Water cooler conversation: office gossip

Everyone likes to gossip – even at work!

Read this water cooler conversation and look at the language notes at the end:

Paul: I hear Julie’s been promoted. She’s now Deputy Head of Resource Planning. She was Resource Planning Assistant but they’ve given her Andrew’s old job.

Samira: Really? I heard he was retiring, but I didn’t think they’d give his job to Julie. She’s only been here for six months.

Paul: Well, that’s true, but she’s quite a high-flier apparently.

Samira: I thought Colin would get the job. He’s been in that department for over ten years.

Paul: Yes, it looks like he’s been passed over by someone a bit younger and more dynamic. Nice chap, Colin.

Samira: Yes, I’ve always liked him.

Vocabulary notes

promote someone = to give someone a better or higher position in a company 

retire = to stop working when you reach a certain age (currently 67 in the UK)
retirement (noun)

they’d give= they would give (“they’d” could also mean “they had”, but not here)

a high-flier = someone who is ambitious and making rapid progress in their career

to be passed over (for a job / position) = This is used when a younger or more dynamic person is promoted instead of someone who has been working at the company longer

chap = man (informal British English, slang)