R3 SPRING 2022 LP TASK 4 (SAE PREP TASK 1) TEXTS

TEXT 1: WORKAHOLISM

Most workers spend eight or nine hours on the job. They work because it’s unavoidable. They need
to make enough money for necessities: food, rent, clothing, transportation, tuition, and so on. They
spend about one-third of their lives at work, but they hate it. They complain and count the minutes
until quitting time each day – or the days until their next vacation. The situation is even worse for
white-collar workers in powerful positions. In many companies, they often put in over sixty hours a
week and don’t take vacations at all. To keep their jobs or get ahead, they feel they have to put in
“face time” – to stay late at the office just to make sure the boss knows they are there.

By contrast, there are some people who actually enjoy work – in fact, they love to work. They spend
many extra hours on the job each week and often take work home with them. These workaholics are
as addicted to their jobs as other people are to drugs or alcohol.

In some urban centres, workaholism is so common that people do not consider it unusual: They
accept the lifestyle as normal. Government workers in Washington, D.C., for example, frequently
work sixty to seventy hours a week. They don’t do this because they have to; they do it because they
want to. Hundreds of workaholics in New York City tried to go to work even in the famous blackout of
1977. There was no electricity – no air conditioning, elevators, or lights – but many people went to
their offices anyway. They sat impatiently on the steps outside their office buildings and did
paperwork or had business meetings.

Workaholism can be a serious problem because true workaholics would rather work than do
anything else, they probably don’t know how to relax; that is, they might not enjoy movies, sports, or
other types of entertainment. Most of all, they hate to sit and do nothing. The lives of workaholics
are usually stressful, and this tension and worry can cause health problems such as heart attacks or
stomach ulcers. In addition, typical workaholics don’t pay much attention to their families. They
spend little time with their children, and their marriages may end in divorce. A study in the US found
that children of workaholics had 72% higher scores on depression tests than children of alcoholics.
This shows that children of workaholics are likely to experience much more psychological problems
than children who have alcoholic parents.

Is workaholism always dangerous? Perhaps not. There are, certainly, people who work well under
stress. Some studies show that many workaholics have great energy and interest in life. Their work is
so pleasurable that they are actually very happy. For most workaholics, work and entertainment are
the same thing. Their jobs provide them with a challenge; this keeps them busy and creative. Other
people retire from work at age sixty-five, but workaholics usually prefer not to quit. They are still
enthusiastic about work – and life – in their eighties and nineties.

Why do workaholics enjoy their jobs so much? There are several advantages to work. It provides
people with pay checks, of course, and this is important. But it offers more than financial security. It
provides people with self-confidence; they have a feeling of satisfaction when they have produced a
challenging piece of work and are able to say, “I made that”. Psychologists claim that work gives
people an identity; through participation in work, they get a sense of self and individualism. In
addition, most jobs provide people with a socially acceptable way to meet others. Perhaps some
people are compulsive about their work, but their addiction seems to be a safe – even an
advantageous – one.
R3 SPRING 2022 LP TASK 4 (SAE PREP TASK 1) TEXTS

TEXT 2: WORK ADDICTION

The term workaholic was first used by Wayne Oates in 1971 when he published his book  Confessions
of a Workaholic: The facts about work addiction. Interestingly, he considered himself a workaholic.
This probably explains why he wrote 57 books in his lifetime. But what is workaholism exactly? It is
considered a condition of the modern world. It makes people work harder than most of their
colleagues for long hours. It can also be characterised by thinking continually about work and by
inability to enjoy other things in life.

The iOpener Institute lists three main elements of workaholism that distinguish between just working
hard and being a workaholic. Firstly, workaholics spend a lot of their time engaged in work activities.
Secondly, they are busy thinking about work-related activities even when they’re not working.
Thirdly, they work much more than necessary in order to meet their job requirements.

There are many different causes of workaholism. One of these causes could be related to personality.
For instance, workaholics probably have low self-esteem and are perfectionists. They believe that by
working harder than anyone else and for long hours, they won’t make any mistakes and their work
product will be perfect in the end. They can also be over-controlling. They would like to control every
aspect of work and have problem giving work-related tasks to other colleagues. Such personality
problems might lead to workaholism.

Another cause is related to having a stressful childhood. When children are forced to take over adult
responsibilities because of situational circumstances, such as the death or illness of a parent or a
divorce, they need to become adults pretty early on in their lives. Then, they get used to doing tasks
that normally adults would do and have problems doing enjoyable things in their lives. For example,
they might feel guilty when they are not working and might want to get back to work immediately.

In modern life many companies prefer hiring workaholics in order to increase their profits because
working more could be equal to earning more money and power. Although it seems like a positive
thing for companies to have workaholic employees, it also has harmful effects on the work place. For
example, workaholic managers might force their teams to work long hours or expect them to be
available for work all the time. This has the potential to create a negative atmosphere in the work
place. In addition, it might decrease work productivity. When people are in stressful work
environments, they are more absent on work days due to medical reasons. This definitely has an
impact on productivity.

In order to effectively manage the harmful effects of workaholism, companies can organise fun or
relaxing activities for their employees. These activities could include outdoor sports, yoga, music or
even drama. When workaholics are engaged in such activities with their colleagues they might realize
that it is possible to relax and enjoy life and that life is not only about work satisfaction. In addition,
by organizing such events companies can encourage better team-work among their employees.

Another solution companies could offer workaholic employees is coaching. Companies should first
identify the employees who work long hours and avoid taking holidays. Then, they can recommend
these individuals to participate in a coaching programme. However, only recommendation might not
be enough in some cases. That’s why rather than being voluntary, it should be compulsory. In other
words, employees should attend these programs as part of their work-related duties. In this
programme, the coach or the counsellor can work with employees to have a better work-life balance.
Such a balance might include digital detox on holidays such as avoiding work emails and phone calls
during holidays and being in the moment and enjoying life. With such programmes both companies
and employees might experience beneficial behavioural changes.