Lifestyle in Britain. Дворжец О.С. - 33 стр.

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Read the profiles below about the employment situation and earning money in
Britain and answer the following questions:
What English attitude to work does George Mikes’ statement reflect?
Are attitudes to work in Britain changing?
How are the earnings of manual and non-manual workers expressed and
paid?
The well-known statement written by Hungarian humourist George Mikes
‘The one thing the English will never forgive the Germans for is working too hard’
is, of course, not literally true. However, it does reflect a certain lack of enthusiasm
for work in general. At the upper end of the social scale this attitude to work exists
because leisure has always been the main outward sign of aristocracy.
And because of Britain’s class system, it has had its effects throughout soci-
ety. If you have to work, then the less it looks like work the better. Traditionally
therefore, a major sign of being middle class (as opposed to working class) has
been that you do non-manual work. The fact that skilled manual (or ‘blue collar’)
workers have been paid more highly than the lower grades of ‘white-collar’ (i.e.
non-manual) worker for several decades has only slightly changed this social per-
ception.
This ‘anti-work’ outlook among the working class has led to a relative lack of
ambition or enthusiasm and a belief that high earnings are more important than job
satisfaction.
These attitudes are slowly changing. For example, at least half of the work-
force now does non-manual work, and yet a majority describe themselves as work-
ing class.
It would therefore seem that the connection between being middle class and
doing non-manual work is growing weaker. Nevertheless, the connection between
class distinctions and types of work lives on in a number of ways. One illustration
of this is the different way in which earnings are conventionally expressed and paid. 
                                  READING
2     Read the profiles below about the employment situation and earning money in
Britain and answer the following questions:
     ƒ What English attitude to work does George Mikes’ statement reflect?
     ƒ Are attitudes to work in Britain changing?
     ƒ How are the earnings of manual and non-manual workers expressed and
           paid?

     The well-known statement written by Hungarian humourist George Mikes
‘The one thing the English will never forgive the Germans for is working too hard’
is, of course, not literally true. However, it does reflect a certain lack of enthusiasm
for work in general. At the upper end of the social scale this attitude to work exists
because leisure has always been the main outward sign of aristocracy.
     And because of Britain’s class system, it has had its effects throughout soci-
ety. If you have to work, then the less it looks like work the better. Traditionally
therefore, a major sign of being middle class (as opposed to working class) has
been that you do non-manual work. The fact that skilled manual (or ‘blue collar’)
workers have been paid more highly than the lower grades of ‘white-collar’ (i.e.
non-manual) worker for several decades has only slightly changed this social per-
ception.
     This ‘anti-work’ outlook among the working class has led to a relative lack of
ambition or enthusiasm and a belief that high earnings are more important than job
satisfaction.
     These attitudes are slowly changing. For example, at least half of the work-
force now does non-manual work, and yet a majority describe themselves as work-
ing class.
     It would therefore seem that the connection between being middle class and
doing non-manual work is growing weaker. Nevertheless, the connection between
class distinctions and types of work lives on in a number of ways. One illustration
of this is the different way in which earnings are conventionally expressed and paid.

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