Learning English with CBC Edmonton Monthly feature story: Hard worker or workaholic? June 2014 Lesson plans created by Amie Sondheim and Justine Light www.alberta.ca http://www.cbc.ca/edmonton/learning-­‐english/ Feature Story Objectives CLB competency outcomes Listening: Reading: Speaking: Writing: Hard worker or workaholic? L: Identify main ideas, supporting details and implied meanings. L: Identifies topic-­‐specific words, phrases and expressions R: Identifies main ideas, key details and some implied meanings. R: Recognizes purposes, context and authors’ intents with point form lists. S: (Global Descriptor) Pronunciation errors rarely impede communication W: Expresses the main idea and supports them with details. W: Reduces information to important points with accurate details and no major omissions. Language skills Vocabulary: Use new vocabulary in context Grammar: Modals – form: third person –s. second verb, question formation Speaking: Pronunciation – [l] and [r] consonant clusters Language Activities (In order of appearance in materials) -­‐ Answering comprehension and probing questions about a short background text about the job interviews. -­‐ Completing pre-­‐listening activities to build vocabulary and prepare learners for the audio. -­‐ Listen to the audio and infer meaning and identify facts and details. -­‐ Listening – Listening for Specifics: Who said what? -­‐ Speaking strategies – [l] and[r] consonant clusters – pronunciation -­‐ Grammar activity – Modals – determining the rules for the form. -­‐ Pre-­‐reading vocabulary – complete vocabulary activity to prepare for the reading. -­‐ Reading for meaning/comprehension. -­‐ Reading strategy – making inferences -­‐ Writing – Note-­‐taking – looking for headings, summarizing and finding supporting examples 2 Background Reading: Do you work too much? Are you finding that even if you are not working that you are often still thinking about work and talking about work with your friends and family? Sometimes it can be difficult to leave your job at your workplace and you end up taking work home with you, which can leave you exhausted and feeling overwhelmed. This can either happen by actually bringing your work home with you, or even by just bringing it home in your mind. If you can’t stop thinking about and discussing your job with those around you, you might need to take the advice listed below: How to get your mind off work: 1. Get a hobby – The more you involve yourself with things other than work, the more you will be able to stop thinking and talking about work. Hobby ideas: music, dance, art, reading, writing, watching movies, photography, sports, building things, gardening, volunteering, cooking. 2. Exercise! -­‐ Get out and move your body. Go for a walk, play some tennis, do some exercise DVDs, run, join a sport, go to the gym, … 3. Make friends with people you don’t work with too 4. Leave work at work – don’t bring your work home with you 5. Limit yourself – Tell your boss and co workers that you don’t check e mails or phone messages regarding work when you’re at home. 6. Focus on what’s happening now – If you enjoy the moment and what is going on around you, you’ll be less likely to be thinking about work. Food For Thought: How do you strike a balance between being hard working and working too hard? What do you do to relax? 3 The Audio In this audio, you will hear CBC journalist Mark Connolly interviewing Margo Ross-­‐Graham, workplace columnist, about what to do if you are working too hard. CBC Journalist Mark Connolly (CBC file photo) Workplace columnist Margot Ross Graham (Used with permission: http://www.williamsengineering.c
om/company/leadership/margotr
oss-­‐graham Before you listen: What do you do if your boss is giving you so much work that you don’t have enough time to finish it during your workday? Introduction to the audio 0:11 Mark No one’s over accused me of being a workaholic, I’ll tell you that. Although I do put in the hours; I think I’m a hard worker. Ah, but, what is the line between being a hard worker and a workaholic? 0:22 Margo Well, I think it would probably be different for everybody. Uh, but, there are some things that you might ask yourself and would help you know if you are a workaholic. So, would you rather talk about work than anything else with your family and your friends? You’re probably leaning towards that. Would you, would you rather work on your vacation? Or vacation on your vacation? 4 Pre-­‐Listening Vocabulary The words below are from the audio. The definitions are next to the words. Read the definitions then complete the sentences. Word Definition Workaholic (noun) Someone who works so much that it has become a problem. Stressed (adjective) So worried and tired that you cannot relax Health trauma (noun) Major issues or problems with one’s health Impact (noun) The effects of something Ulcer (noun) A sore inside your body, usually the stomach, that is typically made worse from stress Questionnaire (noun) A set of questions given to a large number of people on a specific topic. Burn out (noun) The experience of being worn out and exhausted Roaming charges (noun) The charges your phone company charges when you are traveling and using your cell phone from far away Lifestyle (noun) The way people live – e.g. the place they live, the things they have, what they do for fun, the job they have Priority (noun) The most important thing or person Distractions (noun) Something that takes your attention off of something else Perfectionist (adjective) A person who likes to have everything just perfect; just the way he or she wants it Insecure (adjective) To not feel secure or confident in yourself Addiction (noun) To need or have a very strong desire to do or have something on a regular basis Counselling (noun) Support, help, or advice given to someone with problems or worries 5 Pre-­‐Listening Vocabulary: Use the vocabulary words above to complete the following sentences. (Answers can be found in the appendix.) 1.
I don’t know if I can do it. Sometimes I feel so ____________________________. 2.
I have been so worried lately that I have developed an _____________________ in my stomach. 3.
My dad is such a _____________________________; he’s always staying at work late and working on the weekends. 4.
Please make this project a _____________________________ because it needs to be done first. 5.
You should try going to a _____________________________ to talk about your problems. 6.
You should go to the doctor to get checked out if you’re you experiencing some kind of _____________________________. 7.
If you’re too scared to let someone do something for you, because you worry that it won’t be just the way you like it, you might be a ________________________. 8.
Please fill out the _____________________________ with this pen. 9.
You work so much, it’s like you need it. I think you might have an _____________________________ . 10.
Careful that you don’t _____________________________ from working so much. 11.
She’ll have to pay the _____________________________ if she uses her cell phone in the United States. 12.
What are the _____________________________ on your health from working too much? 13.
My dad has a very relaxed and low stress _____________________________. 14.
Don’t be so worried and _____________________________ … take a deep breath, close your eyes and forget about your worries. 15.
It’s easier to work when there aren’t any _____________________________ to get you off track. 6 Listening for Meaning Read the questions below. Then listen to the audio and answer the questions. (Answers can be found in the Appendix) 1. What are some of the symptoms of being a workaholic? 2. What was the Huffington Post survey used to help you decide? 3. What is the danger in being a workaholic? 4. What is a negative health impact that you can get from over-­‐working? 5. How can being a workaholic negatively impact your workplace? 6. What are two ways employers can prevent employees from working on your vacations? a) b) 7. What are the two types of people who are likely to become workaholics? a) b) 8. How do you stop being a workaholic? (name 4 of Margo’s suggestions) a) b) c) d) 9. What distractions should you try to avoid in the workplace? 10. What does Margo mean by working smarter, not harder? 7 Listening strategies – Who said what? The goal of the listening strategies section of the monthly feature lesson is to help you to improve your listening skills for all listening situations, not just this audio. Can you keep track of who said what? Focus on what each speaker is saying and put a checkmark in the correct column to show which statements Mark and Margo made. Note: These comments are paraphrased (put in other words); so, the comments written below are not exactly what you will hear. Therefore, you will have to think of the overall meaning of these comments when doing this exercise. (Answers found in Appendix) Comment Mark Margo I’m not a workaholic, but I am hard working. I don’t feel like I’m the only person who can do things the right way. People have to be careful not to burn out. If you work too hard, you might neglect your body and have health issues. Employers are trying many things in order to get their employees to take time off so they don’t work too hard. Hard work is important and not all people are workaholics; it’s the really serious cases of hard workers we are talking about. Workaholics are two types of people: those who like everything to be perfect and those who need to build up their self-­‐confidence. You don’t have to take on every project your boss gives you. You can tell your boss you are too busy. Will more people start becoming workaholics because of the way people are expected to work so hard now? It can be confusing to try to figure out how to work smarter. If you take out distractions at work, like social media and phone calls, you will have more time to work. 8 Speaking Strategies: /r/ and /l/ Clusters (Answers in the Appendix) Pronunciation rules for words that begin with [l] and [r]: [l] is the sound you hear in words such as: learn or clean. To make the sound you touch the tip of your tongue to the back of your front teeth at the top of your mouth. Listen and repeat: 4:58 Margo And, so, that’s the help you might need… Learn to say no and... So, learn to say no to, “hey, would you like to take on this new project? It’s only a little bit of project… [r] is the sound you hear in words such as: ready or dream. To make the sound you make your tongue similar to the [l] position, then drop your tongue down and round your lips, like you are about to give someone a kiss. * With [r] your tongue does not actually touch the roof of your mouth, or the back of your front teeth. Listen and repeat: 2:00 Margo … but there’s recognition that “hey, I better change my behaviour. I’m going down a bad road here”. So, that is a huge danger. It has a really impact on you … [l] and [r] occur in many consonant clusters in English; this is where a consonant goes in front of the [l] or [r] and if they are in the same syllable, when pronounced, the 2 sounds join as one. e.g. please; flight; clear; splash; clap… or pray; spring; free; tree; brown; etc. Listen, identify and repeat the [l] and [r] clusters in the passages below: 0:00 Mark Well hard work is …But bad things can happen when you cross over into becoming a workaholic. Our workplace columnist, Margo Ross-­‐Graham is here to help … 1:28 Margo Well, I do think there’s that complete burn out danger… So, lots of people, when they hit that crisis point and they’ve just completely worn themselves out… health trauma, …that has taken up so much control in their life, they have neglected these other parts and your body has simply said, “that’s it”. 4:34 Margo And so, you often need help to break an addiction. So, there are EAP programs that you can talk, talk with in your companies. But there are some things you can just start thinking about. So, set priorities for yourself. So, identify what it is that you can and can’t do… Because I know, ah, I could set a priority and … you just added 7 more things to your plate and they’ve all become a priority. 9 Grammar – Modals Answers are in the appendix Modals are used to express various meanings, but this lesson will only focus on the form rules of the following modals: Can, could, would, will, might, and should. Look at the following examples of each modal and determine what the rules are for modals: Can: 0:00 – But, bad things can happen when you cross over into becoming a workaholic. 0:44 -­‐ … because you know you’re the only one that can do it and the only one who can do it right. 2:20 -­‐ I think what you can do, is you can give them some… Would: 0:22 -­‐ …would you rather work on your vacation? 4:34 -­‐ … someone would look at it and say, you just added 7 more things to your plate and they’ve all become a priority. Might: 0:22 -­‐ …there are some things that you might ask yourself and would help you know if you are a workaholic. 2:57 -­‐ They might do it with all their employees. They might do it with just the people they see are, are, causing the problems for themselves. 4:58 -­‐ And, so, that’s the help you might need. Could: 0:58 -­‐…recently and they actually put out a questionnaire, which anyone could go search …. 4:34 -­‐ I could set a priority… Should: 2:15 -­‐ What should you do? 4:02 -­‐ they worry that they’re not going to quite achieve what they should achieve and they almost have a self-­‐worth question and so… Will: 3:39 -­‐ Yeah, and the research will show you two extreme ends. 10 Rules: 1. Third person -­‐s: 2. Second verb: 3. Question formation: Exercise: (Answers can be found in the answer key) Read these statements taken from the story and choose the modal that works with the statement: 1. Well hard work is usually a good thing at the office. But bad things __________________ happen when you cross over into becoming a workaholic. a) would b) can 2. No one’s ever accused me of being a workaholic, I ______________ tell you that. a) will b) might 3. And, in fact, so, one thing you _______________________ do is you can tell them, look, you need to take your vacations, we want you on your vacation … a) can b) should 4. I would think its sort of that extreme case that you don’t want to get to. Right? a) could b) would 5. _________________ you take it on and oh, by the way, I need it on Friday. a) might b) could 6. I wish you _______________________ have told me this last week. a) would b) should 11 Reading Activity – Pre reading Vocabulary The following vocabulary activity will help you to understand the reading below. Match each word to its correct definition. The first one is done for you. Answers can be found in the appendix. Word/Phrase Letter Definition balance (noun) a) to get something, while trying to prevent someone else from getting the same thing commitment (noun) b) to feel good about doing something that you wanted to do compete (verb) c) the most important part of a situation or thing complex (adjective) d) extreme exhaustion; very tired juggle (verb) e) the way you view, or see something equation (noun) f) to be evenly spread; equal amounts bottom-­‐line (noun) g) a personality characteristic of being trustworthy and faithful to people you know satisfaction (noun) h) absolutely true loyalty (noun) i) the sudden arrival of many people, or goods perception (noun) j) many parts and difficult to understand impact (noun) k) area of knowledge or interest undeniable (adjective) l) half, or equal fatigue (noun) m) a promise to do something absenteeism (noun) n) a set of facts, thoughts, people, etc. that are connected somehow influx (noun) o) missing from work or school regularly without a good reason fifty-­‐fifty (adjective) p) to do many things at once domain (noun) q) the effect something has on something else 12 The Business Case for Balance What is work-­‐life balance? There just aren’t enough hours in the day. I hold down a full-­‐time job. I help care for my grandchildren and my parents, who need more help every year. Time for “me” is pretty hard to come by. —Retail department store manager, Calgary Working on my master’s degree, teaching part-­‐time, being a single mom, trying to stay active and physically fit, making time for family commitments...balance is almost impossible to maintain. —Instructor, post-­‐secondary institution, Lethbridge They downsized the staff but they never downsized the work. I’m doing work that two people used to do. —Computer programmer, Edmonton If you are an employer, you’ve probably heard these kinds of statements before. Maybe your own employees have said them! Work-­‐life balance—managing competing roles and responsibilities at work, at home and in the community—is a moving target many Canadians are having a hard time hitting. Driven by complex changes in work and society, a growing number of workers are reporting the “struggle to juggle.” Whether the challenge is on the life side of the equation, on the work side, or on the sum total of “way too much to do and not enough time to do it,” finding ways to manage work-­‐life conflict is important. What does this mean for you? As an employer, you hold at least some of the keys to work-­‐life balance for your employees. This book makes the case that supporting work-­‐life balance for employees makes good business sense, with proven, bottom-­‐line benefits for yourself, your employees and your company. Consider this. In the last decade: • High job stress has doubled. • High job satisfaction and employee loyalty has dropped. • The percentage of Canadians working more than 50 hours a week has grown from 10 per cent to 25 per cent. • Most working Canadians live in dual-­‐income families and have dependents, whether children, aging parents or both. —Health Canada 2001 National Work-­‐Life Conflict Study • Fifty-­‐three per cent of Albertans report being “very stressed,” the highest percentage in Canada. —Angus Reid Survey for Aventis Pharma Inc., 2000 • Forty-­‐seven per cent of Canadians report moderate to high levels of stress resulting from work-­‐life conflict, up from 26 per cent in 1989. • Fifteen per cent of Canadian employees are in the sandwich generation, caring for both children and an older relative. —Work-­‐Life Compendium 2000 13 It’s not my problem: Eight misperceptions Perception: It’s a private issue. Fact: The personal impact is undeniable: research links work-­‐life conflict to increased depression, marital problems, fatigue and stress-­‐related illnesses. But it doesn’t stop there. These results translate into real problems for employers, such as increased absenteeism and reduced productivity. Studies show a significant public cost as well. Perception: It’s a parenting issue. Fact: Work-­‐life conflict is a growing concern for all Canadians, not just those with children at home. An increasing number of non-­‐parents report difficulty fitting in volunteer commitments, or educational, leisure or health pursuits. We may not all be parents but we are all children: one in four Canadians now cares for an elderly family member, up from six per cent a decade earlier (Conference Board of Canada, 1999). Perception: It’s a women’s issue. Fact: According to a 2003 study by the Women’s Executive Network, women are twice as likely as men to report work-­‐life imbalance, and with good reason: despite a massive influx into the workforce, women retain the greater share of responsibility for child care, elder care and domestic chores (Work-­‐Life Compendium 2001). However, a recent trend has seen levels of work-­‐life conflict rise among men. In fact, men are more likely than women to point to work pressures as the cause of the imbalance, according to the Women’s Executive Network study. Perception: It’s a stage in life. Fact: The call for more work-­‐life balance comes from all sections of the population: the university student with a part-­‐time job, the female executive with small children and the seasoned employee easing into retirement. Work-­‐life balance is increasingly important to young people entering the labour market as well: in a Royal Bank survey of university students in 2000, 70 per cent indicated they would choose a job that accommodated work-­‐life interests over one that offered long hours but “a lot more money.” Perception: It’s “fifty-­‐fifty.” Fact: Work-­‐life balance is rarely a partnership of equals. More often, it is a changing relationship—one part may dominate for a period of time, only to see the other part attracting more attention. Balance is also personally defined: what is balance to one person may be imbalance to another. Perception: Work and life are separate domains. Fact: Work and life issues are closely linked and changes in one almost always affect the other. Perception: Technology will help. Fact: Technology is a double-­‐edged sword. While innovations such as cell phones, laptops, personal digital assistants and wireless networks allow us to work anywhere, they also allow work to follow us anywhere. Seventy-­‐two per cent of Canadians believe technology is increasing their workload (National Work-­‐Life Conflict Study, 2001). Perception: Little can be done. Fact: Companies have been able to show clear and measurable improvements in work-­‐life balance by even the smallest of changes by increasing flexible work arrangements such as flex-­‐time, job sharing, telework and compressed workweeks. Reading taken and adapted from Work-­‐Life Balance at http://alis.alberta.ca/pdf/cshop/betterbalance.pdf 14 Reading for Meaning Answer the following questions about the reading. Answers can be found in the appendix. 1. What is the work-­‐life balance? 2. How is striking the work-­‐balance a moving target? 3. What does “the struggle to juggle” mean? 4. How can employers make the work-­‐life balance for their employees better? True or False: Perception vs. Fact 1. _____ Research has shown that work-­‐life conflict is connected with mental health issues and employees missing work. 2. _____ Parents have the most difficult time balancing work-­‐life commitments. 3. _____ 25% of Canadians are caring for an older family member. 4. ______ Women are more likely than men to complain about the work-­‐life balance. 5. ______ Every part of the population has been shown to want a job that considers giving the employees a better work-­‐life balance, at the expense of more money. 6. ______ Most people consider work-­‐life balance to be defined in the same way. 7. ______ Work and life problems are very different from one another and don’t effect each other. 8. ______ Even though technology makes a lot of things more convenient, it is also making more work for people. 9. ______ Companies have had little success with changing the work-­‐life balance for their employees. 15 Reading Strategies: Making Inferences Answers can be found in the Appendix Inference: Something you think is true based on the information you have at the time. Sometimes when you are reading something, you have to try to guess at information that has not been said directly, in order to understand the entire meaning of a passage. Not everything is said clearly and directly, yet the reader is expected to make some educated guesses, or inferences, based on what is in the reading. This is what you will be practicing today. 1. Look at the title of the reading: “The Business Case for Balance”. What should the reader infer, or guess, from the title? Answer: This reading will show the perspective of the businesses in regards to creating a balance. 2. Look at this section of the reading passage below and think about what message the reader is expected to get from reading this point-­‐form list: Consider this. In the last decade: • High job stress has doubled. • High job satisfaction and employee loyalty has dropped. • The percentage of Canadians working more than 50 hours a week has grown from 10 per cent to 25 per cent. • Most working Canadians live in dual-­‐income families and have dependents, whether children, aging parents or both. Answer: 3. What is the writer trying to show the reader with these quotations from other people? There just aren’t enough hours in the day. I hold down a full-­‐time job. I help care for my grandchildren and my parents, who need more help every year. Time for “me” is pretty hard to come by. —Retail department store manager, Calgary Working on my master’s degree, teaching part-­‐time, being a single mom, trying to stay active and physically fit, making time for family commitments...balance is almost impossible to maintain. —Instructor, post-­‐secondary institution, Lethbridge They downsized the staff but they never downsized the work. I’m doing work that two people used to do. —Computer programmer, Edmonton Answer: 16 Writing – Note Taking Answers found in the Appendix You will often be asked by your teacher in university or college to research something and then write about it. When you begin this process, you may be faced with a vast amount of information and it can be overwhelming to decide what to include and what not to include. Look at the reading text above and summarize the information using these steps: 1. Skim the reading and write down the headings. 2. Write down key points under each heading. 3. Include an example (supporting details) for each key point. A. There are three main headings in this reading; can you find them? 1. 2. 3. B. Now, write down a short summary (one or two sentences) for each of the headings. Use your own words, so you are not plagiarizing the writer. Headings Notes C. Now, find specific examples in the readings for each of the three headings. Headings (possible) Specific examples for each heading 17 Links The workaholic’s guide to taking a break: http://www.fastcompany.com/3030824/agendas/the-­‐workaholics-­‐guide-­‐to-­‐taking-­‐a-­‐break Huffington Post’s survey’s related to work: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/search.php/?q=survey+work Government of Alberta, Human Resources and Employment: http://alis.alberta.ca/pdf/cshop/betterbalance.pdf Alberta Human Rights and Citizenship Commission: www.albertahumanrights.ab.ca Employment Standards Legislation in Canada: http://labour.hrdcdrhc.gc.ca/psait_spila/lmnec_eslc/index.cfm?fuseaction=english Job Quality.ca: www.jobquality.ca/ Service Alberta: for information on Alberta Government programs and services: www.gov.ab.ca l/r – minimal pairs: http://www.englishclub.com/pronunciation/minimal-­‐pairs-­‐l-­‐r.htm Modals: http://www.perfect-­‐english-­‐grammar.com/modal-­‐verbs.html Consonant Clusters: http://usefulenglish.ru/phonetics/practice-­‐consonant-­‐clusters 18 Answer Key Listening Vocabulary 1. I don’t know if I can do it. Sometimes I feel so insecure. 2. I have been so worried lately that I have developed an ulcer in my stomach. 3. My dad is such a workaholic; he’s always staying at work late and working on the weekends. 4. Please make this project a priority because it needs to be done first. 5. You should try going to counselling to talk about your problems. 6. You should go to the doctor to get checked out if you’re you experiencing some kind of health trauma. 7. If you’re too scared to let someone do something for you, because you worry that it won’t be just the way you like it, you might be a perfectionist. 8. Please fill out the questionnaire with this pen. 9. You work so much, it’s like you need it. I think you have an addiction. 10. Careful that you don’t burn out from working so much. 11. She’ll have to pay the roaming charges if she uses her cell phone in the states. 12. What are the impacts on your health from working too much? 13. My dad has a very relaxed and low stress lifestyle. 14. Don’t be so worried and stressed… take a deep breath, close your eyes and forget about your worries. 15. It’s easier to work when there aren’t any distractions to get you off track. Listening for Meaning 1. What are some of the symptoms of being a workaholic? You would rather talk about work than anything else with your friends and family. You would rather work on your vacation, than vacation on your vacation. 2. What was the Huffington Post survey used to help you decide? If you’re a workaholic or not 19 3. What is the danger in being a workaholic? It can have negative health impacts and you can get worn out. 4. What is a negative health impact that you can get from over-­‐working? You can get ulcers. 5. How can being a workaholic negatively impact your workplace? People don’t want to work with or for workaholics 6. What are two ways employers can prevent employees from working on your vacations? a) tell the employees that they must take their vacations and that they can’t carry them over. b) Either demanding that the employee doesn’t bring their cell phone on vacation with them, or not agreeing to paying roaming charges for the employee 7. What are the two types of people who are likely to become workaholics? a) perfectionists b) insecure 8. How do you stop being a workaholic? (name 4 of Margo’s suggestions) a) go get help (seek counselling) b) get involved in your workplace EAP programs c) set priorities d) get a friend to help you e) learn to say “no” 9. What distractions should you try to avoid in the workplace? Twitter, Facebook, Email, phone calls. 10. What does Margo mean by working smarter, not harder? To use your time at work wisely; try to avoid distractions and then you won’t have to put so much time in at work. Listening Strategies: Comment I’m not a workaholic, but I am hard working. I don’t feel like I’m the only person who can do things the right way. People have to be careful not to burn out. Mark X 0:11 X 0:53 Margo X 1:28 20 If you work too hard, you might neglect your body and have health issues. Employers are trying many things in order to get their employees to take time off so they don’t work too hard. Hard work is important and not all people are workaholics; it’s the really serious cases of hard workers we are talking about. Workaholics are two types of people: those who like everything to be perfect and those who need to build up their self-­‐
confidence. You don’t have to take on every project your boss gives you. You can tell your boss you are too busy. Will more people start becoming workaholics because of the way people are expected to work so hard now? It can be confusing to try to figure out how to work smarter. X 1:28 X 2:20 X 3:22 X 3:39 X 4:58 X 5:18 X 5:44 X 6:28 If you take out distractions at work like social media and phone calls, you will have more time to work. Speaking: Listen, identify and repeat the [l] and [r] clusters in the passages below: 0:00 Mark Well hard work is …But bad things can happen when you cross over into becoming a workaholic. Our workplace columnist, Margo Ross-­‐Graham is here to help … 1:28 Margo Well, I do think there’s that complete burn out danger… So, lots of people, when they hit that crisis point and they’ve just completely worn themselves out… health trauma, …that has taken up so much control in their life, they have neglected these other parts and your body has simply said, “that’s it”. 4:34 Margo And so, you often need help to break an addiction. So, there are EAP programs that you can talk, talk with in your companies. But there are some things you can just start thinking about. So, set priorities for yourself. So, identify what it is that you can and can’t do… Because I know, ah, I could set a priority and … you just added 7 more things to your plate and they’ve all become a priority. 21 Grammar: Modals Rules: 1. Third person -­‐s rule: Modal verbs do not that the “-­‐s” in the third person 2. Second verb rule: a second verb always follows the modal verb and that verb stays in the base form and does not get conjugated. 3. Question formation rule: the subject is inverted when a modal is used in a question. So, the modal goes first, then the subject is next, then the second verb. E.g. Can he dance? Exercise: 1. Well hard work is usually a good thing at the office. But bad things __________________ happen when you cross over into becoming a workaholic. a) would b) can 2. No one’s ever accused me of being a workaholic, I ______________ tell you that. a) will b) might 3. And, in fact, so, one thing you _______________________ do is you can tell them, look, you need to take your vacations, we want you on your vacation … a) can b) should 4. I would think its sort of that extreme case that you don’t want to get to. Right? a) could b) would 5. _________________ you take it on and oh, by the way, I need it on Friday. a) might b) could 6. I wish you _______________________ have told me this last week. a) would b) should Pre-­‐Reading Vocabulary Word/Phrase Letter Definition balance (noun) f a) to get something, while trying to prevent someone else from getting the same thing commitment (noun) m b) to feel good about doing something that you wanted to do compete (verb) a c) the most important part of a situation or thing complex (adjective) j d) extreme exhaustion; very tired 22 juggle (verb) p equation (noun) n bottom-­‐line (noun) c satisfaction (noun) b loyalty (noun) g perception (noun) e impact (noun) q undeniable (adjective) h fatigue (noun) d absenteeism (noun) o influx (noun) i fifty-­‐fifty (adjective) l domain (noun) k e) the way you view, or see something f) to be evenly spread; equal amounts g) a personality characteristic of being trustworthy and faithful to people you know h) absolutely true i) the sudden arrival of many people, or goods j) many parts and difficult to understand k) area of knowledge or interest l) half or equal m) a promise to do something n) a set of facts, thoughts, people, etc. that are connected somehow o) missing from work or school regularly without a good reason p) to do many things at once q) the effect something has on something else Reading for Meaning 1. What is the work-­‐life balance? Managing competing roles and responsibilities at work, at home and in the community. 2. How is striking the work-­‐balance a moving target? Because the complex, ongoing changes in work and society makes creating a work-­‐life balance a constantly changing goal to achieve… so it’s like trying to hit a moving target. 3. What does “the struggle to juggle” mean? The challenge of juggling or managing many work and life duties and obligations. 4. How can employers make the work-­‐life balance for their employees better? Lower the job stress, increase job satisfaction and employee loyalty, make sure employees are not working more than 50 hours a week, try to pay employees as much as possible, because most of them have family members (e.g. elderly, children, etc.) 23 True or False: Perception vs. Fact 1. ___T__ Research has shown that work-­‐life conflict is connected with mental health issues and employees missing work. 2. ___F__ Parents have the most difficult time balancing work-­‐life commitments. 3. ___T__ 25% of Canadians are caring for an older family member. 4. ___F___ Women are more likely than men to complain about the work-­‐life balance. 5. ___T___ Every part of the population has been shown to want a job that considers giving the employees a better work-­‐life balance, at the expense of more money. 6. ___F___ Most people consider work-­‐life balance to be defined in the same way. 7. ___F___ Work and life problems are very different from one another and don’t effect each other. 8. ___T___ Even though technology makes a lot of things more convenient, it is also making more work for people. 9. ___F___ Companies have had little success with changing the work-­‐life balance for their employees. Reading Strategies: 2. Answer: Due to the following changes that have occurred in the last decade, work-­‐life balance is more difficult to maintain. 3. Answer: It is very difficult to have a work-­‐life balance because both work and life are so busy. Writing A. There are three main headings in this reading; can you find them? 1. What is work-­‐life balance? 2. In the last decade: 3. 8 misperceptions B. Now, write down a short summary (one or two sentences) for each of the headings. Use your own words, so you are not plagiarizing the writer. Headings Notes What is work-­‐life balance? Work-­‐life balance is defined differently by many people; but, overall, it means to have a balance between work and home obligations. This has become difficult because time management is not easy with so much to do in such 24 In the last decade: 8 misperceptions little time. Many things have contributed to the work-­‐life conflicts becoming unbalanced. The issue of work-­‐life imbalance has numerous misperceptions. C. Now, find specific examples in the readings for each of the three headings. Headings (possible) Specific examples for each heading What is work-­‐life balance? -­‐ any of the three quotations used, could be quoted directly and used -­‐ “struggle to juggle” In the last decade: -­‐ job stress (doubled), job satisfaction and loyalty (dropped), too many Canadians working over 50 hours a week… 8 misperceptions 1. It’s a public problem (affects you in the work place, marital problems, fatigue…) 2. Not just parents are affected. 3. Men and women are both affected by this. 4. All ages and types of people are affected by work life balance. 5. Balance is defined differently by different people. 6. Work and life are very connected. 7. Technology can make things worse. 8. Employers can and have helped with this issue. Audio Transcript Time 0:00 Speaker Mark 0:10 0:11 Margo Mark 0:22 Margo 0:40 0:43 0:44 0:44 Mark Margo Mark Margo Well hard work is usually a good thing at the office. But bad things can happen when you cross over into becoming a workaholic. Our workplace columnist, Margo Ross-­‐Graham is here to help you tell the difference. Good morning Margo! Good morning Mark! No one’s ever accused me of being a workaholic, I’ll tell you that. Although I do put in the hours; I think I’m a hard worker. Ah, but, what is the line between being a hard worker and a workaholic? Well, I think it would probably be different for everybody. Uh, but, there are some things that you might ask yourself and would help you know if you are a workaholic. So, would you rather talk about work than anything else with your family and your friends? You’re probably leaning towards that. Would you, would you rather work on your vacation? Or vacation on your vacation? Ah, um hm. So, I know that’s not you… Nope. …because I know you have awesome vacations. Ah, but do you actually get stressed by letting someone else take on something in your workplace because you know you’re the only one that can do it and the only one who can do it right. 25 0:53 Mark 0:58 Margo 1:12 1:12 Mark Margo 1:22 Mark 1:28 Margo 2:15 Mark 2:20 Margo 2:43 2:44 Mark Margo 2:57 2:57 Mark Margo That, that’s a good one. That’s… for some people, for sure. I don’t have that; so that’s good. So, okay, so far you’re doing pretty good. Huffington Post did a survey recently and they actually put out a questionnaire, which anyone could go search and it was 20 questions to ask yourself to help you decide if you’re a workaholic. And, it said if you answer 3 or more of these with a “yes”, you probably are. Wow Which, as I was reading, I was thinking, “oh, this is one of those heal or heal thyself”. Because, there’s probably a lot of those things that I do that could put me into that… Into the workaholic sphere. Yeah. So, those are some of the symptoms. What are some of the dangers of being a workaholic? Well, I do think there’s that complete burn out danger. And, there is lots of research that talks about the health impacts on people who are workaholics… and the negative health impacts. So, lots of people, when they hit that crisis point and they’ve just completely worn themselves out… they’ve got ulcers, or they’ve go some other health … health trauma, have discovered that, if they were to go back and look at those work habits, that has taken up so much control in their life, that they have neglected these other parts and your body has simply said, “that’s it”. So, it’s not so much, “I’m just gonna stop doing things”, but there’s recognition that “hey, I better change my behaviour. I’m going down a bad road here”. So, that is a huge danger. It has a really impact on you in the workplace. People do not want to work with or for workaholics. Well, what if you have a co-­‐worker, or you manage someone who is a workaholic. What should you do? I think what you can do is you can give them some… ah… some really strong guidelines about what your expectations are around them. And, in fact, so, one thing you can do is you can tell them, look, you need to take your vacations, we want you on your vacation and so, there’s no more carrying over vacation. So, if you can’t take it, we will help you take it. Which is, you don’t come to work next Thursday and don’t come back for 10 days. Right Another thing you can do.. and more and more employers are doing this is with the technology lifestyle that we live, people are bringing their phones and their smart phones. And, they’re going on vacation and they’re spending more time looking at their phones just to keep in touch with work. Right So, what a lot of employers are now doing is saying to employees, “we’re not going to add roaming charges to your phone. We are not going to accept you to take your phone on holidays, so, we either ask you to leave it or we’re simply not going to add roaming charges. So it’s gonna cost you to do this. Cause we really do want you to have that break. And, so that is something employers can do. They might do it with all their employees. They might do it with just the people they see are, are, causing the problems for themselves 26 3:22 Mark 3:39 Margo 4:01 4:02 Mark Margo 4:15 4:16 Mark Margo 4:21 4:22 Mark Margo 4:33 4:34 Mark Margo 4:58 4:58 Mark Margo 5:18 Mark 5:33 Margo 5:43 5:44 Mark Margo And I wonder if there’s a certain personality type, or a certain person whose more prone to this. You know? Cause, you know, you look at people who work hard and that’s always valued, right? I would think its sort of that extreme case that you don’t want to get to. Right? That you… Yeah, and the research will show you two extreme ends. So any behaviour at extremes, good or bad, is gonna cause you some problems. But, there is some research that says, workaholics are one of two people. Either, they are such perfectionists they are, have created a story in their head that they’re so much better than everyone else, they absolutely have to do everything. Sounds like Garrett… I dunno Or on the other end of it, actually I’m, I’m leaning to this end; which is, you know, they worry that they’re not going to quite achieve what they should achieve and they almost have a self-­‐worth question and so… Um, hum, right. Insecurity. Yeah. Insecurity. So, it’s like insecure or too secure and on extreme ends is where you see these workaholic tendencies So, how do you treat it? So, I’d say there are… I’d say get help and I’m not even joking when I say that. Like, literally, go get help, and so, there’s all kinds of counselling in your organizations. Because, being a workaholic is no different than having an addiction to something. Right. And so, you often need help to break an addiction. So, there are EAP programs that you can talk, talk with in your companies. But there are some things you can just start thinking about. So, set priorities for yourself. So, identify what it is that you can and can’t do. And maybe get a friend to help you. Because I know, ah, I could set a priority and someone would look at it and say, you just added 7 more things to your plate and they’ve all become a priority. What did you take off? Yeah And, so, that’s the help you might need. For everything you add, take something off. So, that’s something you can do. Learn to say no and accept that it’s okay when you say no. So, learn to say no to, “hey, would you like to take on this new project? It’s only a little bit of project. It’ll only add a couple hours to your day. Could you take it on and oh, by the way, I need it on Friday.” I wish you would have told me this last week. But, it’s too late. Now, we are in a new kind of economy, where everybody is being asked to do more with less, do you think that is going to lead us to more workaholics because of that? Well, I think that… it not necessarily work, more workaholics. But certainly, try to figure out how to work better. And, and, I get a little frustrated when I hear people say well, learn to work smarter not harder. Right. Cause that’s, that’s a thing that people tell you. But, it’s hard to do that, so, what does that actually mean? But I do know that we still only have 8 hours in a day. But, in your workplace, 27 6:09 6:10 Mark Margo 6:25 6:28 Mark Margo 6:43 Mark 6:46 6:47 6:51 6:52 6:53 6:54 Margo Mark Margo Mark Margo Mark there’s all kinds of distractions. So, an example of learning to work smarter, not harder would be, ‘We still only want you to work those 8 hours in your day, we don’t want you to over-­‐kill yourself.” But, we all know that in the workplace, an 8-­‐hour day, really… people don’t work for 8 full hours. Right And so, there’s all kinds of distractions in the workplace. So, if, and I’m just gonna make up a number, If you’re someone who works kind of five and a half good hours at work and you know that because when you work from home, or you don’t come into the office for some reason, you get all your work done in 5.5 hours. You get a lot more done, yeah. Then you know that’s your distraction. Try to work 6 and half hours and, look at what are the things get in your workplace. So, you are working smarter, by eliminating distractions like Emails, and telephone calls, and looking at Facebook, and looking at Twitter. All those things that keep people busy are taking them away from their work. Margo, that’s my job to look at Twitter. Yeah, well I notice that you look at it a lot. Occasionally. Well, I’ll try not to be so workaholicy about it. Ok! Margo, thanks for this! Have a great week Mark! You too. Margo Ross Graham is the vice president at Wiliams Engineering, where human resources is one of her portfolios. She joins us Tuesdays, at 7:45. If you’d like Margo to come to your business to talk about workplace issues and be on CBC radio just e mail us at edmontonam@cbc.ca and we will take our workplace columnist on the road. 28