35 Workplace Daily English Phrases and Expressions

English Mufid - learn English online - English business expressions. On this page you are going to learn some English business language especially in a workplace. The phrases used are mostly in idiomatic expressions. These are casual English you can use to communicate with your coworkers in your office. Keep relaxed!

workplace English phrases and expressions

35 WORKPLACE DAILY ENGLISH PHRASES AND EXPRESSIONS

dirty work
meaning: necessary jobs but unpleasant
Don't ask me to do that dirty work.

to get down to work 
meaning: to start working and stop relaxing
Come on! Let's get down to work now!

to make short work of something 
meaning: to do a job very quickly
I've just make short work of the report.

to work like a horse
meaning: to work too hard
She always works like a horse!

a workaholic
meaning: a hard worker
She is a workaholic.

to work for the best
meaning: to end well
Any jobs will work for the best if you can focus.

to put off something 
meaning: to delay a job
I put off the financial report yesterday, so I have to do right now.

a people person
meaning: someone with good social skills
Anna really has lots of colleagues - she is indeed a people person.

to crunch the numbers
meaning: to do lots of calculations
The accounting department is crunching the numbers.

to sell like hotcakes
meaning: to sell very fast
Our new products are selling like hotcakes.

to think outside the box
meaning: to think creatively
Please come up with another idea. We must think out of the box.

a win-win situation
meaning: a cooperative agreement which is profitable for one another
Thank you for your excellent cooperation. We always make win-win situations.

to test the waters
meaning: to try a certain way in order to see if it works
There is no reason for us to test the waters if we want to increase our sales.

sharp
meaning: exactly
The meeting starts at 07:00 sharp!

power lunch
meaning: meeting or discussing business while having lunch
We'll have a power lunch today.

to get the ball rolling
meaning: to get started
Everybody is here, so let's get the ball rolling!

24/7
meaning: all day all night (anytime)
You can call us 24/7.

to sleep on it
meaning: to think more and make decisions
That's is quite tricky for me to choose. Let me sleep on it.

to be broke
meaning: to have no money
Will you treat me today? Oh.. NO! I'm broke.

to put something on the map
meaning: to make better
Our new project will pus our company on the map.

to give a hand
meaning: to give some help
Would you give me a hand?

in ages - very long time
I've been working here in ages.

to be sick and tired
meaning: to be frustrated of doing something
I feel sick and tired of my job.

black markets
meaning: illegal markets
Are you sure you love to shop on black markets?

business is business
meaning: don't bring anything in work
We have to be professional in working. Business is business!

ASAP
meaning: as soon as possible
Give me the copy. I need it ASAP.

to do something behind someone's back
meaning: to do something without someone's knowledge

to call it a day
meaning: to stop working
It's 5 p.m already! Let's call it a day.

easy come, easy go
meaning: to get and loose easily of something
sometimes money is easy come, easy go for me.

fifty-fifty
meaning: something divided equally
How much do you want? How about fifty-fifty?

to go broke
meaning: to go bankrupt
Our competitors are going up. I'm afraid if we will go broke.

in the black
meaning: make profits
Our company is now in the black.

in the red
meaning: make no profit
All strategies have been tried but we are still in the red.

to play hardball
meaning: to do something in cruel ways
He is always playing hardball- be careful!

Time's up
meaning: something is ended
You didn't achieve the target, so time's up for you.