IELTS Writing Task 2 Sample Answer & Analysis: Subsidized Sports for Employees

Prompt

Some employers offer their employees subsidised membership and sport, believing that this will make their staff healthier and thus more effective at work. Is this more advantageous for the company or the employees?

Prompt Analysis:

This is a **Discussion + Opinion Essay**, requiring candidates to analyze the benefits of subsidized membership and sports for two groups:

• Employees: health, morale, personal benefits.
• Company: increased productivity, reduced health-related costs.

Additionally, candidates must present their **personal opinion** (who benefits more) and provide convincing arguments.

Outline

Mutually advantageous

1. Health: More active staff leads to better health and increased work efficiency.
   = Increased company revenue and productivity.
2. Employee relationships: Opportunities for staff to bond outside work foster harmony and improve teamwork.
   = Creates a family-like company environment, boosting employee satisfaction and enhancing both internal cohesion and public image.
3. Win-win: Employees appreciate the company’s investment in their health, leading to improved performance and higher work efficiency.

Band 7.0 Sample Essay (280 words)

Some company leaders encourage their employees to participate in physical activities by subsidizing their membership fees, believing this indirectly enhances their performance at work. This essay will argue that such initiatives are equally beneficial for both the company and its employees.

When given more opportunities to be active, people’s health tends to improve. This often plays a major role in **keeping spirits high** and boosting professional performance. In turn, their companies could see a significant increase in **periodic revenue** and work productivity.

It is also likely that when employees engage in sports together, their relationships can be strengthened. When they participate in company-funded physical activities, not only do their professional bonds have an opportunity to grow, but their friendships might also deepen. This would translate into the workplace, where they are able to work more harmoniously with each other. Such improved teamwork is believed to **do wonders for** the business’s internal cohesion and public image, fostering a family-like environment with high employee satisfaction.

As such, when companies demonstrate care for their employees’ health by investing in gym memberships, employees **are inclined to** reciprocate this appreciation, often through greater dedication at work, contributing to collective results. This benefits not only each individual but also the company as a whole.

In conclusion, business owners investing in their employees’ physical health benefits both the company’s public reputation and the employees’ emotional connection. The benefits are thus mutual rather than one-sided for both parties.

Notes

• To keep one’s spirits high (idiom): to maintain a positive attitude.
• Periodical revenue (n): recurring revenue; revenue generated over regular periods.
• To do wonders for something/someone (phrase): to be very beneficial or helpful to something or someone.
• (be) inclined to V: to tend to do something; to be likely to do something.