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Unit 08 :
Rethinking the 9 to 5 lifestyle
Advanced
Vocabulary
Repeat these sentences with your teacher first.
1. annual leave(n.)
a paid number of days each year that an employee is allowed to be away from work
2. retirement(n.)
the act of leaving your job and stopping working, usually because you are old
3. day in, day out (phr.)
(especially of something boring) done or happening every day for a long period of time
4. monotony(n.)
a situation in which something stays the same and is therefore boring
5. structure(n.)
the way in which the parts of a system or object are arranged or organized, or a system arranged in this way
6. security(n.))
protection of a person, building, organization, or country against threats such as crime or attacks by foreign countries
7. craft(n.)
skill and experience, especially in relation to making objects; a job or activity that needs skill and experience, or something produced using skill and experience
8. pursue(v.)
to follow someone or something, usually to try to catch him, her, or it
10. destiny(n.)
the things that will happen in the future
Dialogue
Read the dialogue aloud with your teacher.
Dean
Carol
Carol, I think I’ve had enough of this whole 9 to 5 thing. It’s so soul-sucking!
Oh come on, Dean, it’s not all that bad. There are so many perks to this job — generous annual leave, retirement and health care.
Meh, sounds like you’re ok with day in, day out monotony. I, on the other hand, feel like I’m wasting my best years here. I’m also getting tired of always being on someone else’s time.
I heard management is considering a flextime policy. And what you find monotony in, I find structure and security. Plus, my routine here allows me to practice my craft and improve my skills every day.
Flextime isn’t good enough for me, and as for that routine, I feel quite the opposite. All I ever do here is unfulfilling busywork. I’d be happy to give up that security to pursue my passions.
You’re not the only one: tons of people like you are foregoing the 9 to 5 to suit their own needs and take greater control of their work destiny.
Looks like I’ll be next to join the club. Freelancing, here I come!
Article
Read the article with your teacher.
The future of jobs won’t be about 9-to-5 office hours
The freelance marketplace is exploding, as more companies seek to hire freelancers as a way to snag the best talent. Yet many companies still hold strong to the traditional 9-to-5 workday. According to Upwork CEO Stephane Kasriel, remote work will be the norm within the next 10 years, as younger generations take the management reins.
People notice that place-bound work no longer makes sense. Collaboration technologies, like Microsoft’s Office 365, Slack, Google Hangouts and Atlassian, along with the ability to find work online via sites like ours, make it possible to work anywhere. The number of U.S. freelancers who found projects online increased 22 points in the past five years – from 42 percent in 2014 to 64 percent in 2018.
While technology is the main enabler, another major force is hiring pain and huge talent shortages. The most talented professionals are increasingly used to being able to call the shots and shape their lives as they want to live them rather than as traditional 9-to-5 work requires. This means companies who want access to them need to allow remote work.
Source: https://www.cnbc.com/2018/11/14/companies-wont-get-away-with-forcing-9-to-5-workdays-in-the-future-.html
Discussion：
Answer the following questions to your teacher.
1.Did you focus on individual weeks or months? Why?
2.
“If you’re living for the weekend, your life sucks.”
“If you dread Mondays, your life sucks.”
“If you’re waiting for retirement, you’re living a lie.”
Do you agree with it?
Let’s practice
Choose the correct answer.
1. ____ offers a lot of freedom and flexibility that a regular desk job can’t.
A.Freelancing
B.freeloader
C.Monotony
D.Freelancer
2.Which of the below is NOT a type of employee perks?
A.salary
B.maternity leave
C.wellness programs
D.flextime
3. I feel like I’m wasting my __a.__ years in a(n) __b.__ career. I’d be happy to give __c.__ that security to __d.__ my passions.
Off / rewarding / quest / prime / unfulfilling / pursue / pursuit / first / up
4.Life in the military is all about ____.
A.hierarchy and aristocracy
B.negligence and subordination
C.construction and domestication
D.structure and discipline
