Дидактические материалы к занятиям 6.3.1,6.3.2, 6.3.3

Lesson 6.3.1. Stress at Work

Lead in

1. When do you usually feel stressed?

2. What happens to you mentally and physically when you are stressed?

3. What are some ways to reduce stress

Ex 1. Now read the passage below. You can look up the meanings of the words and phrases in bold in the Vocabulary Study section that follows. Put the words below to the text: too hard, per cent, Statistics, illness, jobs, mind, holiday, worries

Stress at Work

……show that more and more of us are suffering from stress and that much of this is caused by our. It appears that many of us are working and this is taking a toll on our health.

There is, experts tell us, simply too much pressure put on many employees these days. In many jobs, in sales or production departments, for example, unrealistic targets are set for the workforce. People are, in fact, trying to do the impossible and making themselves ill by doing so.

In many countries, more and more people are working longer hours. Some workers have to do this to cope with their workload, while others think that staying late will impress the boss so much that he will promote them. This extended presence in the workplace is known as presenteeism.

Such overwork often results in extreme fatigue, or even total exhaustion, with many people also suffering from insomnia. When the workers get home, instead of resting or enjoying a leisure pursuit, they simply cannot switch off. Their minds are still full of work……..

Most people used to be able to leave behind the tension and anxiety of the workplace when they went on…….. Unfortunately, modern communication systems, such as mobile phones and email, have made this a thing of the past. We find it almost impossible to leave our work behind.

Neither the body nor the ……can go on doing too much indefinitely. Workers reach a point beyond which they cannot cope, and have to take time off. Some may experience burn-out and some may become mentally ill. Meanwhile, a study by some American universities has shown that stress can weaken the immune system.

The fact that stress at work leads to ….. is supported by findings by the British Health and Safety Executive. These indicate that 60 ……of absence from work is a result of stress. It is time for us all to take stress seriously and to reconsider the ethos of modern working conditions. Working hard is important but everyone must realize that even productivity is less important than our health.

(“Read and Understand 2”)

Vocabulary

anxiety, n- the slote of being worried and nervous about something that is going to happen or about something that might happen. Anxious, adj - worried and nervous about something that Is going lo happen or something that might happen.

bum-out, n- a state of extreme physical and mental tiredness caused by overwork. A burn out, v - become extremely tired because of overworking over a period of time.

email, n - (short for electronic mail) - a method of sending messages or information from one person or company to another by means of computers using a telephone service and a modem; a message sent in this way; email, v - to send a message by email.

ethos, n - the beliefs, ideas and altitudes associated with a particular group, period of time, etc.

exhaustion, n - state of extreme tiredness. Exhausted, adj- extremely tired.

fatigue, n - a state of great tiredness,often because of hard work or exercise.

immune system, n- the system in the body, consisting of cells, (issues, etc, which fights against infection. immune to, v - If you are immune to a particular disease it means that you are protected from and will not catch it because you have been vaccinated against it, because you have had the disease before, or because you are naturally resistant to it.

insomnia, n- the inability lo fall asleep or to stay asleep long enough to get enough rest, especially when this happens over a period of time. Insomniac, n- person who suffers from insomnia.

leisure pursuit, n - something which you do when you are not at work and can enjoy yourself, a hobby, a pastime.

presenteeism, n-the act of staying in your workplace for far longer than you are supposed to, and often for far longer than you actually need to.

pressure, n: 1- the force which is produced when you press something; the applying of a firm weight or force against something; 2 - the things which a person has to do in the course of work, etc and which often cause worry and anxiety; the worry and anxiety caused in this way.

productivity, n- the rate at which a company produces goods or provides services, usually considered in relation to the number of people the company employs and the amount of materials which it uses. Productive, adj- producing a great deal.

promote, v: 1 - to move someone to a more senior job or position in a firm or organization; 2 - to advertise or give publicity to something. promotion, n- the act of promoting someone or something; the state of being promoted.

statistic, n- piece of information from a collection of data, shown in numbers; statistics, n, pl - a collection of data shown in numbers and based on the number of times something happens.

stress, n:1 - worry and anxiety caused by overwork or some other difficult situation; stressful, adj- causing stress; invohrhg stress; 2 -the special importance or emphasis given to something; 3 - an extra force or emphasis used when pronouncing a particular syllable or word.

switch off, v (informal) - to stop thinking about something; to stop paying attention.

target, n: 1- a result or goal which you are trying to achieve; 2 - an object which is aimed at in shooting practice, darts, etc, often a round board with circles on it; target verb to aim or direct something at someone.

tension, n- a feeling of anxiety and worry that makes it very difficult to relax.

toll, take its toll on- to have a very bad effect on someone.

workload, n- the amount of work someone has to do.

workforce, n (with singular or plural verb)- all the people who work for a particular company or industry; all of the people in a country who are employed or available for work.

workplace, n- the piece where you work, an office, factory, etc.

Ex 2. Match the words in Column A with their meaning in Column B.

Column A Column B

stress move (person) to a higher position

pressure worry and anxiety

targets demand

workload extreme mental and physical tiredness

promote goals

exhaustion attitude

burn-out amount of work

ethos fatigue

Ex 3. Match the words in Column A with their opposite meaning in Column B by writing the corresponding letters in the boxes provided.

Column A Column B

presence physically

fatigue relaxation

insomnia energy

tension absence

mentally strengthen

weaken ancient

modern leisure

working slumber

Ex 4. How often do you ...? Add a frequency expression to each sentence so that it is true for you:always usually sometimes often every day every week twice a year once a month not often hardly ever never

a………………… I go to work by car.

b………………… I get home late.

c………………… I work at the weekend.

d…………………. I have a holiday.

e………………….. I feel bored with my job.

Ex 5. Do you take regular exercise? Do you think it's important?

a) Taking exercise is the best solution for stress.

b) Sport is the key to a healthy and long life.

c) People who get up early suffer from stress.

d) People who have a sleep during the day live longer.

e) People in their 50s need to save their energy for other things, true

f) Brisk walks are the healthiest form of exercise.

Ex 6. Now read the article to see if you are correct.

They say that a healthy body is a healthy mind, but according to a German expert it is lazy people who lead longer and healthier lives. Professor Peter Axt recommends avoiding strenuous activity like aerobics or working out in a gym. “People who prefer to laze in a hammock instead of running a marathon or who take a midday nap instead of playing squash have a better chance of living into old age," says this scientist. “They are also less likely to suffer from professional stress”.

He cowrote “On the Joy of Laziness” with his daughter, who is also a doctor. In the book he advises people to 'waste half your time. Just enjoy lazing around," Those who get up early in the morning usually feel stressed for the rest of the day, so his advice is to take it easy.

However, Professor Axt stresses that laziness in only one of the keys to a longer life. In fact, the subtitle of his book is “How best to use your energies”. He argues that if you are too fat, you need more energy to maintain body functions, and is in favour of moderate exercise like 'meditative' jogging or brisk walks to relax body and spirit at the same time.

On the other hand, any exertion is not recommended, especially for middle-aged people who should be particularly careful about doing too much sport. Professor Axt believes we have only a limited amount of energy, and people who use up their supply more quickly live shorter lives. “Research shows that people who run long distances into their 50s are using up energy they need for other purposes.”

Ex 7. Underline three expressions which mean «to relax» or «to rest».

Ex 8.Choose the best title for the article.

a All work and no play makes jack a dull boy

b Health risks for the over 50s

c Siesta or marathon?

d (your own idea)

Ex 9. Discuss the following questions with other people in the class. a Do you agree with Professor Axt?

b What do you do to relax?

с Do you find it easy to relax'

d Do you do more or less exercise than 1 you would like to? 2 you think is good for you? Why?

Writing

Ex 10. Answer one of the questions from Discussion Exercise in writing.

Discussion

Ex 11.Work with a partner. Which of these factors produce the most stress? Add your own ideas.

dealing with the public, working long hours, meeting deadlines, travelling, making phone calls, learning to use new technology, being promoted, looking after children, doing boring repetitive tasks, dealing with big sums of money, being responsible for people's lives, waiting for other people to do things

Listening

Ex 12. An interviewer for the radio programme Work Today spoke to four people in the street about stress. Listen to the interviews and answer the questions.

	Interview1	Interview2	Interview3	Interview4
What does the speaker do?
Does the speaker suffer from stress?
What causes the stress, according to the speaker?
Does the speaker mention any of the reasons in 1? Which?

Ex13. The last speaker says that stress is more a problem of mental attitude than what you do. Do you agree?

Ex 14. In your opinion, what are the three must stressful jobs? Use the list below to help you.

middle manager, chief executive, teacher, taxi driver, secretary, police officer, factory worker, pilot, air traffic controller, stockbroker, doctor, lawyer, shop assistant, accountant, waiter computer programmer firefighter miner architect journalist

Ex 15. For each set of prompts a-g, make at least two sentences with has to/have to/doesn't have to/don t have to.

e.g. : air traffic controller, factory worker, lake decisions, be creative

An air traffic controller has to take decisions very quickly. (It's necessary) A factory worker doesn't have to be creative. (It's not necessary)

a) lawyer, secretary, wear a suit , type letters

b) middle managers, chief executives, solve day-to-day problems ,

take strategic decisions

c) shop assistant, computer programmer, deal with the public,

know computer languages

d) lorry driver, taxi driver, drive long distances, memorise street maps

e) nurse, factory worker, wear special clothes, work at night

1) accountant, telephonist, use a computer , be honest

g) teacher, engineer, tell people what to do, wear a tie

Ex 16. Make sentences about the other jobs in Ex 3.

Ex 17. Now interview someone about their job like this:

In your job do you have to ...? No, but I have to ... /Yes, and I also have to ...

Ex 18. In your opinion, are the sentences below true or false?

a) Stress is always a bad thing.

b) Work-related stress can cause health problems.

c) Bad management is the main cause of stress.

d) Reducing stress costs companies money.

e) It's easy for companies to reduce stress.

Ex 19. Read the article below. Does the writer agree with your opinions in 7?