff working abroad in the short term doesn’t raise too many problems, in the long term it can lead to complications for the employer.
Chris: What about the cases of companies that directly hired staff from other countries to work remotely for them. This seems to be a pretty common situation these days too, but doesn’t come with the same problems.
Anna: Yes, true, these days language barriers tend to be less of a problem and communication technology is much more sophisticated so it’s much easier to collaborate online. That makes it possible to have a really effective team of people based in several countries. (Q10)But there are still cultural barriers and these can cause issues from time to time between managers and their staff or between team members.
Chris: Right, I think everyone involved has to be more open-minded when working in an international team.
Listening Answer Key:
1/2 B/C, 3/4 B/D, 5A, 6B, 7A, 8A, 9B, 10C