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Working Long Hours
简体
Working Long Hours
长时间工作

How to Compare Quantity

Date: Apr 25 2012

Themes: Work

Grammar: Comparing Quantity

Intro

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It’s one thing to be a hard worker and always get your work done. It’s another thing to burn the midnight oil every night at your job. Working long hours can take away from your family time, not to mention your enjoyment of life. But some people feel they have to work overtime in order to show that they’re good employees and get ahead in their company. In the US, the standard work week is supposed to be 40 hours, but many people work far more than that. Find out what Jason and Devan think about working long hours.

它会让你成为勤奋的工作者,并且始终会完成工作。它还意味着每天晚上要熬夜工作。长时间工作会占据你与家人相处的时间,更不必说享受生活。但有些人认为,为了证明自己是优秀的雇员,并在公司中获得成功,必须加班加点地工作。在美国,每周标准的工作时间应该是 40 个小时,但很多人的工作时间远高于此。看看詹森和__如何看待长时间工作。

Dialog

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2. Study - Read the dialog again to see how the vocab words are used.

Jason

Jason

Devan

Devan

Jason:  I think there’s this really annoying competition among Americans to work more hours than each other.

Devan:  You think so?

Jason:  Yeah, have you ever noticed that?

Devan:  Yeah, I guess that’s true.

Jason:  People like to brag about working 60, 70, or 80 hours a week or something.

Devan:  Do you think they really work that much?

Jason:  No, probably not. I imagine they may sit at a desk for that much, but I don’t think they’re working the entire time. See, that’s the thing. I’m all about working efficiently for a shorter period of time, you know?

Devan:  So you don’t usually put in a lot of overtime at your job?

Jason:  No. I mean, the time after work is for things other than working. I don’t understand why people think that that’s a good quality to have, if you work 16 hours a day. That sounds like a bad thing to me. Like, that’s what the labor movement worked to stop from happening. So why would you volunteer for that?

Devan:  That’s true. And I think it also depends on if you work for an hourly wage or if you’re on salary. Because I know a lot of companies will take advantage of people that are on a salary and force them to work more hours than they’re actually supposed to, because they get paid the same no matter what. Whereas, on the other hand, there’s also people that are, like you said, sitting at a desk for eight hours a day on a salary and really only working three of them, ‘cause they know they’re gonna get paid the same.

Jason:  Right. Like I think it’s better to go above and beyond with the quality of the work rather than the quantity of it.

Devan:  I understand what you’re saying. But I think I’m too much of a slacker. I kinda like the idea of just sitting at a desk for eight hours and getting paid for that, but not doing very much work.

Jason:  Oh my God.

 

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Discussion

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Jason thinks it’s crazy when people put in really long hours at work. He doesn’t understand why that is not only acceptable in the US, but often encouraged, or even required. He thinks it’s better to produce quality work quickly than to work really long hours just to prove that you’re a hard worker.

Devan points out that workers who are on a salary sometimes get taken advantage of by their companies. Often they get paid the same amount no matter how many hours they work. Some companies will make their employees feel like they have to work long hours, but won’t raise their salaries or pay them overtime for it.

On the other hand, some employees who are paid on salary take advantage of their companies, too. Since they get paid the same no matter what, they might spend eight hours at work, but not actually get much done. Devan admits that she can be a pretty lazy worker sometimes.

How many hours per week do people work in your country? Do you have to work long hours at your job?

 

Comments

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rickymathew

India

just chilll n should do breath in n out exercise whn ve r too mch stress out it really works…...................................or ve mst laugh alot…

11:49 AM Apr 25 2012 |

1 person likes this

S&W

S&W

China

I have to work long hours,Sometimes i feel so tired and a lot of pressure.But, To know how to use the time off work is imporant

11:30 AM Apr 25 2012 |

S&W

S&W

China

I have to work long hours,Sometimes i feel so tired and a lot of pressure.But, To know how to use the time off work is imporant

11:30 AM Apr 25 2012 |

 julito

julito

Argentina

And I was a perfect example of that quote , dragging on a  boring   job  that could only provide food for my stomach  and  left empty my spirit.  Many years ago I broke  chains and flew away free.   Wink  

11:16 AM Apr 25 2012 |

 julito

julito

Argentina

I know why most of  you don´t work long hours, you are so anxious to get back home and go online to chat with your  EB  friends.  I am also addicted  to this site. Smile

10:51 AM Apr 25 2012 |

TangTa

TangTa

Viet Nam

Working long hours – i think it is not good except project is going to the deadline and you have to complete it on time. And some people usually work overtime in order to show that they’re good employees and get ahead in their company – that is a really wrong thinking. A good employees will be evaluated by the quanlity of the work not by quantity hours of it.

09:06 AM Apr 25 2012 |

kotlesya

kotlesya

Belarus

Dear, USA in my country, the standard work week is supposed to be 40 hours as well.  I would not say I have to work LONG hours at my job. Sometimes when the very urgent issues arise I can stay at work for extra one or two hours, but fortunately it happens very very very rarely. 


I try to complete all my work during the day shift, if not I will complete it tomorrow. I hate the backlog at work. I do my best to complete my tasks in time.


The staff of the company I work in  get paid the same amount no matter how many hours we work. Our salary is fixed and it does not depend on the extra hours you spend at your desk. :)

08:19 AM Apr 25 2012 |

FUN777

FUN777

Egypt

Actually in my country it’s so hard to get a job so you have to work for long hours and you can’t help it because you don’t have any other choices especially if you have a family. For me in my previous work i didn’t have to work long hours, but all work was in only two days so i had to work in those days under pressure because i had a lot of work i had to end in short time, the funny thing was that the other week days i didn’t have any work at all so i felt bored, i think it’s so ridiculous to measure the quality of work by the number of work hours. 

07:22 AM Apr 25 2012 |

adnan_affan

Saudi Arabia

I hate Working long hours, it take off frm social networkt… Hope i write correct sentence if not kindly correct

06:41 AM Apr 25 2012 |

1 person likes this

wangyao123

wangyao123

China

i think its not efficient to work overtime ,and tts harmful to our health . if i am forced to work overtime i will quit the jodCool

05:25 AM Apr 25 2012 |

sw8tart

sw8tart

United Arab Emirates

Offff stress..

05:18 AM Apr 25 2012 |

1 person likes this

qq573982212

China

I am saleman for oversea ,so always work in evening for keep touch with customers``

04:01 AM Apr 25 2012 |

andy246135

andy246135

China

working long hours ,for me ,yeah,I am working 50 or 60 a week,and without overtime pay.

03:52 AM Apr 25 2012 |

linglinghuang

China

I don’t work overtime.And I admit that during the eight hours,I only work a few hours bacause I have nothing to do.If I hava a task,I will try to work hard.Working overtime should be paid double,I think.

03:06 AM Apr 25 2012 |

dewi qadarizka

Indonesia

Working long hours make us so tired


03:03 AM Apr 25 2012 |

1 person likes this

nancy.xu

nancy.xu

China

i always work overtime, as iam the only female woker in our department. it is in a  long haul

01:00 AM Apr 25 2012 |

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