Unlocking Word
Meanings
Read the following words/expressions found in
today’s article.
1. alibi
(n.) [al-uh-bahy] – an excuse or reason
Example: The student has an alibi for being
late to school.
2. sham
(adj.) [sham] – fake; not true
Example: The worker always uses a sham excuse
for not submitting papers on time.
3. attribute
(v.) [v. uh-trib-yoot; n. a-truh-byoot] – to relate to a particular reason or cause
Example: Global warming is mainly attributed
to pollution.
4. mingle
(v.) [ming-guhl] – to join other people, usually for a social activity
Example: I usually mingle with my high school
friends when I’m free from work.
5. compensate
(v.) [kom-puhn-seyt] – to make up or pay for something lost or spent
Example: The store gave a discount to
compensate for the broken product the customer bought from them.
Article
Read the text below.
Many Chinese and Indian workers call in sick fromwork
to get some time off according to a recent online survey.
The survey, commissioned by the employee
management company Kronos, included 9,500 respondents from different
countries. China ranked first in the survey with 71% of its total respondents
saying that they had pretended to be sick to get a break from work. Ranking
second was India with 62%.
With only 16% of respondents admitting that they had
used the same alibi, France took the
last spot while Mexico ranked close to it with 38%. On the other hand, half
of the workers in United States and Canada had also used the sham sickness reason. Australia and
Britain were in between with 53% and 41% respectively.
Aside from being sick, other reasons for being
absent used by the respondents were sick children and insufficient sick
leave.
When asked what they do during absences, most
said they stay home, watch television or sleep. However, Indians and Mexicans
use their time to go out and mingle
with other people.
Joyce Malorey, who spearheaded the survey,
explained that these results can be attributed
to the number of paid leaves and holidays in each country. She mentioned how
in China and India, employees are allowed only 10 and 12 days annual leaves
respectively. Both countries compose 2 of the 3 countries with the lowest
number of leaves for employees. In contrast, France, who ranked last, has the
highest number of annual leaves.
The same respondents also came up with some
solutions to the problem. Majority suggested more flexible work hours to
improve the situation; almost half of Chinese workers recommended more days
off. In addition, French workers said they choose to have days off during
Fridays, and compensate for their
absence on another day of the week.
|
Viewpoint Discussion
Enjoy a discussion with your tutor.
Discussion
A
·
What
would be the advantages and disadvantages of paying workers on days off?
·
If
you were a boss in a company, would you give payments for days off?
Discussion
B
·
Why
do you think employees lie just to get a day off from work?
·
How
do you think can employers make sure their employees tell them the truth?