New WET: The world of work Page 1
Work–life balance, 2019
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 trip 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 we decide on our own working hours, 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 talking 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. 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 compromise letting me come in only
three days a week.
Marcus: I work for a global IT company, but because their headquarters are in the States, I do all my work online from home. That
means that I don’t waste time commuting or making idle chitchat 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 plan 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 share
ideas with as well. 550 words
B. Text-based tasks 27 points
Task 1: Circle the best answer. (max 6 points)
1. Ronan would prefer it if he …
a. wasn’t left to his own devices. b. could spend more time commuting and less time in the office.
c. could work from home and be judged based on task performance. d. could trust his boss more.
2. Jo wanted to reduce her working hours because she …
a. thought she would be more efficient and productive when she was at the office.
b. wanted to bring her work home. c. wanted to go on maternity leave. d. wanted to spend time with her children.
3. Jo is unhappy with her three-day work week because …
a. she didn’t realise how much the change would affect her economically.
b. she now hast to spend more time looking after her children and her family. c. she has more deadlines to meet.
d. her workload has remained the same although she’s reduced her hours.
4. In Marcus’s opinion, which of these is a disadvantage of working from home?
a. You spend a lot of time in the house. b. It’s easy to get distracted by your family.
c. You tend to work later. d. You end up eating more as you have access to the fridge all day.
New WET: The world of work Page 2
5. Why did Lily not like working from home?
a. She found it lonely. b. Her family didn’t like her working.
c. She didn’t have a good Wi-Fi connection. d. There were a lot of distractions.
6. What solution did Lily find most suitable for her working needs?
a. Renting an office space to work from. b. Working from a café. c. Working for an employer.
d. Working for other freelancers
Task 2: Are the sentences true or false? (max. 6 points)
T F
1. Ronan’s boss thinks his employees will not be as productive if they work from home.
2. Ronan thinks that the performance of employees should be judged according to how much time they spend in the
office.
3. Jo is paid the same for a five-day work week as she is on a three-day week.
4. Jo feels exhausted trying to manage both a five-day workload and childcare.
5. Although Marcus sees the benefit in not having idle chit-chat, he misses interacting with his colleagues.
6. Lily didn’t like working from the café because the coffee wasn’t very good.
Task 3: Answer the following questions in note form (max. 7 points)
1. Why does Ronan not like to have to go to the office?
2. Why does Jo not talk to her boss about having too much work?
3. What does Markus like about working from home? (2 items)
4. What does Markus consider as a problem working from home? (2 items)
5. Why does Lily like work as a freelancer?
Task 4: Answer the following questions in full sentences (max 8 points)
1. Why is it the most practical solution for Lily to work from a rented desk? (2 items)
2. What does Markus say about having colleagues?
3. Why is Ronan unhappy with the strategy of his boss? (2 items)
C. Use of language 23 points
Task 1: Synonyms – find words which mean roughly the same as (max. 3 points)
a) Jo, line 2 - to cut b) Jo, line 3 - my pay c) Markus, line 1 - global
Task 2: Opposites – find words which mean the opposite of (max. 3 points)
a) Ronan, line 4 - frustrating b) Jo, line 6 - huge c) Markus, line 4 - downside
Task 4: Paraphrasing – complete the 2nd sentence so that it means the same as the first (max. 3 points)
a) (Jo, line 3) My workload hasn’t decreased. > I still …
b) (Markus, line 2) … I don’t waste time commuting > I save time …
c) (Lily, line 5) … being able to focus on my work > I can
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Task 5: Vocabulary – Grammar (max 6 pts)
The following text is adapted from The New York Times, December 11, 2006.
Working Long Hours and Paying a High Price
Since the beginning of the year, two new reports on working people … 1 out the general message 1 to put
that we spend far too much time …2 work, but the reports do not only complain of the bad effects on 2 on, in, at,
workers - …3 parents - but also of the effects on business. "Extreme jobs" is the phrase used by the 3 particular
…4. You have an extreme job if you work 60 hours or more a week, if you travel a lot, if you have 4 journalism
… 5 for profit and …6, and if you have work-related meetings outside business hours. 5 responsible 6 to lose
The reports estimate that about 20% of high earners in the United States are extreme workers. That
means 20% of those who make it to the top today … 7 harder … 8 is good for them. 7 to work 8 as, than
Sylvia Ann Hewlett, who wrote a book in … 9 she argued that the most successful women often 9 that ,who, which
have no children, says that these extreme workers love their jobs. But 58% say work gets in the way
of 10 strength
… 10 relationships with their children. 11 to solve
The …11 is, what both reports call "the flexible workplace". That means a philosophy of flexibility. 12 able
That could include financial help for after-school-care for children, and the … 12 to work from home.
198 words
Task 6: Ask questions (max. 4 points)
You talk to Lily about her freelancer job. You ask her 4 questions about the job. Use different question forms and tenses.
Task 7: Definitions - Choose 2 of the following words and define in full sentences (max. 4 points)
a) Markus, line 1 - headquarters b) Jo, line 1 - maternity leave c) Lily, line 6 - workmates
D. Creative Writing 27 points
1. Write a comment. Choose one of the following statements. Discuss the pros and cons and give your opinion. Write
about 100 words (9 pts)
a) I believe it is important to have a lot of responsibility in the job.
b) There should be a quota for women in top jobs.
c) I would rather work normal hours with normal pay than make a lot of money and spend extra long hours at work .
2. Choose task 2a) or 2b). Do not work on both tasks. Write 160 words ( 18 pts)
2a) You apply for a job at an office in London. You found the ad in the internet and you answer to it.
Write a short
- CV
- give some information on what you want to do
- explain what you are good at.
2b) “My first days at the new job” - write a diary, describing new job experiences. Start like this …
Monday, June 3rd: Today I started my work at the office! … Tuesday, June 4 th :
…
Give information on: - the boss, - the colleagues, -the work, - the office, -what you learn
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E. Mediation 13 points
1. Interpreting (8 pts)
Your neighbour Mr Eberle, a farmer, is looking for a farm worker and a young Indian applies
for the job. As your neighbour does not speak good English, you help the Indian with the job
description:
Mr Eberle needs to get someone with certain qualifications and experience.
Ich brauche auch jemanden, der
allgemeine Information ü ber
die Apfelernte und den Transport
Herrn Patel (1pt)
organisiert. (1pt)
Ich brauche jemanden, der gut mit
Tieren umgehen kann. Ich habe
eine kleine Gruppe Alpakas, die
etwas stur sind. (2 pts)
Wir haben einen Platz auf dem
In Indien wird doch viel
lokalen Markt. Dort verkaufen wir
Ziegenkä se gegessen. Kann er
die Alpakawolle und Ziegenkä se.
Kä se machen? (2pts)
(2 pts)
2. Pass on the information (5 pts)
The following text is adapted from The New York Times, January 14, 2008
How to damage your career on your own time
If Henry Ford was brought back to life today he would certainly be very happy about the Internet: the open
way in which many people express themselves on the Web makes it easy to check the private lives of
employees.
Beginning in 1913, the Ford Motor Company had a "Sociological Department" with investigators who visited
the homes of the employees. Their job was to find out information about the employee's religion, money affairs
drinking habits and how the employee "amused himself'.
That kind of visit to the home of an employee is no longer needed. Many American companies are using the
Internet to spy on their employees. If you do not behave well in your free time you could lose your job. A line
needs to be drawn that shows the difference between work and private life. When a worker is on the job,
companies have every right to check on the activities closely. But what an employee does after work, as long as
no laws are broken, is none of the company's business.
On December 16, the Pew Internet Project released a study, showing that 60% of Internet users are not
worried about how much information is available about them online. The study reflects a great change within
just a few years in public attitudes about privacy. 210 words
Welche Informationen finden Sie im Text ü ber:
1. die Firma Ford in der Vergangenheit (2 Fakten)
2. die Kritik des Autors an den Firmen (2 Fakten)
3. die Studie ü ber Internetnutzer (1 Fakt)
