‘Dress Regulations at Work’ and ‘How to Achieve a Better Work-life Balance’ – IELTS Reading

To effectively tackle and answer diverse question types, of the IELTS General Reading module, try taking up IELTS Reading passages like the ‘Dress Regulations at Work’ and ‘How to Achieve a Better Work-life Balance’ from the Cambridge 14 IELTS General Reading Test 2!

Ideally, you should not spend more than 20 minutes on a passage. Let’s see how easy these passages are for you and if you’re able to make it in 20 minutes. If not, try more IELTS general reading practice tests from IELTSMaterial.com.

There are 13 questions in total in the reading passages, ‘Consumer Advice On Buying Shoes’ and ‘Lost Cards.’ You must understand the subject, look up key terms in the IELTS reading passages, and then respond in line with the instructions.

The question types found in the ‘Dress Regulations at Work’ and ‘How to Achieve a Better Work-life Balance’ passage are:

• IELTS Sentence completion (Q. 1-6)
• IELTS Note completion (Q. 7-13)

Crack the ‘Dress Regulations at Work’ and ‘How to Achieve a Better Work-life Balance’ note completion questions with our expert tips!

Reading Passage 1

Dress Regulations at Work 

Your contract may state that you need to dress in a certain manner or wear a uniform. Your contract might also state that you need to dress ‘smartly’, rather than specifying any particular garments. As you might well have conflicting ideas of what counts as smart’, you should ask your employer for clarification. Many employers that have a strict dress code choose to provide clothing or a discount on clothing. However, this is not necessarily compulsory for the employer and is a factor you need to consider when taking a job.

Protective clothing and equipment

Your employer can tell you to put on protective clothing and equipment (such as gloves, a visor, boots, etc.). If you don’t, your employer is entitled to take disciplinary action, which can include excluding you from the workplace.

You are required to:

• Co-operate with your employer on health and safety
• Correctly use work items provided by your employer, including protective equipment, in accordance with instructions
• Not interfere with or misuse anything provided for your health and safety or welfare.

Of course, any protective gear has to fit and be appropriate for the situation. It shouldn’t cause you pain. If it does, you should negotiate alternative equipment or arrangements. Don’t be put off. Sometimes employers can, out of caution, interpret health and safety rules unnecessarily rigidly. And of course, you shouldn’t be required to pay for any protective equipment or clothing that you need. However, if your employer buys the gear, they are entitled to keep it when you leave.

The obligation to maintain protective clothing lies with the employer. The employer is also required to provide an appropriate storage space to keep the protective equipment in when it is not being used. And finally, the employer must provide the equipment and service free of charge to the employee.

Jewellery

Banning employees from wearing jewellery and loose clothing may be justified to prevent a potential hygiene hazard if you work in areas of food production or areas which need to be kept sterile.

Likewise, your employer can judge that loose jewellery may constitute a snagging hazard if you operate machinery. If you think restrictions are not justified by health and safety concerns, talk to your workplace union rep if you have one, as they may know of solutions to the problem which other employees have used before.

Questions 1-6

1. If employees are unsure what their company wishes them to wear for work, they should request …………….
2. Some companies offer their employees a ……………. when they buy items to wear for work.
3. Employees who fail to wear protective clothing when required could be subject to ……………. procedures.
4. Employees ought not to be in ……………. because of protective clothing or equipment.
5. It is the company’s responsibility to ensure that there is a suitable place for the ……………. of protective equipment.
6. Employees who work with certain types of ……………. may have to remove jewellery to avoid potential injuries.

How to Achieve a Better Work-life Balance

As more and more employees work from home full time and everyone has 24/7 access to email, balancing work and family may not seem like an easily attainable goal. So how can you juggle the demands of both worlds? Below are some tips to help you get started.

It’s easy to get sucked into habits that make us less efficient without realizing it – like keeping your social media page open at work so you don’t miss something ‘important’. Draw up a list with all the activities that don’t enhance your life or career. Then minimize the time you spend on them.

It’s hard to say no’, especially to a supervisor or loved one, but sometimes that powerful little word is essential. Learn to use ‘no’ judiciously and it will become a powerful tool in balancing work and family.

Research shows that exercise helps you remain alert. Finding time to hit the gym may be hard, but it will ultimately help you get more things done because exercise really boosts energy and improves your ability to concentrate.

Study after study shows that significant sleep deprivation affects your health and well-being. Exposure to electronics can significantly negatively impact your sleep, so try to unplug an hour before you go to sleep.

What would you do if you had a whole day to yourself with no demands on your time? While most people don’t have the luxury of a whole day dedicated to relaxation, constantly putting off that downtime and putting everyone’s needs before yours will wear you down. Pick a time to do something just for you. Even just a few minutes of ‘me time’ a day will help to recharge your batteries.

Don’t assume your family and manager are aware of your concerns. If you feel you have to adjust your schedule to discover a better work-life balance, then voice that requirement. If that means asking your boss for permission to leave a few minutes early once a week so you can hit that yoga class on the way home, do it.

All new habits require time to build, so if you find yourself sneaking your smartphone to bed, that’s okay. Leave your phone downstairs tomorrow night. Tiny steps are the key to finding that balance, so start small, and go from there. Most of all, know your limitations and what works best for you; then decide what really matters, what advice you want to follow, and prioritize.

Questions 7-13

Achieving a better work-life balance

How to begin

Make a complete 7 ……………. of things that are not helpful and reduce involvement in them

Refuse some requests as this can be a useful 8 ……………. in gaining a better work-life balance

Things that cars help

Regular exercise

– can increase 9 ……………. significantly

Sleep

– insufficient sleep can make people ill

– avoid focusing on 10 ……………. in the lead-up to bedtime

Issues that require attention

Those who see other people’s 11 ……………. as more important than their own will suffer

If the working day is too long, get 12 ……………. to shorten it occasionally

People should learn to recognise their own 13 …………….

Answers For ‘Dress Regulations at Work’ and ‘How to Achieve a Better Work-life Balance’ IELTS Reading Passage With Location and Explanation 

Check out the answer key for this IELTS General Reading passage on ‘Dress Regulations at Work’ and ‘How to Achieve a Better Work-life Balance’!

1. Answer: Clarification

Question type: Sentence Completion

Answer Location: “As you might well have conflicting ideas of what counts as smart’, you should ask your employer for clarification” – Line 4

Answer explanation: If employees are unsure about what their company expects them to wear for work, they should ask their employer for clarification. Hence the answer is clarification.

2. Answer: Discount

Question type: Sentence Completion

Answer Location: “Many employers that have a strict dress code choose to provide clothing or a discount on clothing.” – Line 5

Answer explanation: Some companies provide clothing or a discount on clothing for their employees who need to adhere to a strict dress code. Hence, the answer is the discount.

3. Answer: Disciplinary

Question type: Sentence Completion

Answer Location:  “If you don’t, your employer is entitled to take disciplinary action, which can include excluding you from the workplace.” – Line 9

Answer explanation: It’s mentioned that if employees fail to wear protective clothing when required, their employer is entitled to take disciplinary action against them. Hence, the answer is disciplinary.

4. Answer: Pain

Question type: Sentence Completion

Answer Location: “It shouldn’t cause you pain.” – Line 15

Answer explanation: The mentioned line advises that protective gear shouldn’t cause the employee pain, indicating that discomfort or pain due to protective clothing or equipment should be avoided. Hence, the answer is pain.

5. Answer: Storage

Question type: Sentence Completion

Answer Location: “The employer is also required to provide an appropriate storage space to keep the protective equipment in when it is not being used.” – Line 18

Answer explanation: The employer is required to provide an appropriate storage space for keeping protective equipment when it’s not in use. Hence the answer is storage.

6. Answer: Machinery

Question type: Sentence Completion

Answer Location: “Loose jewellery may constitute a snagging hazard if you operate machinery.” – Line 28

Answer explanation: Loose jewellery may constitute a snagging hazard, especially for employees who operate machinery, according to the line. Hence the answer is machinery.

7. Answer: List

Question type: Note Completion

Answer Location: “Draw up a list with all the activities that don’t enhance your life or career.” – Line 4

Answer explanation: Make a complete list of things that are not helpful and reduce involvement in them as mentioned in the line. Hence the answer is 26 weeks.

8. Answer: Tool

Question type: Note Completion

Answer Location: “Learn to use ‘no’ judiciously and it will become a powerful tool in balancing work and family.” – Line 9

Answer explanation: Refusing some requests can be a useful tool in gaining a better work-life balance, according to the line. Hence the answer to this question is tool.

9. Answer: Energy

Question type: Note Completion

Answer Location: “exercise really boosts energy and improves your ability to concentrate.” Line 13

Answer explanation: Regular exercise can increase energy significantly, as stated in the line. Hence the answer is energy.

10. Answer: Electronics

Question type: Note Completion

Answer Location: “Exposure to electronics can significantly negatively impact your sleep.” – Line 17

Answer explanation: It’s advised to avoid focusing on electronics in the lead-up to bedtime to improve sleep quality. Hence, the answer is electronics.

11. Answer: Needs

Question type: Note Completion

Answer Location: “putting everyone’s needs before yours will wear you down.” – Line 21

Answer explanation: Those who see other people’s needs as more important than their own will suffer, according to the line. Hence the answer is needs.

12. Answer: Permission

Question type: Note Completion

Answer Location: “If that means asking your boss for permission to leave a few minutes early…” – Line 25

Answer explanation: If the working day is too long, one can ask for permission to shorten it occasionally, as suggested. Hence, the answer is Permission.

13. Answer: Limitations

Question type: Note Completion

Answer Location: “know your limitations and what works best for you; then decide what really matters…” – Line 31

Answer explanation: People should recognize their own limitations, according to the line, which is essential for achieving a better work-life balance. Hence, the answer is limitations.

Tips for Answering the Question Types in the ‘Dress Regulations at Work’ and ‘How to Achieve a Better Work-life Balance’ IELTS Reading Passage

Now let’s get started with the IELTS exam preparation tips for each question type in the ‘Dress Regulations at Work’ and ‘How to Achieve a Better Work-life Balance’ Reading passage.

Sentence Completion:

Sentence Completion is a type of IELTS reading question that requires you to fill in a gap in a sentence with a word or phrase from the passage.

To answer these questions, you can use the following strategies:

• Read the sentence carefully hence this will give you an idea of the type of word or phrase that is missing.
• Scan the passage for the keywords. Hence, the keywords in the sentence can help you to identify the correct word or phrase.
• Read the sentence with the missing word or phrase. This will help you to see how the word or phrase fits into the sentence.
• Check your answer and once you have filled in the gap, make sure that your answer makes sense in the context of the sentence.

Note Completion:

Note Completion is a type of IELTS reading question that requires you to fill in a gap in a sentence with a word or phrase from the passage.

To answer these questions, you can use the following strategies:

• Quickly read the title and the text after you check the instructions. Then read the given sentences and underline the keywords in them.
• Use the keywords to find the part of the text you need. Then try to predict what kind of word(s) you need for the gap.
• Find the word(s) for the gap and read the sentence again to check if it is grammatically correct.

Great work on attempting to solve the ‘Dress Regulations at Work’ and ‘How to Achieve a Better Work-life Balance’ IELTS reading passage! To crack your IELTS Reading in the first go, try solving more of the recent IELTS Reading Passages.

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