Millions of years ago, during the Stone Age, human ancestors only needed to spend 2 to 3 hours a day hunting and gathering for survival. Today, however, working 50-60 hours a week has become the norm in many countries. Stress levels are rising, productivity is peaking, yet the quality of life for workers doesn’t seem to be improving proportionally. How can we achieve a work-life balance? From the flexible “20% program” policy at tech corporations and the 4-day work week model in the US, to the highly successful reduced-hours experiment in New Zealand, the reading passage Achieving a Work–life Balance offers readers a comprehensive overview from various scientific perspectives.

Part of the Sociology & HR Management topic, Achieving a Work–life Balance is a high-quality, practical resource to help you practice identifying specific information and matching expert opinions. The test focuses on three key question types: Matching Information, Matching Features, and Summary Completion. The full-text translation, academic vocabulary list, and detailed solutions analyzed by ECE Language Center below will help you fully master this reading passage.

1. Reading Passage

Achieving a Work–life Balance

[Paragraph A] Anthropologists calculate that in the Stone Age, approximately one to two million years ago, the ancestors of modern humans worked on average two or three hours a day hunting and gathering food. This amount of labour was all that was necessary for survival. Today, it’s not uncommon to work 50–60 hours a week, and sometimes more. At the same time, there is a substantial body of international research showing that levels of work-related stress have never been higher. However, psychologist Dr Gina McDowell argues that the problem of stress caused by working too many hours still doesn’t receive sufficient recognition and ought to be addressed with greater commitment by executives, employees and academics. Dr McDowell is one of many calling for a better work–life balance: spending an appropriate amount of time at work, but leaving sufficient hours in the day to enjoy family, friends and recreations.

[Paragraph B] Perhaps leading the search for work–life balance are technology companies, who frequently allow employees greater flexibility in everything from working hours and dress code to office design. Global tech giant MEdia operates what it calls the ‘20% scheme’: its engineers are free to use 20% of their working week (one full day) in any way they want. Ryan Schmidt, the director of human resources