Job Responsibilities & Tasks: English Vocabulary List

to fulfill a person's responsibilities while they are sick or on a leave

"She covered for her friend yesterday."

"I had to cover for my colleague while she was sick and on leave last week."

a project, activity, plan, business, etc. that an individual is involved in

"He has an iron in the fire."

"She always keeps an iron in the fire so she never runs out of new business opportunities."

to assign a task or job to a person

"The farmer put us to work immediately."

"As soon as the new employee arrived the manager put him to work on the urgent report."

to have different roles, positions, or jobs at the same time

"She wears many different hats daily."

"As a small business owner, she wears many different hats, including manager, accountant, marketer, and customer service representative every single day."

to have to put in a lot of effort into one's work to be on the same level as one's predecessor

"You have big shoes to fill."

"The new CEO has big shoes to fill because the previous one was very successful."

to not attend work, school, or other obligations without giving an explanation or getting permission

"The boys played hooky from school."

"The naughty boys decided to play hooky and spend the afternoon at the movies instead of school."

during the hours that one is required to be working

"I get paid to be on the clock."

"I cannot talk for long because I am on the clock and my boss is watching me."

to be given someone's task, role, job, etc., particularly after they have left

"It is hard to step into his shoes."

"After his father retired he stepped into his shoes and took over the family business."

to continue or complete a task or project that someone else began or left unfinished

"She picked up the baton from her predecessor."

"When the manager retired the assistant picked up the baton and continued the important work."

to transfer responsibility or a task from one person to another

"It is time to hand over the baton."

"The old CEO handed over the baton to his son after working for forty years."

to need to deal with something as a part of one's responsibilities or obligations

"She has a problem on her hands."

"The manager has a big problem on her hands because the project deadline is tomorrow."

to assume full control or responsibility of something until the actual person in charge returns, particularly in business

"Please hold the fort while I am gone."

"Please hold the fort while I go to the bank and I will be back soon."

to take on a person's position, role, or responsibility after they are gone

"No one can fill her shoes."

"The new teacher has big shoes to fill because the previous one was very popular."

to take action or assume responsibility in a difficult or challenging situation, often when others are unable or unwilling to do so

"He stepped into the breach when the manager quit."

"When our lead singer got sick the guitarist stepped into the breach and performed wonderfully."

a labor strategy where employees intentionally perform their job duties strictly according to the rules and procedures, without going beyond what is explicitly required, as a means of protest or showing dissatisfaction with work conditions

"The union voted to work to rule."

"The union voted to work to rule and employees followed every safety regulation exactly to slow down production."

(of workers) to refrain from doing any extra work

"The union told them to work to rule."

"The train drivers worked to rule causing massive delays because they followed every safety regulation exactly."