CONNECT
Work and Happiness
B2 lesson on success, income, meaning, earned success, service and joy at work.
Can Work Make You Happy?
This B2 lesson helps students explore the difference between worldly success and real happiness at work.
Lesson aims
- Understand a video about happiness, work and success.
- Practise B2 vocabulary for careers, meaning, recognition and service.
- Complete a first-minute tapescript gap fill with 8 missing words.
- Use language for explaining causes, conditions and advice.
- What makes a job satisfying: money, status, recognition, meaning, or helping others?
- Can someone be successful at work but still unhappy?
- What small things can make an ordinary job feel more meaningful?
- Would you prefer a high-paying job with little meaning or a lower-paid job that helps people?
- How important is recognition from managers or colleagues for happiness at work?
Prep Part 1
Match the key words before watching the first part.
Questions
Watch Part 1
Watch from 0:00 to about 1:02. Focus on why worldly success does not automatically create happiness.
Tapescript Gap Fill: First Minute
Listen to the first minute of the video. Complete the tapescript with the 8 missing words.
Complete the text
People often ask me, does work make you ? And the answer is it can, but we have to understand how. It’s a real . The biggest mistake that people make about work and happiness is thinking that success in terms is going to bring happiness, and it’s not true. The worldly success from work has to do with money and and the admiration of other people and job titles. A lot of people mistakenly think that those markers of success will bring happiness in its . In other words: be successful, get happy automatically. That’s exactly . I’ve done research for years as an economist on labour markets and the characteristics of . It’s true that you need to make an income where you can support yourself and your .
Comprehension 1
Click each question to reveal the answer.
Vocabulary from Part 1
Prep Part 2
Match the ideas before watching the second part.
Questions
Watch Part 2
Watch from about 1:02 to the end. Focus on earned success, service to others and meaning at work.
Comprehension 2
Click each question to reveal the answer.
Vocabulary from Part 2
Vocabulary Review
Review key B2 vocabulary from the video.
| Word / phrase | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| worldly success | success based on money, power or status | Worldly success does not automatically bring happiness. |
| markers of success | signs that people associate with success | Job titles are markers of success. |
| in its wake | as a result of something | People think success will bring happiness in its wake. |
| labour market | the system of jobs and workers | The speaker researched labour markets. |
| earned success | feeling that you create recognised value | Earned success can bring joy at work. |
| learned helplessness | feeling that nothing you do matters | Learned helplessness is linked to giving up. |
| acknowledge | recognise or accept the value of something | Managers should acknowledge good work. |
| meritocracy | a system where people progress because of ability and effort | Meritocracy can support earned success. |
| lighten someone’s load | make someone’s life or work easier | Helping a colleague can lighten their load. |
| cog in a machine | a small, unimportant part of a large system | Some workers feel like a cog in a machine. |
Speaking Questions
- Can money make work satisfying?
- What is the difference between success and happiness?
- How can managers help employees feel recognised?
- What small acts of service can make work more meaningful?
Grammar: Conditions and Purpose
Use B2 structures to explain what makes work meaningful and satisfying.
| Structure | Use | Example |
|---|---|---|
| If + present, will / can + verb | real condition and result | If people feel recognised, work can bring joy. |
| need to + verb | necessity | You need to seek earned success. |
| so that + clause | purpose | Managers should recognise value so that people feel appreciated. |
| not only... but also... | adding two important ideas | Work should not only pay you but also serve others. |
Grammar Exercise 1: Complete the sentences
Grammar Exercise 2: Reveal the correction
Grammar Exercise 3: Sentence Transformations
Recognition can make work more joyful.
People must seek earned success and service.
Managers should acknowledge value. Then employees feel appreciated.
Work should pay you. It should serve others too.
Discussion
Use the vocabulary and grammar from the lesson.
- Can a prestigious job still make someone unhappy?
- Is earned success more important than money?
- How can a boring job become meaningful?
- What does “service to others” look like in different jobs?
- Should managers focus more on recognition?
- What would make your future work joyful?
Useful Language
| Giving opinions | Explaining conditions | Talking about work |
|---|---|---|
| I’d argue that... From my perspective... I’m not convinced that... | If people..., they can... You need to... So that... | Work feels meaningful when... Recognition matters because... Service to others means... |
Role Play: Making Work Meaningful
Practise giving workplace advice using the ideas from the video.
Student A: Employee
Explain why your work feels empty, repetitive or unrecognised.
Student B: Workplace Coach
Ask questions and suggest practical ways to create value, seek recognition and serve others.
Challenge
Use at least four phrases from the grammar section.
| Employee language | Coach language |
|---|---|
| I feel like... My work doesn’t seem to... I don’t feel recognised because... | If you..., work can... You need to... Try to help someone so that... Work should not only... but also... |