B1 – Intermediate
Tesla founder Elon Musk believes people should work more than the typical 35-40 hours a week in order to change the world. In fact, many CEOs of multi-billion-dollar companies work about 70 hours per week.
Read the article and be ready to talk about working very long hours.
https://breakingnewsenglish.com/1811/181129-working-week-1.html
Vocabulary Questions:
- What does “workaholic” mean? “He is a workaholic but he loves working.” Use this word in your own sentence.
- What is a “founder“? “He is the founder, CEO, and lead designer of SpaceX.” Use this word in your own sentence.
- What is a “co-founder“? “He is the co-founder of PayPal.” Use this word in your own sentence.
Discussion Questions:
- What is your opinion on Mr. Musk’s idea?
- What might be the good and bad things about being a workaholic?
- Talk about your own experience working long hours.
18 replies on “Working Many Hours”
1. What is your opinion on Mr. Musk’s idea?
I respect the Mr. Musk’s idea, he is the CEO of the company, he enjoys working and also, he is happy with this. But he needs to understand that not everybody is like him, people likes to do other things besides work.
2. What might be the good and bad things about being a workaholic?
The good thing could be that you feel good and happy with what you are doing, you fee fulfilled.
And the bad thing could be that you are missing out on living other things.
3. Talk about your own experience working long hours.
I consider myself a workaholic. I enjoy working and I am feel very good when I do it. If I have to extend my working day I do it without any problem. But I also need to dedicate time to me, to my family and my hobbies to be happy.
Well done consistently practicing your writing through this exercise.
Take a look at a few minor revisions to make these sentences better:
Looking forward to reading from you again.
**Vocabulary Questions:**
1. What does “**workaholic**” mean? _“He is a **workaholic** but he loves working.”_ Use this word in your own sentence.
– It’s a person who is adict to work
– Freelancer people are more workaholic than employees
2. What is a “**founder**“? _“He is the **founder**, CEO, and lead designer of SpaceX.”_ Use this word in your own sentence.
– a founder is the person who created the company
– I think the founder is the person who most hours works
3. What is a “**co-founder**“? _“He is the **co-founder** of PayPal.”_ Use this word in your own sentence.
– a cofounder is a person who created the company together another person
– When there are co-founders it is normal that there are disputes between them
**Discussion Questions:**
1. What is your opinion on Mr. Musk’s idea?
– In my opinion it is possible that he is right but people also want to live and enjoy, so few people will accept that condition unless they have no family or hobbies and they are very well-paid
2. What might be the good and bad things about being a workaholic?
– good things: Be recognized by society if you make progress for humanity
– bad things: do not have family reconciliation. Do not enjoy pleasures of life
3. Talk about your own experience working long hours.
I like my job and I don’t mind working a few extra hours if I have nothing else to do, like taking care of my kids. I think it’s easier to do it for very young people without children or older people who no longer have to take care of anyone. I currently do my corresponding hours but in the past I worked many extra hours on some projects without being compensated or recognized for it, so I think it is only worth it if the effort is rewarded.
You are doing a very good job consistently practicing your writing skills.
Look at another way to write this sentence:
Keep going with this exercise.
1. What is your opinion on Mr. Musk’s idea?
If you like your job and it is your hobby, then it is not work and the time you spend on it is not important.
2. What might be the good and bad things about being a workaholic?
If you are a workaholic because your job and related subjects are a hobby for you, I think it is good and you can perform more at your job.
If it is not your hobby and for you going to work is an obligation and you would like to do something else, and also you have to work many hours then being a workaholic can be a problem at the level of work performance and personal balance in your private life and in your health
3. Talk about your own experience working long hour
Normally I work long hours, but I like doing this, for me so far it’s a hobby and it fulfils me on a personal level.
The day I don’t feel good about my job and stop being my hobby, I will reduce the time spent or change jobs. In life you must have balance and dedicate time to your hobbies
Good job writing your answers to your lesson’s discussion questions.
Here is how you can rephrase this sentence to express the thought better:
Keep working on improving your writing more. Continue practicing as much as you can.
What is your opinion on Mr. Musk’s idea?
From a person who earn Millions of Dollars with all kind of luxuries and facilities and no responsibilities it seems to easy to work 50 -60 working and far away from home, but for those who have family , and earn no much money , it is very hard to apply that idea.
What might be the good and bad things about being a workaholic?
The bad – you may be lost your relation with friends , family. You wont enjoy your spare time be cause you’ll be working.
The good things, is that You’ll earn , supposedly , a lot of many. You’ll made a lot of work contacts , You’ll meet a lot of people around your job.
Talk about your own experience working long hours.
Years ago , I usually worked more time that I had to , I’m not regret , because it was about responsibility matter.
Now a day , with company regulations in this matter , we can disconnect when the work shift ends.
You did well in writing your answers. Keep going with your writing practice and your skills grow and grow.
See how this sentence can be improved:
Stay as consistent as you can with your practice.
1. What is your opinion on Mr. Musk’s idea?
There may be people like him, workaholics, that appreciate to work so much. My life, as I think a lot of people in the world, it is also enjoying my social time, but the most, my family. My priority is my little daughter, I work to survive, to let her something. I don’t work to change the world, I think this is not possible if you don’t have enough money to move the ones that are in charge of the world. Even if I worked 100 hours in my actual job, I wouldn’t change a thing, just having more money for nothing, because I wouldn’t have time to expend it and enjoy my daughter and husband.
2. What might be the good and bad things about being a workaholic?
I respect that some people are like that, if they can handle, it is perfect, four their health and above all mental health, I think it is not so good, but they exist, so they can afford it. For the rest of the people, I don’t think it is a win-win, it’s just taking advantage of the capitalist world we live in and creating new trends. In my opinion neither Tesla nor PayPal have been a help in my life. But neither for me nor, I think, for many people. So I cannot think in a good way the fact of expending so many hours working on something that I can live without.
3. Talk about your own experience working long hours.
The only way I can admit this, if it’s remunerated, if it’s worth it. If not, I am sorry, but I would never work long hours only thinking that I want to come back home and be with my family. Rest or do some activities. When I didn’t have my child, I could extend my working day if the boss required it, it was on special occasions, and it was remunerated, ok, I could afford it. But now, my priorities changed, and I value more my life and family.
Good work practicing your writing.
Here are some minor revisions you can make in the following sentences:
Keep going with this exercise.
1. What is your opinion on Mr. Musk’s idea?
I think it’s not a good idea to ask for so sacrifacy life to everyone. He is about a society of esclaves, where you don’t have a life, you only live for working. And nowdays people don’t want this, people want to live, that is to have time to be with your family, with friends, with yourself, to do others activities that enrich you life… because not everybody wants to change the world by himself.
Musk is a man very ambitious and very focus on to be a person who change the world and pass to history as a important man in this sense, but this is not the goal of the majority people.
2. What might be the good and bad things about being a workaholic?
Good things could be a better salary that permit you to have a better material life, make money, and maybe impact in some parts of this big world with you job.
Bad things could be that your life is focus on working and this a very reduce view of what life is and means. Life pass very fast and maybe at the end, you could feel that you didn’t live really.
3. Talk about your own experience working long hours.
It’s stressful and after time working long hours, your body starts to be worst, you feel bad with yourself. On the other hand, it’s true that you can have a good feeling for the goals you have reached.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this matter.
Take a look at a better way to write this sentence:
Keep writing!
1. I think is not a good idea… In my opinion, to change the world you need to have a good and innovator project. Then number of hours are not important if you are working in something which is not a innovator project. In addition to this, not everybody want to change the world and not everybody who has good ideas are workaholic. A lot of brilliant people are not workaholic and their productivity might be negatively affected if they work so many hours.
2. Good thing is that you’ll be happy for several hours per day, because work is something that we do each day. Other good point is that you might stand the stress better.
However, as a bad thing, you don’t enjoy your personal life. You don’t work on your personal feelings, nor attitudes. We are human beings not machines, so our personal life is an essential part of our psychology.
3. In my case, working lot of hours doesn’t works for me. That makes me feel very mentally tired on next days. In addition, I feel stressed because I have a lot of pending thing in my personal life. I’m not able to do sports nor painting, nor spend time with my important people, nor attend to the doctor when I have any health issue… So I feel unmotivated with the work and personal life when it happens to me.
You did a very good job writing down your answers.
Here is one answer of yours that can still be revised:
Keep going with your writing practice.
1. What is your opinion on Mr. Musk’s idea? Each one can have their own opinion, but you cannot impose to work more hours, eventhough is your own company. My opinion is that he is not right, because the desconexion and to enjoy your family and hobbies is as good as productivity, you start with more energy and fresher the next working time.
2. What might be the good and bad things about being a workaholic?
Good thing: you can have a higher salary. And contribute to the society the solutions where you are working. But negative is that we are a sociable species, and we need to have realtionships and spend time with family and friends, practicing different activties, that colabrate in our growth, culture, and sharing time with others, is positive menthally and physically and later on, you work happier and with more energy.
3. Talk about your own experience working long hours. Our brain can manage concentration during long hours, but has a limit, and long periods with more hours than ususall, sometimes is not effective, I can demonstrate that after short breaks, the concentration is higher, and eventhough you want to spend more time working, the brain is not as effective as you wish because is exhaustig.
Good work on your answers.
Here is a sentence you can write a bit better:
Keep practicing your writing to improve more and more.
1. My opinion on Mr. Musk’s idea is not good. I think there is studies that for optimum productivity is 40 hours a week. If you work the double there are problems as: reduced productivity, increased fatigue, safety risks, more stress… It is a good idea if the salary is included. Work more hours for the same money is the worst. The salary of a CEO is very high. They can work more hours.
2. The good things about being a workaholic are: money, advance in their careers, responsibility,
The bad things about being a workaholic are: you only work and no more things in your live, impact on your personal relationships, increased fatigue, safety risks, more stress
3. My own experience working long hours is good. I have this experience with a deadlines. 4-6 times per year. During this period, I am very concentrate, I don’t stop until my mission/task is accomplished. I work hard during this period in order to obtain the results. I can manage the stress. I am not very nervous in this situation.
Thank you for sharing your opinions on this subject. Well done writing your responses.
Here is one sentence you can revise:
Keep writing!