Hand-in-hand

“Hand-in-hand” refers to when two things or two people work closely together, and they depend on each other.

Today's story: Return to office
Explore more: Lesson #359
Keywords:

Be your best self in English

Move confidently through the English-speaking world

Listen

  • Learning speed
  • Full speed

Learn

TranscriptQuizYour turn
Simple TranscriptEspañol中文FrançaisPortuguês日本語ItalianoDeutschTürkçePolski

Hand-in-hand

Today’s expression is “hand-in-hand.” When two things or two people work closely together, and when they depend on each other, they go “hand-in-hand.” It’s not enough to just work nearby. It’s not enough to just be similar. If two people, or two things, go hand-in-hand, each one need the other to succeed.

On today’s main lesson, I said that in the hybrid model, remote work and office work will go hand-in-hand. That means that companies will use both remote work and office work together to achieve their goals . Remote work will keep employees happy by giving them the flexibility they need. Office work will make sure those employees can forge connections with one another and work effectively in a team. The work done at home will be independent; the work done in person will be collaborative. By using both working models, companies will be able to keep employees happy and reach their own goals. Office and remote work will go hand-in-hand. Both will be better because the other exists.

Exercise and sleep go hand-in-hand. If you exercise, you’ll sleep better. If you sleep better, your workouts will be better and stronger. If you do both, your health will be better overall. Exercise and sleep go hand-in-hand.

Many of you work as university professors. What do you think about the idea that teaching and doing research go hand-in-hand? I’m not in the academic world, so I can’t say. But the argument says that you’re a better university professor if you’re also doing research, and you’re a better researcher if you also teach a few classes. You can specialize in one; you can specialize in the other. But doing both is important because they complement each other. The argument says, they go hand in hand.

Safety goes hand-in-hand with productivity on the factory floor. Do you think that’s true? Some companies might try to cut corners with safety. But I think that you’ll attract better workers, and workers will be more productive, when they know that safety is a priority.

Here’s one I know better. In a startup business environment, customer service and product development go hand-in-hand. If you want to create a product or service, then you can’t just assign customer service to other people and forget about it. That’s because, in the early stages of a company, customer service is your direct line of communication with your buyers. Answering customer service emails and questions will tell you how your customers use your product. And only then will you be able to improve the product for the future. Developing a product and giving customer service go hand-in-hand.

JR’s song of the week

Today’s song of the week is “Dead Flowers” by the Rolling Stones. This is one of my favorite Rolling Stones songs. It’s the story of a jilted lover—the girl, Susie, has broken up with the singer and gone on to marry someone richer. But the singer is still in love with her and remains devoted to her. My favorite lines are these. “You can send me dead flowers every morning, send me dead flowers by the mail, send me dead flowers my wedding, and I won’t forget to put roses on your grave.”

Definitely one of my top three Rolling Stones songs of all time, “Dead Flowers” is the name of it. I like the version that appears in the 1995 album “Stripped.”

See you next time!

And that’s all for today. Let me know what you think about all this return to work. The topic came up during one of our live Plain English Plus+ member calls a few weeks ago. When I’m not doing Plain English, I work for an enormous global consulting firm. And for us, I think the hybrid approach is the way to go. But I can also see how a fully distributed team can work—a team where location just doesn’t matter. I know there will be a wide range of opinions, so jump into the Plain English Facebook group and let me know what you think. You can get that by going to PlainEnglish.com/Facebook.

And if you’d like to join a live all with me, JR, and other Plain English listeners, then consider joining as a Plain English Plus+ member. We have two calls a month and we usually pick a recent lesson topic and have a nice wide-ranging discussion about it. They’re a lot of fun and a definite perk of being a Plus member. You can find out more by visiting PlainEnglish.com/Plus .

Use realistic expressions like a native speaker

Starter feature

We speak your language

Learn English words faster with instant, built-in translations of key words into your language

Starter feature

We speak your language

Learn English words faster with instant, built-in translations of key words into your language

Starter feature

We speak your language

Learn English words faster with instant, built-in translations of key words into your language

Starter feature

We speak your language

Learn English words faster with instant, built-in translations of key words into your language

Starter feature

We speak your language

Learn English words faster with instant, built-in translations of key words into your language

Starter feature

We speak your language

Learn English words faster with instant, built-in translations of key words into your language

Starter feature

We speak your language

Learn English words faster with instant, built-in translations of key words into your language

Starter feature

We speak your language

Learn English words faster with instant, built-in translations of key words into your language

Starter feature

We speak your language

Learn English words faster with instant, built-in translations of key words into your language

Starter feature

Test your knowledge

Take a 4-question quiz to make sure you understand today’s Expression

Plus+ feature

Write a sentence with this Expression

Get personal, human feedback on the examples that you write. Build the confidence to use this Expression in the real world

Story: Return to office