Lesson 1 Work Hours
Many people say that they are working too many hours. They don’t have enough time with their families. They can’t take care of thing at home. They don’t have time to relax.
Work hours vary from one country to another. In France, people spend about 1646 hours a year at work. In Japan, however, people work about 2159 hours a year. That means a Japanese employee works 513 more hour a year than a French employee. That is more than 12 weeks, or three months, of extra work!
Why do people work so many hours? Some people work extra hours because they want to earn more money. However, many companies don’t pay for extra work. These people work extra hours because they think it’s their duty. Some people are afraid they will lose their job if they don’t work extra hours.
Many people say that their vacations are too short. In France, people get five weeks of paid vacation. In Germany, they get from four to six weeks. In the United States, two weeks of vacation is the average. Many people don’t even use all of their vacation days. In one study in Great Britain, fewer than half of workers used all their vacation days. In English, people say, “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.” If that is true, there are a lot of dull people in the world