上外版大学英语写作精选第四册(10)

    Unit 10

    Text

    Do you view work as a burden or an opportunity？ Are you the kind of person who looks for ways to save your energy or the kind that finds spending your energy satisfying？ Why do people like to complain about work？ Find the answers to question like these in the following essay.

    WHY PEOPLE WORK

    Leonard R. Sayles

    Jobs and work do much more than most of us realize to provide happiness sand contentment. We're all used to thinking that work provides the material things of life —— the goods and services that make possible our modern civilization. But we are much less conscious of the extent to which work provides the more intangible， but more crucial， psychological well-being that can make the difference between a full and an empty life.

    Historically， work has been associated with slavery and sin and punishment. And in our own day we are used to hearing the traditional complaints： "I can't wait for my vacation，" "I wish I could stay home today，" "My boss treats me poorly，" "I've got too much work to do and not enough time to do it." Against this background， it may well come as a surprise to learn that not only psychologists but other behavioral scientists have come to accept the positive contribution of work to the individual's happiness and sense of personal achievement. Work is more than a necessity for most human beings； it is the focus of their lives， the source of their identity and creativity.

    Rather than a punishment or a burden， work is the opportunity to realize one's potential. Many psychiatrists heading mental health clinics have observed its healing effect. A good many patients who feel depressed in clinics gain renewed self-confidence when gainfully employed and lose some， if not all， of their most acute symptoms. Increasingly， institutions dealing with mental health problems are establishing workshops wherein those too sick to get a job in "outside" industry can work， while every effort is exerted to arrange "real" jobs for those well enough to work outside.

    And the reverse is true， too. For large numbers of people， the absence of work is harmful to their health. Retirement often brings many problems surrounding the "What do I do with myself？" question， even though there may be no financial cares. Large numbers of people regularly get headaches and other illnesses on weekends when they don't have their jobs to go to， and must fend for themselves. It has been observed that unemployment， quite aside from exerting financial pressures， brings enormous psychological troubles and that many individuals deteriorate rapidly when jobless.

    But why？ Why should work be such a significant source of human satisfaction？ A good share of the answer rests in the kind of pride that is stimulated by the job， by the activity of accomplishing.

    Pride in Accomplishment

    The human being longs for a sense of being accomplished， of being able to do things， with his hand， with his mind， with his will. Each of us wants to feel he or she has the ability to do something that is meaningful and that serves as a tribute to our inherent abilities.

    It is easiest to see this in the craftsman who lovingly shapes some cheap material into an object that may be either useful or beautiful or both. You can see the carpenter or bricklayer stand aside and admire the product of his personal skill.

    But even where there is no obvious end product that is solely attributable to one person's skill， researchers have found that employees find pride in accomplishment. Our own research in hospitals suggests that even the houskeeping and laundry staffs take pride in the fact that in their own ways they are helping to cure sick people —— and thus accomplishing good deal.