Finding a suitable balance between work and daily living is a challenge that all workers face. Families 1.__________________ (PARTICULARLY, AFFECT). Some couples would like to have (more) children, but do not see how they could afford to stop working. Other parents are happy with the number of children in their family, but would like to work more. This is a challenge to governments because if parents cannot achieve their desired work/life balance, not only is their welfare lowered but so is 2._______________ (DEVELOP) in the country.
People spend one-tenth to one-fifth of their time on unpaid work.
The 3. _______________ (DISTRIBUTE)of tasks within the family 4. _______________ (STIL, INFLUENCE)by gender roles: men are more likely to spend more hours in paid work, while women spend longer hours in unpaid domestic work. While on average men in OECD countries spend 141 minutes per day 5. _____________ (DO) unpaid work, women spend 273 minutes per day 6. ____________ (COOK), 7._______________ (CLEAN) or 8._______________ (CARE). This average difference, approximately 2.3 hours per day, conceals many disparities among countries. For instance Turkish and Mexican women spend approximately 4.3 hours more than men 9.______________ (WORK) on domestic chores, while the difference is only a little over one hour in the Nordic countries.
Employees Working Long Hours
An important aspect of work-life balance is the amount of time a person 10.___________ (SPEND)at work. Evidence suggests that long work hours may impair personal health, 11.___________ (JEOPARDY) safety and increase stress. The share of employees working more than 50 hours per week is not very large in OECD countries. Turkey is by far the country with 12.___________ (HIGH) proportion of people working very long hours, with more than 43%, followed by Mexico with nearly 29% and Israel with nearly a fifth of employees. Overall, men spend more hours in paid work and the 13.___________ (PERCENT) of male employees working very long hours across OECD countries is 12%, compared with 14.___________ (LITTLE) than 5% for women.
Time devoted to Leisure and Personal Care
Furthermore, 15.___________ (MUCH) people work, 16.___________ (LITTLE) time they have to spend on other activities, such as personal care or leisure. The amount and quality of leisure time is important for people’s overall well-being, and can bring 17.___________ (ADD) physical and mental health benefits. A full-time worker in the OECD works 1 765 hours a year and devotes 62% of the day on average, or close to 15 hours, to personal care (eating, sleeping, etc.) and leisure (socialising with friends and family, hobbies, games, computer and television use, etc.). 18.___________ (FEW) hours in paid work for women do not necessarily result in 19.___________ (GREAT) leisure time, as time devoted to leisure is 20.___________ (ROUGH) the same for men and women across the 20 OECD countries studied.
(From OECD Better Life Index)
TEXT 2 (B2/C1)
Choose ONE phrase from the list of phrases A-J below to complete each of the following sentences 1-9. Remember, ONE phrase is extra here.
A following a passion and looking for opportunities that blur the lines between work and play
B surrounding yourself with talented people
C that you can never be prepared for everything
D which is not always possible
E that you are always available
F you're incapable of managing your time effectively
G to maintain an impossible level of perfection both at work and at home
H while the latter might be a bit trickier to find
I learn from them and move on quickly to the next challenge
J has customers have become more demanding and able to reach support 24/7
Ten minutes to a better work/life balance
By Lottie O'Conor
After a long Christmas break eating mince pies and watching Downton Abbey, hitting the office in January can be a bit of a culture shock. Many of us start the year with a raft of good intentions but in reality, the elusive work/life balance can be really tough to get right. Here are a few tips and suggestions to guide you towards a more harmonious new year.
Let go of other's expectations
It's easy to assume that staying later and sending emails at midnight makes you look like a more valuable employee, when actually it could just make it look like 1._______________________________. The key here is to let go of worrying about what others think. "Be confident - don't justify yourself to anyone" says Samantha Sida, chief strategy officer at Limited Space Media Group. "Just get the job done and don't second guess."
While planning ahead can make both work and home life run more smoothly, it's important to remember 2._______________________________. For Sida, maintaining a sense of humour and perspective is crucial. "Accept that sometimes life will just get in the way and no matter how much prep you have done, things won't pan out as anticipated." Don't dwell on your failings, 3._____________________________.