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SEWING CAFS JANUARY 2009

Language Function: discussing issues; reading comprehension

Vocabulary / Topic: work; work-life balance, modern living

Grammar Focus: LESS - LEAST, FEWER - FEWEST

PRINT & TEACH LESSON MAY

ALL WORK AND NO PLAYadvanced

upper-interm

intermediate

pre-interme

www.english-4u.com page

focus on talkingActivity 1. Answer the questions below. Then work in pairs and compare your answers. Which one of you

seems to have a better work-life balance?

How many days a week do you normally work?

How many hours a day do you normally work?

How many hours a day do you spend traveling to work?

Do you work in shifts?

How often do you think or worry about work when you

are not at work?

Do you ever miss out any quality time with your family

or your friends because of pressure of work?

Do you ever feel tired or depressed because of work?

Are you generally happy with your work-life balance?

W O R K - L I F E B A L A N C E Q U E S T I O N N A I R E

focus on readingActivity 2. Guess the answers to the questions below. Then read the text on page 2 to find out if you were right.

In which countries do people work the longest hours? Which country is number one as far as the

length of a working day is concerned?

In which countries would you be expected to work shorter hours?

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SEWING CAFS JANUARY 2009

ALL WORK AND NO PLAY

www.english-4u.com page 2

According to a new report from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, Mexicans spendmore hours of their day working than the people of any other country. This comes as a surprise because in many

countries the popular image of a Mexican has been that of a sleepy farmer in his sombrero taking a siesta.

It may be time to put the maana culture stereotype to bed as the average Mexican devotes 10 hours a day to

paid or unpaid work - three hours more than the average Belgian, who ended up at the bottom of the list.

The main reason why Mexicans are at the top is the amount of time they spend on housework. For over four

hours each day they are busy cleaning, looking after children and, above all, cooking.

In this respect, they are the opposite of Americans, who spend the least time cooking each day (30 minutes).

What is interesting, they also spend less time eating, a habit that is believed to contribute to higher obesity rates

in the United States.

Americans might like to think of themselves as the worlds hardest workers, but they work 8 hours and 26

minutes a day, which is only 26 minutes longer than the average of all OECD countries.

The Japanese, followed by the South Koreans and Chinese, work the most paid hours in a day, though they

devote fewer hours to unpaid work.

The report also shows that shopping makes up a big part of unpaid work. Most people in OECD countries spend

23 minutes a day shopping, with the French spending the most (32 minutes), and the Koreans the least (13

minutes).

MexicoJapan

Portugal

CanadaEstoniaAustria

ChinaNew ZealandUnited States

SloveniaSweden

TurkeyIndia

South KoreaIreland

AustraliaPoland

Hungary

SpainItalyBritain

NorwayFinland

NetherlandsFrance

South AfricaGermanyDenmarkBelgium

0 150 300 450 600

PAID WORK UNPAID WORK

THE WORLDS

HARDESTWORKERS

TOTAL MINUTES WORKED PER DAY

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SEWING CAFS JANUARY 2009

ALL WORK AND NO PLAY

www.english-4u.com page 3

Activity 3. Read the article again and decide whether the following statements are true (T) or false (F).

1. Mexicans devote more hours to unpaid work than the people of any other country.

2. The average Belgian works 3 hours more than the average Mexican.

3. Mexicans and Americans spend a lot of time cooking.

4. Americans, who work 8 hours and 26 minutes a day, are considered to be the hardest workers of all OECcountries.

5. The Koreans spend fewer minutes a day shopping than other people in OECD countries.

focus on reading

Activity 4. Discuss these questions in pairs or small groups.

According to the report, the average Mexican works 3 hours longer than the average Belgian.

However, it has little effect on GDP per capita as Belgium records $37,900 per person while

Mexico only manages $13,800 per person. How can you explain this situation?

The report contradicts the stereotype of Mexicans being lazy. Do you know any other

stereotypes which in your opinion are baseless.

Which country would you choose to live in if the time devoted to paid and unpaid work was

the only factor to be considered? Explain your choice.

Do you think that new technology makes it easier or more difficult to find the right work-life

balance? Do we have more or less free time than our ancestors? Does technology give us

more leisure time or steal it away?

focus on talking

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