LESSON
3
Interpret the author’s point of view
READING
GET READY
Sam plans to go back to school while working. He needs to balance school and work
with his personal life. How do you balance school and your personal life?
READ
Listen and read the article. How has the work/life balance changed?
When was the last time you took a vacation? Did
you check your email while on vacation? Did you
check the messages in your voicemail?
The balance between work and life seems to have
changed. Nowadays more and more people are
sacrificing vacation time for work. Even when they
are on vacation, they take their work with them.
Now that technology is so portable, people can
check their email on laptops and their voicemail
on cell phones or log into work servers from around
the world.
Let’s analyze this phenomenon. “It has its
advantages,” said Mario Romano. “It’s convenient
and efficient. If I check my email while I’m on
vacation, there is a lot less email to read when I get
back to the office.” Peter Cullen has a different
reason for checking in at the office—teamwork.
“I don’t want to leave coworkers stranded. We’re
part of a team, and I don’t want them to fall behind
while I’m on vacation with my family.” Some
workers are more worried about losing their jobs if
they don’t check email or call in for messages while
they’re on vacation. Martina Portifenko explained
that there is no excuse for not calling in. “With cell
phones and laptops, checking in is easy, and now
bosses expect it more than they did before.”
All these reasons sound legitimate. However, does it
have to be that way? Is working while vacationing
a necessary evil? Or is it a workaholic’s excuse? Is it
the fear of job loss that has driven the work/life
balance into a state of imbalance? Or is it the
convenience and efficiency of technology that
caused it? In the end, I believe everyone chooses
their own work/life balance.
When does technology switch from being a blessing
into being a curse? Mario Romano’s wife, Angelica,
says he is really on the computer more than he is
with the family. “It’s an excessive amount of time.
Everyone is at the pool. He’s there physically, but
he’s not there mentally because he’s on his cell
phone or his computer.” Many workers agree that
they want to take time off to maintain a better
work/life balance. Unfortunately technology has
made it hard to do so.
Writers don’t always express their opinions obviously.
Interpreting the author’s
point of view
helps you determine if the writer is in favor of or against something.
Reading Skill
134
UNIT 10
