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  3. Recently, a four-day/10-hour-per-day has been promoted by employers as a

Recently, a four-day/10-hour-per-day has been promoted by employers as a

游客2024-11-06  1
问题         Recently, a four-day/10-hour-per-day has been promoted by employers as a way to cut costs, conserve energy and build a more productive and creative workforce. Making every weekend longer certainly sounds Wee a good idea, but people also have certain concern. The following are opinions from different people.
        Write an article of NO LESS THAN 300 words, in which you should:
        1. summarize briefly the opinions;
        2. give your comment.
        Jill Fraser, author of "White Collar Sweatshop"
        Many have argued for the four-day workweek, or flexible hours in general, as a way to retain talented female workers who might otherwise quit altogether in order to have children. But a four-day workweek isn’t beneficial to mothers alone—and it is beneficial. When Utah introduced four-day workweeks for many of its state employees a few years ago, it boosted productivity and worker satisfaction. Better work gets done in four days than in five. It makes sense: When there’s less time to work, there’s less time to waste. And when you have a compressed workweek, you tend to focus on what’s important, like sleep, quality work happens best when uninterrupted.
        Call Yost, founder of Flex + Strategy Group
        Giving staffers one weekday off would be especially appealing to the biggest chunk of the labor force—boomers. Many of them could use the free day to take their parents to doctor’s appointments or handle other eldercare duties, spend time with their grandkids, learn new skills and transition into retirement. Four-day workweeks can also let them cut their commutes. Besides, a four-day workweek allows you to continue to contribute on the job while gaining the time to pursue a long-neglected avocation.
        Larry Page, boss of Google
        The idea that everyone needs to work frantically to meet people’s needs is just not true. People need to feel busy and productive, but they don’t need to work so much to get there. Most people like working, but they’d also like to have more time with their family or to pursue their own interests. So that would be one way to deal with the problem, is if you had a coordinated way to just reduce the workweek
        Jason Fried, technician of Treehouse, an online education company
        A four-day workweek may increase the free time available from Friday to Sunday, but it also requires employees to work longer and harder the other four days. This is especially true for occupations that involve a fixed amount of work that must be accomplished on a weekly basis-inspectors, lab technicians, newsmagazine journalists, to name just a few. And regardless of workload, a 10-hour day is substantially longer than the current standard. This can be a significant burden, particularly for older workers.
        Carlos Slim, CEO of Telmex
        When thinking about creating a four-day workweek, people tend to think about how great it will be to have more time away from the office rather than how increasing their workday by two hours may affect them and their families. Less time in the day outside of work means less time for running errands on your workdays. Another drawback is the fact that just because you only work four days a week, it doesn’t mean your customers don’t need you on your "off" day. Some companies can’t shut their doors for one day a week because of the nature of their business. If there are enough employees to stagger the 5th day off, this may work for you—some employees get Monday off and some Friday.
选项
答案                                                                 A Worthy Revolution
        Recently, some employers have promoted a revolution in working hours for their employees, who have been asked to work four days a week and 10 hours per day. People hold different opinions on this practice. Executives like Cali Yost and Larry Page embrace the change, claiming that with one more day off, employees could better fulfill family duties, learn new skills, cultivate hobbies, and even be better prepared for retirement. Jill Fraser, author of White Collar Sweatshop, adds that a four-day system would make employees more productive and satisfied with work. However, the other two people point out that a compressed workweek might increase daily workload, leaving less time for employees’ personal errands after work. Moreover, an extra day off might not bring as many benefits to employees from businesses that must be open every day. Weighing all factors, I believe that the four-day working system will have more benefits than harm.
        The four-day system can considerably increase work quality and efficiency. As colleagues spend more hours working together every day, businesses that require teamwork and brainstorming can generate better ideas, initiate smoother cooperation and therefore yield higher profits. Moreover, motivated by a long weekend, employees will strive to accomplish as much as they can and might waste less time on casual activities like taking breaks or chatting with colleagues. For some service departments and businesses that must be open on daily basis, the four workdays for each employee could be arranged flexibly to maintain businesses’ ordinary operations. An extra day off also allows people to rest and relax fully. As employees return to work energetic and refreshed, the office atmosphere will be more enjoyable and in turn, help strengthen relationships among colleagues and promote productivity.
        In conclusion, the four-day system can not only motivate employees to work better and faster, but also allow them to work more happily and flexibly.
解析         材料给出了五段关于“四天工作制”的评价。前三段以支持意见为主，后两段持反对态度。
        支持者的理由有：对企业而言，这不仅能留住女性人才（retain talented female workers），还能刺激生产效率（boosted productivity），提高员工的满意度（worker satisfaction）；对员工而言，他们能利用多出的自由时间去照顾家中的老少（handle other eldercare duties, spend time with their grandkids），学习新技能等（learn new skills）。同时也能减少员工的上下班时间（cut their commutes），而且一个长假期（pursue a long neglected avocation）能刺激员工持续不断的工作。
        反对者则认为，特别是对于定量（a fixed amount）工作者，四天工作日将增加员工的工作强度（work longer and harder），年纪大的员工（older workers ）将感到有负担（a significant burden）；这意味着在工作日人们更没时间处理私事（less time for running errands）；对于每天都必须有人值班的企业并不可行，除非要有足够数量的员工（enough employees）确保轮班。
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