lesson 10

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"It's the movement from the work ethic to the fun ethic," says Thomas Riehle of Ipsos-Reid, a survey firm. But, as Riehle notes, the work ethic is not collapsing so much as the boundaries between work and leisure are blurring--a combination that often produces stress and confusion. According to a new Ipsos-Reid poll, about 43 percent of workers say they bring work home or are "on call"; similarly, 30 percent admit using the Internet or e-mail at work for play or personal matters. Companies are now routinely expected to help workers balance family and job demands. There is some success. One poll in Bowman's collection finds that 47 percent of workers rated their companies as "very accommodating" and 33 percent as "soblurmewhat accommodating" in reconciling job and family pressures.
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II. TASK
• I. title: wealth measures work ethic passage theme of the
• II. questions for consideration • 1. What facts does the author adopt to support his viewpoint? • 2. How did the author organize his argument? • 3. What is the author’s attitude towards such a measure? • III. Which words and phrases do you want to know more about? • IV. Exercises on P96
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When Americans detest their jobs, they tend to quit. But there are hints of change. One survey asks "whether work is the important thing--and the purpose of leisure time is to recharge people'ห้องสมุดไป่ตู้ batteries so they can do a better job or... leisure is the important thing-and the purpose of work is to make it [leisure] possible." In 1975, 48 percent of respondents rated work as "the important thing" versus 36 percent for leisure. By 2000 the numbers had reversed--43 percent chose leisure and 34 percent work.
III. Reading skill: Distinguish facts from opinions
• Fact 1: A former student gives his job as a bag-boy low evaluation. (para1,2) • Opinion 1: We place so much emphasis on success. • (para.3) • O2: This nation has a preoccupation with work. • F2: Persons with various disabilities are being removed from the welfare rolls. (para. 5) • O3: We do not really value individuality. • F3: Person who devotes his life to his creative urges usually causes suspicion from others and he will be considered a bum. (para. 6)
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It was the oppressive and precarious nature of employment that led the Knights of Labor to agitate in the early 1880s for an annual celebration that would honor the dignity of ordinary workers--a campaign that culminated with Congress's designating a national holiday in 1894. Since then, work has slowly become less demanding of our time and bodies. In 1998 there were 5,100 on-the-job deaths, a seventh of accidents outside the workplace. Although dangerous and degrading jobs remain, most of us trudge to offices, where the greatest threat is getting stuck in an elevator or, more seriously, developing a repetitivestress injury. In factories, automation has reduced risks dramatically. Machines perform operations that once mangled hand and arms.
Journalistic Reading Course Lesson 10
Wealth Measures Work Ethic
I. Pre-reading
• Fun ethic VS work ethic? • The transformation of labor since the creation of Labor Day a century ago tells, in many ways, the story of modern America. Paid labor was then allconsuming, generally backbreaking, done mainly by men, often dangerous and, of course, endless--that is, most men worked until they couldn't. In 1880, 58 percent of men 75 or older worked; the figure today is 8 percent. The factory workweek averaged about 60 hours, spread over six days. Sunday was a day of rest and prayer, but not really recreation.
• O4: We do not value work equally. • F4: At a fine restaurant, we treat the owner, the chef, the waiter and the busboy differently. • F5: We tend to forgive millionaires but we won’t forgive people doing “trivial” jobs. (para.8) • O5: What we really value is jobs producing wealth or those having potential for producing wealth. • F6: We tolerate young artists because we believe there is chance that they will make money one day, while we would not tolerate an elder artist because we think there is little chance for him to make money. (para.9)
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The late economist Herbert Stein once attributed America's progress to the fact that "100 million people got up every morning to do the best they could for themselves and their children." The figure today would be about 140 million, but the appraisal was equally true a century ago, when workers numbered 28 million. What has changed is that work has become less manual and more mental, less regimented and more collaborative, and--as an activity--less economic and more social. To Stein, freedom was the key. It allowed people to strive to earn the most for themselves and be the most productive for society. Although this remains true, we have amended freedom to include some fun. --- Newsweek online Sept. 21th, 2001