WORK-LIFE BALANCE (Reading Comprehension)

WORK-LIFE BALANCE (Reading Comprehension)

Read and understand what these four people have to say about their working hours. Then, complete the vocabulary and reading tasks provided.

RONAN

I work in a fairly traditional office environment doing a typical nine-to-five job. I like my job, but it’s annoying that my commute to work takes an hour and a half each way and most of my work could really be done online from home. But my boss doesn’t seem to trust that we will get any work done if left to our own devices, and everyone in the company has to clock in and out every day. It’s frustrating that they feel the need to monitor what we do so closely instead of judging us based on our task performance, like most companies do these days.

JO

I used to do a typical five-day week, but after I came out of my maternity leave, I decided that I wanted to spend more time with my children before they start school. After negotiating with my boss, we decided to cut my working week down to a three-day work week. This of course meant a significant cut in my pay too, as I’m paid on a pro-rata basis. I’ve since noticed, though, that my workload hasn’t decreased in the slightest! I’m now doing five days’ worth of work in three days, but getting paid much less for it! I find myself having to take work home just so that I can meet the deadlines. It’s wearing me out trying to juggle work with looking after my children and my family, but I don’t dare to bring this up with my boss because I think he feels as if he’s made a huge concession letting me come in only three days a week.

MARCUS

I work for a global IT company, but because their headquarters is in the States, I do all my work online from home. That means that I don’t waste time commuting or making idle chit-chat with colleagues. I work on a project basis, and this flexibility is very valuable to me because it means that I can easily take some time off when my children need me to go to their school performances or if I need to schedule an appointment with the dentist. The downside is that without clear office hours, I tend to work well into the evening, sometimes skipping dinner to finish a task. It can also get quite lonely working on my own, and I sometimes miss sharing ideas with colleagues.

LILY

I’m a freelancer and work for myself. This is great because I am in control of what I do and how I spend my time. At first, I was working from home, but I found it really hard to concentrate. There were just too many distractions around: housework that needed doing, another cup of tea, my family members wanting my attention for various things. So I started to go to a nearby café to work, but the Wi-Fi connection wasn’t ideal and I found myself drinking too much coffee. In the end, I decided to rent a desk in a co-working space with five other freelancers like myself. I liked getting dressed to go to work in the morning and being able to focus in an office environment. The other freelancers do similar kinds of web-based work to me and so it’s nice to have workmates to bounce ideas off as well.

TASK 1 (VOCABULARY)

Match the vocabulary with the definition

Multiple Choice

idle chit-chat

• a regular journey between work and home

• to give or allow something in order to end an argument or conflict

• to share ideas with someone in order to get feedback on them

• to record the time you begin work

• talk that is informal and irrelevant to work

Multiple Choice

maternity leave

• calculated according to how many hours you work

• a period of time a woman takes off work due to the birth of a child

• a person who sells their services or work by the hour or day

• to be allowed to decide what to do by yourself

• to make someone very tired

Multiple Choice

to bounce ideas off someone

• to share ideas with someone in order to get feedback on them

• a period of time a woman takes off work due to the birth of a child

• a person who sells their services or work by the hour or day

• to be allowed to decide what to do by yourself

• to make someone very tired

Multiple Choice

to wear someone out

• to share ideas with someone in order to get feedback on them

• a period of time a woman takes off work due to the birth of a child

• a person who sells their services or work by the hour or day

• to be allowed to decide what to do by yourself

• to make someone very tired

Multiple Choice

to clock in

• to record the time you begin work

• a period of time a woman takes off work due to the birth of a child

• calculated according to how many hours you work

• to be allowed to decide what to do by yourself

• to make someone very tired

Multiple Choice

to make a concession

• to share ideas with someone in order to get feedback on them

• a period of time a woman takes off work due to the birth of a child

• calculated according to how many hours you work

• to be allowed to decide what to do by yourself

• to give or allow something in order to end an argument or conflict

Multiple Choice

paid on a pro-rata basis

• to share ideas with someone in order to get feedback on them

• a period of time a woman takes off work due to the birth of a child

• calculated according to how many hours you work

• to be allowed to decide what to do by yourself

• to give or allow something in order to end an argument or conflict

Multiple Choice

a freelancer

• a person who sells their services or work by the hour or day

• a period of time a woman takes off work due to the birth of a child

• calculated according to how many hours you work

• to be allowed to decide what to do by yourself

• to give or allow something in order to end an argument or conflict

Multiple Choice

a commute

• a person who sells their services or work by the hour or day

• a period of time a woman takes off work due to the birth of a child

• calculated according to how many hours you work

• a regular journey between work and home

• to give or allow something in order to end an argument or conflict

Multiple Choice

to be left to your own devices

• a person who sells their services or work by the hour or day

• a period of time a woman takes off work due to the birth of a child

• calculated according to how many hours you work

• to be allowed to decide what to do by yourself

• to give or allow something in order to end an argument or conflict

READING COMPREHENSION (TASK 1)

Read and answer the following questions

Multiple Choice

Ronan would prefer it if he …

• wasn’t left to his own devices.

• could spend more time commuting and less time in the office.

• could work from home and be judged based on task performance.

• could trust his boss more.

Multiple Choice

Jo wanted to reduce her working hours because she …

• thought she would be more efficient and productive when she was at the office.

• wanted to bring her work home.

• wanted to go on maternity leave.

• wanted to spend time with her children.

Multiple Choice

Jo is unhappy with her three-day work week because …

• she didn’t realise how much the change would affect her economically.

• she now hast to spend more time looking after her children and her family.

• she has more deadlines to meet.

• her workload has remained the same although she’s reduced her hours.

Multiple Choice

In Marcus’s opinion, which of these is a disadvantage of working from home?

• You spend a lot of time in the house.

• It’s easy to get distracted by your family.

• You tend to work later.

• You end up eating more as you have access to the fridge all day.

Multiple Choice

Why did Lily not like working from home?

• She found it lonely.

• Her family didn’t like her working.

• She didn’t have a good Wi-Fi connection.

• There were a lot of distractions.

Multiple Choice

What solution did Lily find most suitable for her working needs?

• Renting an office space to work from.

• Working from a café.

• Working for an employer.

• Working for other freelancers.

READING COMPREHENSION (TASK 2)

Are these statements TRUE or FALSE?

Multiple Choice

Ronan’s boss thinks his employees will not be as productive if they work from home.

• TRUE

• FALSE

Multiple Choice

Ronan thinks that the performance of employees should be judged according to how much time they spend in the office.

• TRUE

• FALSE

Multiple Choice

Jo is paid the same for a five-day work week as she is on a three-day week.

• TRUE

• FALSE

Multiple Choice

Jo feels exhausted trying to manage both a five-day workload and childcare.

• TRUE

• FALSE

Multiple Choice

Although Marcus sees the benefit in not having idle chit-chat, he misses interacting with his colleagues.

• TRUE

• FALSE

Multiple Choice

Lily didn’t like working from the café because the coffee wasn’t very good.

• TRUE

• FALSE

WELL DONE!!