Text I The Young and the Rested

American teenagers are an atypically industrious lot. In most developed countries, teenagers work only if the family needs income. Yet the American teens most likely to work have historically been white, attended college, lived outside a big city, and (perhaps most surprisingly of all) had a family income above $40,000 a year. By contrast, poor inner-city kids have been much less likely to hold jobs.

A new report by the Centre for Labour Market Studies points out that this has been the toughest summer-job market for teenagers in 37 years. The problem extends beyond seasonal work. Many starter jobs once filled by America’s youth – at cash registers, dishwashing stations and on the newspaper routes – have now been taken by adults.

The experience of teenagers hints at something of a crisis in service jobs at the bottom of the employment ladder. Some labour-market experts argue that lay-offs, or fear of them, have persuaded adults to take jobs which were once filled by college graduates, pushing some of the latter back down into jobs once held by high-school graduates and dropouts.

Another factor has been Wall Street. The drop in personal savings caused by the stockmarket plunge has prompted many older Americans either to postpone retirement or re-enter the job market. There are 8% more Americans above the age of 55 working now than there were a year ago. Many are in skilled fields such as consulting but plenty are also doing odd jobs part-time. However, there are also longer-term forces at work:

Immigration. The surge of new immigrants over the past decade has created a huge new labour pool. Many have little education and speak little English, and thus qualify only for the unskilled, low-wage jobs that teens used to pick up.

Welfare reform. In 1996, Congress passed a law requiring welfare recipients to work or get job training in exchange for benefits. The number of people on welfare has dropped from 14m in 1994 to 5m today. Many who went from welfare to work were unskilled and took entry-level jobs.

Demography. There is an unusually large number of teenagers around. They now account for around a fifth of the total workforce. An ever-increasing number of these young workers are Latinos.

A teenager having trouble finding a job might seem a harmless form of preparation for the severe conditions of the ‘proper’ job market; after all, few are their family’s primary wage earners. But there is now quite a lot of research arguing that such experiences can have serious consequences. A 2001 study linked teen joblessness to lower lifetime earnings, future unemployment and a variety of other social ills.

Comprehension and discussion:

1. What is the distinguishing feature of American teenagers?

2. What is the background of teenagers most likely to work?

3. What change has taken place on the American labour market recently?

4. What factors have prompted this change?

5. What consequences can teen joblessness have?

6. Compare the attitudes of American adolescents with those of their Russian peers.

Text II Demographic Change in the 21^st Century

In the 21^st century, Western countries will find it increasingly difficult to support their older populations and compete with ‘younger’ countries.

Presenter: In the West old people are living longer and fewer babies are being born. According to Tracy Harris, this is having a drastic² effect on the profile of the population.³

Tracy Harris: If we look ahead to the year 2025, we can see that the profile of the population in many countries will be very different from what it is today. In West Germany, for example, 41% of the population will be over 50 compared with the current figures of 27%. And one in ten people will be over 75 years old, and that will be true in Japan as well. By the year 2025 in most Western countries one in five people will be over 65. So today’s 25 to 40 year olds are tomorrow’s over-sixties.

Presenter: Why should this be regarded as a ‘problem’?

Tracy Harris: The major industrial nations like Japan, the USA and Germany will be elderly, whereas countries like Brazil, Korea and Egypt will have much younger populations. Now, the point is that younger workers are generally more productive, adaptable and flexible. While it is true that older workers have acquired skill and judgement, they do tend to lose speed and flexibility. In the future, with constantly changing technology, it’s the more adaptable workers who will succeed, and they are more likely to be younger ones.

Presenter: It’s not only in the West that this trend is visible, as Clive Manston reports from China.

Clive Manston: Well, China has had a one-child policy for quite a long time now: married couples are only allowed to have one child. So this means that the population is getting older all the time, if you see what I mean. By the year 2025 20% of Chinese people will be over 60 years of age. In China the official retirement age is 60 for men and 55 for women, but most stay on the payroll.⁴ Shanghai’s textile mills employ 450,000 people, but only half of these are workers – the rest are former workers, retired people who continue to draw 68% of a working employee’s wages. In 2000 there were 150 million people over 60 – and not contributing in the least to the national economy.

Before 1949 life expectancy⁵ for the Chinese was 35: those old people who did live to a ripe old age were looked after in traditional large family units. Now couples, who these days are often the only children of their parents, face sole responsibility for all four parents. Widows and widowers are officially encouraged to marry – in fact, they are often unwilling to live with their married children because apartments are so cramped - but in some parts of China where people still believe that widows who remarry are immoral this policy is not popular.

Presenter: According to Angela Seligman, there are several problems facing Western countries in the future.

Angela Seligman: One of the problems as I see it is that a relatively small working population will have to support a large number of unproductive retired people. And of course ‘younger’ countries will be more competitive in the world market than ‘elderly’ countries. Another thing is that huge sums will have to be spent on health and welfare facilities for these old people.

Comprehension and discussion:

1. How will the profile of the population have changed by the year 2025?

2. Why is this regarded as a problem?

3. If the present trend continues, will the USA or Brazil be more competitive in the future? Why?

4. What effect has the one child policy had on the economy of China?

5. How has it affected the family responsibilities?

6. What problems will Western countries be faced with in the future?

PART IV

PEOPLE AND LIFESTYLES

Task I

STUDENT 1

Your extract describes possible steps towards sustainable development. Your partner’s extract highlights the problems of implementing it. Share your information with your partner. Discuss the prospects of sustainable development.

The ecological crises that threaten the survival of Earth continue to unfold at breakneck speed, driven even further by the competitive pressures of globalization. It has been estimated that if we continue with our current production and consumption patterns, we will soon need an extra 3 planets, simply to provide the resources and absorb the wastes. We don't have three planets - we have just one, and it's already showing signs of major degradation.

Consequently, it is hard to overstate the importance of urgent action. It’s essential that the world’s political leaders take steps to forge a North-South partnership to tackle environmental and development problems in a package and through a comprehensive plan that would be the basis for promoting sustainable development at global and national levels. The North has been and is now more responsible for the destruction of the global environment, has more resources, and has a proportionately greater responsibility to resolve environmental problems. The South is hampered in meeting the basic needs of its people by its unfavourable position in the world economy. Thus, it is necessary that: The North change its production and consumption patterns, take the lead in improving environmental standards, reduce pollution and the use of toxic materials, and cut down on the use and waste of natural resources. This would include changing lifestyles. By putting its own house in order, the North would show the rest of the world by example that there is a need for a change in economic and social behaviour to solve the environment crisis. The North helps the South with financial aid, technology transfer, and partnership to create a more favourable international economy. This would enable the South to facilitate a change in development model that would be more environmentally sustainable. Issues that require an integration of economic and environmental concerns should be resolved through North-South partnership that recognizes the development needs of the South. If the above principles are followed, then the concept of sustainable development would have two balancing components: environmental protection and recognition of the basic and human needs of present and future generations. Sustainable development would not only involve ecological practices that make it possible to meet the needs of future generations; it would result in a change in production and consumption patterns. Resources that are currently wasted would be saved and rechannelled to meet the needs of everyone today and in future generations.

STUDENT 2

Your extract highlights the problems of implementing sustainable development. Your partner’s extract describes possible steps towards it. Share your information with your partner. Discuss the prospects of sustainable development.

In recent years, political leaders in almost all countries have weakened in their attempts or ability to address environment, social and development issues. In the North, the political leadership has placed environmental and social concerns lower on the list of priorities in keeping with the desire to remain competitive in a globalizing world. It is clear that only Green politicians, who accept the need for radical change to produce truly sustainable, equitable and poverty-free societies, can be trusted to drive the sustainable agenda forward.

People in developing countries are increasingly concerned about their environment and especially the impacts of pollution and natural resource degradation on their health and prospects for sustainable livelihoods. Environmental factors impose considerable human, economic, and social costs in many developing countries, threatening the foundation for sustained improvements in living standards.

Northern governments, particularly the United States (whose delegation said: “Our lifestyles are not up for negotiations.”), refuse to effectively commit themselves to changes in lifestyle as part of the move towards sustainable consumption patterns.

Despite the many action proposals on environmental problems, there has been relatively weak real commitment by North and South to resolve problems. As a result of not wanting constraints on their growth or development opportunities, southern governments did not agree to restrictions on resource depletion, in particular on cutting down forests. There was resistance by northern governments to effective environmental safeguards on the development of genetic engineering, to better international regulations on the transfer of hazardous products, projects and activities to the South. Given these weaknesses, the concept of sustainable development remains controversial. The need for Green politicians to present radical alternatives to economic globalisation, unsustainable patterns of consumption, production and trade and to propose development projects which are truly sustainable has never been greater.

TASK II

STUDENT 1

Your extract deals with positive aspects of workaholism. Your partner’s extract presents a different view. Find out what information your partner has by asking questions. Share your information with your partner. Discuss workaholism and its implications.

Whether it’s paid work at the office, volunteer work at the library or unpaid work at home, work is essential for our well-being. Through work we define ourselves, develop our strengths, and take our places in society. Work provides us with direction and gives us goals to reach. Work addiction – better known as workaholism – is a different matter. Workaholics tend to invest all their energies into their particular area of work to the exclusion of many other parts of life.

What makes workaholics tick? They are usually so-called Type A personalities - hard-driving perfectionists who hurry all the time, talk fast, and interrupt other people. They often prefer to act alone and have a hard time delegating authority. The personality type has also been linked to other stress-related conditions. Type A people can learn to manage stress more effectively. They often benefit from training in how to relax, how to manage their anger and how to manage their time. But there is controversy about whether or not they can or should be encouraged to change their basic personalities. Besides, many of them have no wish to change. After all, we live in a competitive society and workaholics are often rewarded with career achievements and material success. Many are most comfortable being extremely busy. These people put in very long hours, work beyond what is expected and think about work a lot because of the challenge it poses and the satisfaction they derive from it. For some, unplanned time and vacations can cause even more stress than the daily routine. It is often the people who live or work around a workaholic who make a point of learning stress management techniques.

STUDENT 2

Your extract deals with problems caused by workaholism. Your partner’s extract presents a different view. Find out what information your partner has by asking questions. Share your information with your partner. Discuss workaholism and its implications.

We all know at least one: The lawyer who sweats over every last detail of every last contract. The store owner who hasn't taken a vacation in 10 years. The doctor who spends every free moment in the lab.

Workaholics come in all shapes and sizes, and the health-related problems associated with work addiction cost an estimated $150 billion per year. Workaholism is a very serious problem. It's a compulsive disorder that not only affects the workaholic but also his/her family, and their workplace. Early research suggests that workaholics are more likely to be depressed, anxious, and angry than their non-workaholic counterparts. They also tend to have more health complaints.

Workaholics are always trying to succeed, and if they begin to perceive that their rewards, whether pay increase or promotion, are not commensurate with how hard they are trying, they begin to experience high stress and its related health problems.

High stress can lead to high blood pressure, which is a risk factor for heart disease and heart attack. In addition, stress takes a toll on the immune system, making workaholics more vulnerable to other illnesses.

But it's not just the workaholics who are affected. Their spouses often report feeling ignored and resort to attention-seeking measures to get their partners to notice them, while children often report being resentful of a workaholic parent.

One preventive measure employers and managers could take would be to hold seminars on healthy working versus workaholism, how to avoid job stress, and the importance of the healthy balance between career and family.

TASK III