Before you read

1.

a) It’s difficult to get a job now than in the past. Because the number of people who are working age is increasing. The level
of competition is increasing, so people get job more difficult.

b) Yes, I like to work for myself

2.

b. part – time f. tradespersor

c. unemployed g. recession

d. rising h. occupation

e. employment

Reading
1.

b. T f. T

c. F g. T
d. F h. T

e. F

2.

Infinitive Past simple Past pariciple

fall fell fallen
tobe Was/were been
rise rose risen
increase increased increased
work worker worked

3.

b. worked f. has risen

c. fell g. took

d. wanted
e. didn’t go

Over to you: What are your ideal working hours?

In my opinion, my ideal working hours is “Less Working Hours For More Productive Days”. Because The idea of working
8 consecutive hours in the day is in complete contradiction with the way our body works. Our organism is unable to be
productive for 8 consecutive hours, notably because of what is called the “circadian rhythm”, that is to say, our daily
biological cycles. How our body reacts during the day depends on many factors: our hormones, our diet, our exposure to
daylight… And what scientists studying these issues have found is that we have a very specific biological rhythm. Thus, we
are more productive at certain times of the day, intellectually and physically speaking. And above all, more and more
studies tend to prove that an individual can focus only their attention on intellectual work for a limited time! Some studies
say 52 consecutive minutes, others say 1h30… But overall, the results show that in a day, we are only really intellectually
productive for about 6 hours, provided we take good breaks.

The countries with the highest average working hours are also the ones with the lowest productivity. And those where work
days are the shortest are the most productive. As well, there are also studies saying that companies that impose their
employees daily working hours are also less productive. And I suggest that workers take advantage of the hours when they
are most productive, and concentrate the time remaining on other daily activities (including social, sporting and cultural).
This freedom allows employees to better manage their fatigue, their work-life balance (fundamental for productivity), and
also allows them to rediscover everyday life outside of work. Experts in psychology have shown that this way of organizing
working time (short working days punctuated by short periods of vacation) is the one that makes employees happier,
together with working longer and taking longer vacations. It is, therefore, better to work less daily and take small frequent
holidays, especially since long holidays seem to have a detrimental effect on mood and productivity!

So if workers want to be more productive, happier and healthier, it’s time to adopt a different lifestyle. And it may start by
spending less time at work: Less Working Hours For More Productive Days