Day: 13 September 2016

IELTS Essay Sample Answer # Shift Work

You should spend 40 minutes on this task.
With increasing competition, companies want to work 24/7 and in order to fulfill that they offer a higher pay for working in shifts.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of working in shifts?
Write at least 250 words.

SAMPLE ANSWER

There has been a considerable increase in the competition and with time becoming a constraint, more and more companies are offering their employees work in shifts. This allows the employees liberty to work when they feel like at higher pays and companies benefit from being able to operate non-stop. Although, shifts do offer great advantages to both the employee and employer their are certain disadvantages associated with them.

On the positive side, shift work gives employee the liberty to work when they want to. So, a person who needs to take care of home can work at night and vice versa. Secondly, it brings in the restriction of hours. So, in regular work, it is more of task completion based, while in shift a person needs to do whatever he or she can do in the given time. Anything left is taken care by the person coming next in the shift. Also, a person can easily avoid the peak hour rush, by choosing a shift when there is less traffic.

Shift Work

However, shift work brings along lot of disadvantages as well.  Firstly, there is no routine for a shift worker. Regular workers become accustomed to a routine while shift people need to juggle between life and work. Often, it so happens that a person has to work in alternate shifts in a gap of few days. Secondly, shift work brings with it lot of health problems. When a person is young it is easier for a person it is easier for him or her to have fluctuations in eating and working habits but later in life, shift work causes diseases like blood pressure, insomnia, indigestion, gastritis and acidity.

Overall,  shift work allows the person independence to chose the timings of work but it can even be very harmful for the health if done at a long stretch.

EXTRA POINTS

This is  a sample answer on the advantages and disadvantages of shift work. Have a look at some points on the essay and try writing it on your own –

Advantages –

  1. It allows employees to choose the shift according to their needs.
  2. The working hours are less in shift works and there is enough time for relaxation.
  3. One gets enough time to spend on training activities. So, one need not to take leaves just to attend a training.
  4. You can avoid travelling in rush hours. Choose a time that allows you to travel when there is less rush and traffic.
  5. You need not to push work for weekends.
  6. You can take leave in any part of the week and then make up for the work somewhere else.

Disadvantages –

  1. Their is no pattern left for shift workers. Night shift workers are not able to achieve much because feel lazy during the entire day.
  2. Sometimes shifts are given based on seniority. So, the seniors get day shift while others get evening or night.
  3. There is lot of imbalance in work, so places like hospitals, there is more work during night as compared to in the day.
  4. In rotational shifts, one gets very less sleep. This reduces the worker’s efficiency and competence to work.
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