Personality and stress

1. Find out your personality!

The Big Five Personality Test

(Adapted from http://personality-testing.info/printable/big-five-personality-test.pdf)

The scores you calculate should be between zero and forty. Below is a description of each trait.
Extroversion (E) is the personality trait of seeking fulfillment from sources outside the self or in
community. High scorers tend to be very social while low scorers prefer to work on their projects
alone.
Agreeableness (A) reflects much individuals adjust their behavior to suit others. High scorers are
typically polite and like people. Low scorers tend to 'tell it like it is'.
Conscientiousness (C) is the personality trait of being honest and hardworking. High scorers tend
to follow rules and prefer clean homes. Low scorers may be messy and cheat others.
Neuroticism (N) is the personality trait of being emotional.
Openness to Experience (O) is the personality trait of seeking new experience and intellectual
pursuits. High scores may day dream a lot. Low scorers may be very down to earth.
2. Lets practice about:
Present perfect: Read the situations and write sentences. Use the following verbs:

Arrive / Break / Fall / Go up / Grow / Improve / Lose

1. Tom is looking for his key. He cant find it.

He has lost his key.________________________

2. Margaret cant walk and her leg is in plaster.

She_____________________________________

3. Last week the bus fare was 80 pence. Now it is 90.

The bus fare _________________________

4. Marias English wasnt very good. Now it is better. Her English_________________________

5. Dan didnt have a beard before. Now he has a beard. He________________________________
6. This morning I was expecting a letter. Now I have it. The letter___________________________
7. The temperature was 20 degrees. Now it is only 12. The________________________________

Past perfect
1. You went to Sues house, but she wasnt there.
(She/go/out) _____________________________________________________________________
2. You went back to your home town after many years. It wasnt the same as before.
(It/change/ a lot) __________________________________________________________________
3. I invited Rachel to the party, but she couldnt come.
(She/arrange/ to do something else) ___________________________________________________
4. You went to the cinema last night. You got to the cinema late.
(The film/already/begin) ____________________________________________________________
5. It was nice to see Dan again after such a long time.

Personality and stress

(I/ not/see/him for five years) ________________________________________________________
6. I offered Sue something to eat, but she wasnt hungry.
(She/just/ have/ breakfast) __________________________________________________________

3. What makes you stressed?

Complete this table and talk about it with your partner(s). Change partners and share what you
heard. Change and share again.

Stress

How to deal with it

English
Partners
Family
People
Technology
Shopping

4. Reading exercise
Read the headline. Guess if a-h below are true (T) or false (F).
a. New research shows it is less stressful to take no holidays.

T/F

b. Around four in ten managers do not find holidays relaxing.

T/F

c. Very few managers answer e-mails while they are on vacation.

T/F

d. Hundreds of managers worry about returning to ninety e-mails.

T/F

e. Long flights and packing suitcases are the biggest causes of stress.
f. The article says it is harder for people to totally disconnect for 2 weeks.
g. Many British workers worry about job security while on holiday.

T/F
T/F
T/F

h. It takes the average worker over 48 hours to get into holiday mode.

T/F

Summer holidays stress workers out

From http://www.BreakingNewsEnglish.com/1007/100723-stress.html

A new report reveals that going on summer holiday may be more stressful than working. The study,
by the UKs Institute of Leadership and Management (ILM), questioned 2,500 of its members about
attitudes towards long summer breaks. It found forty per cent of managers do not come back from a
holiday feeling relaxed. A worrying finding was that many workers came back from a holiday more
stressed than when they left. Many in lower- and upper-management positions actually work while
they are on vacation. The researchers discovered that 80 per cent of those surveyed answer work-

Personality and stress

related e-mails, around 50 per cent make and take business-related phone calls and 10 per cent go
into the office. Over 90 per cent of managers worried about returning to hundreds of e-mails.
Information technology and the weakened global economy are the main causes of managers being
unable to de-stress while on holiday. Penny de Valk, chief executive of the ILM, said: "Gone are the
days when people cut off contact with work for a fortnight over the summer and made a complete
break. While technology means that it is easier than ever to work remotely, it also makes it
extremely hard to switch off. Uncertain economic times also mean that many UK employees are
keeping one eye on their job at all times, when what they really need is time away from the office to
rest and re-energise. The study also revealed that on average, it takes two days and seventeen hours
into a holiday to totally unwind. Ten per cent of managers said it took them up to a week to fully get
into holiday mode.
5. Synonym match: Match the following synonyms from the article.
reveals
a.
1.
2
questioned
b.
3.
attitudes
c.
4.
related
d.
5.
returning
e.
6.
main
f.
7.
cut off
g.
8.
remotely
h.
9.
unwind
i.
10. fully
j.

major
connected
de-stress
surveyed
disconnected
shows
from afar
totally
opinions
coming back

6. Phrase match: (Sometimes more than one choice is possible.)

1.
2
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.

more stressful
attitudes towards long
come back from a holiday
came back from a holiday more
returning to
the weakened global
cut off contact
Uncertain economic
totally
fully get into holiday

a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.
g.
h.
i.
j.

feeling relaxed
unwind
hundreds of e-mails
economy
with work
than working
mode
summer breaks
times
stressed

7. STRESS DISCUSSION
STUDENT As QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student B)
a) What did you think when you read the headline?
b) What springs to mind when you hear the word stress?
c) What kinds of things stress you out?
d) Do you think holidays are stressful?
e) What do you think of managers who cant stop working even when theyre on holiday?
f) What are the best ways to reduce stress?
g) Is stress dangerous?
h) Should bosses tell managers to totally disconnect while on holiday?
i) Should workers get paid if they answer phone calls and mails on vacation?
e. Long flights and packing suitcases are the biggest causes of stress.

T/F

f.

T/F

The article says it is harder for people to totally disconnect for 2 weeks.

g. Many British workers worry about job security while on holiday.

T/F

h. It takes the average worker over 48 hours to get into holiday mode.

T/F

Summer holidays stress workers out

From http://www.BreakingNewsEnglish.com/1007/100723-stress.html

Personality and stress

A new report reveals that going on summer holiday may be more stressful than working. The study,
by the UKs Institute of Leadership and Management (ILM), questioned 2,500 of its members about
attitudes towards long summer breaks. It found forty per cent of managers do not come back from a
holiday feeling relaxed. A worrying finding was that many workers came back from a holiday more
stressed than when they left. Many in lower- and upper-management positions actually work while
they are on vacation. The researchers discovered that 80 per cent of those surveyed answer workrelated e-mails, around 50 per cent make and take business-related phone calls and 10 per cent go
into the office. Over 90 per cent of managers worried about returning to hundreds of e-mails.
Information technology and the weakened global economy are the main causes of managers being
unable to de-stress while on holiday. Penny de Valk, chief executive of the ILM, said: "Gone are the
days when people cut off contact with work for a fortnight over the summer and made a complete
break. While technology means that it is easier than ever to work remotely, it also makes it
extremely hard to switch off. Uncertain economic times also mean that many UK employees are
keeping one eye on their job at all times, when what they really need is time away from the office to
rest and re-energise. The study also revealed that on average, it takes two days and seventeen hours
into a holiday to totally unwind. Ten per cent of managers said it took them up to a week to fully get
into holiday mode.
5. Synonym match: Match the following synonyms from the article.
reveals
a.
1.
2
questioned
b.
3.
attitudes
c.
4.
related
d.
5.
returning
e.
6.
main
f.
7.
cut off
g.
8.
remotely
h.
9.
unwind
i.
10. fully
j.

major
connected
de-stress
surveyed
disconnected
shows
from afar
totally
opinions
coming back

6. Phrase match: (Sometimes more than one choice is possible.)

1.
2
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.

more stressful
attitudes towards long
come back from a holiday
came back from a holiday more
returning to
the weakened global
cut off contact
Uncertain economic
totally
fully get into holiday

a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.
g.
h.
i.
j.

feeling relaxed
unwind
hundreds of e-mails
economy
with work
than working
mode
summer breaks
times
stressed

7. STRESS DISCUSSION
STUDENT Bs QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student A)
a) Did you like reading this article?
b) Does information technology add to or reduce your stress?
c) Do you find it hard to switch off from e-mail and computers?
d) What should companies do to make employees take a proper break?
e) How long does it take you to unwind?
f) What do you know about stress and its dangers?
g) What would you say to someone who worked while you were on holiday with them?
h) Do you ever worry about a full e-mail InBox?
i) What questions would you like to ask a manager who works on holiday?