UNIT 10 Lifestyle
Part 3: Reading the text g10 Task 5: Read the following text.
Why you need to stop working now and take a break 5 10
The meaning of life is an important question. It is, however, one that not enough people stop to think about, especially in their busy day-to-day lives. Life passes too many people by. It seems that even though, across the world, per capita income is higher than it has ever been, people are working more than they ever have. A recent survey by Kirkaldy (2015) indicates that 82% of workers are not satisfied with their existing work situation and feel ‘stressed’ or ‘very stressed’ at least once a week. This essay argues that it is not just important, but imperative, that people change their working patterns; if people continue as they are at present, the repercussions could be huge. It will look at three specific areas that show this very clearly – how much vacation time workers have (and use), people’s working hours, and the location where they work.
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The first thing which needs to happen is that people who work, and who have guaranteed holiday entitlements, need to ensure that they take the holiday to which they are due. This may sound like a strange thing to say, but in many countries this is not the norm. A recent survey in the USA revealed that 25% of Americans do not receive any paid leave at all, and that 40% of those Americans who do get leave do not take all that they are entitled to. The reason for this state of affairs appear to be that people are concerned that taking leave may be perceived as a sign of weakness (Cribbins, 2013). Specifically, there are data which suggest that many workers fear that taking leave will make their jobs vulnerable in the long term, should there be an economic decline (Monkhouse, 2014). This is an unacceptable state of affairs.
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Second, companies need to stop encouraging, or expecting, people to work from home. The rise of smartphones has, of course, brought many benefits, but these benefits have also brought many problems with them. At times when people should be talking to their family, pursuing their own hobbies, or just relaxing at home, they are, unbelievably, sending work-related text messages or checking their email. According to Dawson (2011), this has led to an effective ‘automatization’ of society, in which people are no longer people, but just an extension of their mobile device. He further argues that we need to break the link between humans and machines. In short, technological changes were supposed to give people more free time. It seems that quite the opposite has occurred. Corbett (2016) points out that some companies have been very progressive in their thinking. The German car manufacturer Volkswagen ensures that its internet servers stop forwarding email to staff after the end of the working day. Their staff are thus unable to check them at home. In short, technological changes were supposed to give people more free time. It seems that quite the opposite has occurred.
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The third point to focus on concerns where we work. It has been estimated that commuters in some cities spend more than two hours a day, on average, travelling to and from their place of work (Rylance, 2014). However, one must ask the question as to whether it is really necessary for commuters to travel every day. Often they will just travel in to work, sit at a desk and work on a computer, and then return home. They could easily do much of the same work sitting at their desk in their own home. The Human Resources practices of many companies focus on ‘presenteeism’; that is, the only way to ensure that people are doing their job is to ensure that they are physically in the office. Clearly, there are many jobs (e.g., schoolteachers, doctors,
shop assistants) where it is necessary to be present to do the job, but in the modern age, this should not be considered to be ‘the norm’. Many people could perform just as well with a laptop at home.
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To conclude, this essay has argued that the world is facing a public health crisis in terms of the pressures faced by workers. These pressures result in health and family problems. The irony of the situation is that we are richer than ever before, but we are putting enormous stress on ourselves. People must stand up for their rights and they must alter their behaviour. Without these changes, companies will continue to abuse the rights of workers.
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