Stress of Workplace – IELTS Reading Answers

Stress of Workplace – IELTS Reading Answers is from an academic reading passage that consists of 14 questions which have to be answered in 20 minutes. The Reading section of the IELTS exam can be your highest-scoring section, but only if you practise diligently. To get the best results, you need to understand how to approach and answer the different types of questions.

One of the best ways to prepare is to solve and review sample reading questions from past IELTS papers. This will help you get familiar with the different question formats and test your reading skills. So, let’s see how easy the academic passage ‘Stress of workplace’ is for you and if you’re able to make it in 20 minutes. If not, try more IELTS reading practice tests from IELTSMaterial.com.

The question types found in Stress of Workplace – IELTS reading answers passage are as follows:

• Matching Features (Q. 1-5)
• Multiple Choice Question (Q. 6 – 8)
• Summary Completion (Q. 9 – 14)

Reading Passage

Stress of Workplace 

1. How busy is too busy? For some it means having to miss the occasional long lunch; for others, it means missing lunch altogether. For a few, it is not being able to take a “sickie” once a month. Then there is a group of people for whom working every evening and weekend is normal, and frantic is the tempo of their lives. For most senior executives, workloads swing between extremely busy and frenzied. The vice-president of the management consultancy AT Kearney and its head of telecommunications for the Asia-Pacific region, Neil Plumridge, says his work weeks vary from a “manageable” 45 hours to 80 hours, but average 60 hours.
2. Three warning signs alert Plumridge about his workload: sleep, scheduling and family. He knows he has too much on when he gets less than six hours of sleep for three consecutive nights; when he is constantly having to reschedule appointments; “and the third one is on the family side”, says Plumridge, the father of a three-year-old daughter, and expecting a second child in October. “If I happen to miss a birthday or anniversary, I know things are out of control.” Being “too busy” is highly subjective. But for any individual, the perception of being too busy over a prolonged period can start showing up as stress: disturbed sleep, and declining mental and physical health. National workers’ compensation figures show stress causes the most lost time of any workplace injury. Employees suffering stress are off work an average of 16.6 weeks. The effects of stress are also expensive. Comcare, the Federal Government insurer, reports that in 2003-04, claim costs. Experts say the key to dealing with stress is not to focus on relief – a game of golf or a massage – but to reassess workloads. Neil Plumridge says he makes it a priority to work out what has to change; that might mean allocating extra resources to a job, allowing more time or changing expectations. The decision may take several days. He also relies on the advice of colleagues, saying his peers’ coach each other with business problems. “Just a fresh pair of eyes over an issue can help,” he says.
3. Executive stress is not confined to big organisations. Vanessa Stoykov has been running her own advertising and public relations business for seven years, specializing in work for financial and professional services firms. Evolution Media has grown so fast that it debuted on the BRW Fast 100 list of fastest-growing small enterprises last year – just after Stoykov had her first child. Stoykov thrives on the mental stimulation of running her own business. “Like everyone, I have the occasional day when I think my head’s going to blow off,” she says. Because of the growth phase, the business is in, Stoykov has to concentrate on short-term stress relief – weekends in the mountains, the occasional “mental health” day – rather than delegating more work. She says: “We’re hiring more people, but you need to train them, teach them about the culture and the clients, so it’s actually more work rather than less.”
4. Identify the causes: Jan Elsnera, Melbourne psychologist who specialises in executive coaching, says thriving on a demanding workload is typical of senior executives and other high-potential business people. She says there is no one-size-fits-all approach to stress: some people work best with high-adrenalin periods followed by quieter patches, while others thrive under sustained pressure. “We could take urine and blood hormonal measures and pass judgement of whether someone’s physiologically stressed or not,” she says. “But that’s not going to give us an indicator of what their experience of stress is, and what the emotional and cognitive impacts of stress are going to be.”
5. Elsner’s practice is informed by a movement known as positive psychology, a school of thought that argues “positive” experiences – feeling engaged, challenged, and that one is making a contribution to something meaningful – do not balance out negative ones such as stress; instead, they help people increase their resilience over time. Good stress, or positive experiences of being challenged and rewarded, is thus cumulative in the same way as bad stress. Elsner says many of the senior business people she coaches are relying more on regulating bad stress through methods such as meditation and yoga. She points to research showing that meditation can alter the biochemistry of the brain and actually help people “retrain” the way their brains and bodies react to stress. “Meditation and yoga enable you to shift the way that your brain reacts, so if you get proficient at it you’re in control.”
6. The Australian vice-president of AT Kearney, Neil Plumridge, says: “Often stress is caused by our setting unrealistic expectations of ourselves. I’ll promise a client I’ll do something tomorrow, and the [promise] another client the same thing, when I really know it’s not going to happen. I’ve put stress on myself when I could have said to the clients: ‘Why don’t I give that to you in 48 hours?’ The client doesn’t care.” Overcommitting is something people experience as an individual problem. We explain it as the result of procrastination or Parkinson’s law: that work expands to fill the time available. New research indicates that people may be hard-wired to do it.
7. A study in the February issue of the Journal of Experimental Psychology shows that people always believe they will be less busy in the future than now. This is a misapprehension, according to the authors of the report, Professor Gal Zauberman, of the University of North Carolina, and Professor John Lynch, of Duke University. “On average, an individual will be just as busy two weeks or a month from now as he or she is today. But that is not how it appears to be in everyday life,” they wrote. “People often make commitments long in advance that they would never make if the same commitments required immediate action. That is, they discount future time investments relatively steeply.” Why do we perceive a greater “surplus” of time in the future than in the present? The researchers suggest that people underestimate completion times for tasks stretching into the future and that they are bad at imagining the future competition for their time.

Questions 1-5

i. Jan Elsner

ii. Vanessa Stoykov

iii. Gal Zauberman

iv. Neil Plumridge

1. Work stress usually happens in the high level of a business.
2. More people’s ideas involved would be beneficial for stress relief
3. Temporary holiday sometimes doesn’t mean less work.
4. Stress leads to the wrong direction when trying to satisfy customers.
5. It is not correct that stress in the future will be eased more than now.

Question 6-8

6. Which of the following workplace stress is NOT mentioned according to Plumridge in the following option?

1. Not enough time spend on family
2. Unable to concentrate on work
3. Inadequate time of sleep
4. Alteration of appointment

7. Which of the following solution is NOT mentioned in helping reduce the work pressure according to Plumridge?

1. Allocate more personnel
2. Increase more time
3. Lower expectation
4. Do sports and massage

8. What is the point of view of Jan Elsnera towards work stress?

1. Medical test can only reveal part of the data needed to cope with stress
2. Index somebody samples will be abnormal in a stressful experience
3. Emotional and cognitive affection is superior to a physical one
4. One well a designed solution can release all stress

Question 9-14

Statistics from National worker’s compensation indicate stress plays the most important role in 9__________ which cause the time losses. Staffs take about 10__________ for absence from work caused by stress. Not just time is our main concern but great expenses generated consequently. An official insurer wrote sometime that about 11__________ of all claims were mental issues whereas nearly 27% costs in all claims. Sports such as 12__________, as well as 13__________ could be a treatment to release stress; However, specialists recommended another practical way out, analyse 14__________ once again.

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Stress of Workplace – IELTS Reading Answers with Location and Explanations 

1. Answer: A

Question type: Matching Features

Answer location: Paragraph D, line 2

Answer Explanation: Jan Elsner, a psychologist based in Melbourne, highlights that a heavy workload is commonly associated with higher-level business roles or senior executives within a company. However, the response to work-related stress varies among individuals. While some individuals may excel under such pressure, others may struggle to cope. Additionally, it is challenging to precisely measure the level of stress an individual experiences and predict the emotional and cognitive repercussions it may have. Moreover, by analyzing hormonal samples from urine and blood, it is possible to assess whether an individual is undergoing psychological stress or not. Hence, the answer is A.

2. Answer: F

Question type: Matching Features

Answer location: Paragraph B, line 12

Answer explanation: As per the 12th line of paragraph B, “He also relies on the advice of colleagues, saying his peers coach each other with business problems. “Just a fresh pair of eyes over an issue can help,” he says.” The passage highlights that Neil Plumbridge has given priority to addressing aspects that require adjustments. He emphasizes the significance of colleagues serving as valuable business coaches, indicating that a second perspective can lead to a more thorough analysis of the situation. Introducing a new viewpoint to an issue can effectively resolve it. Consequently, the inclusion of multiple ideas is deemed advantageous. Hence, the answer is F.

3. Answer: C

Question type: Matching Features

Answer location: Paragraph C, line 7

Answer explanation: In the 7th line of paragraph C, it is mentioned that Stoykov has to concentrate on short-term stress relief – weekends in the mountains, the occasional “mental health” day – rather than delegating more work. According to the passage, the author asserts that individuals should focus on finding short-term solutions for stress relief. This could involve taking brief vacations or occasional breaks. Nonetheless, this approach doesn’t imply a reduction in workload, as emphasized by Stoykov. Hence, the answer is C.

4. Answer: D

Question type: Matching Features

Answer location: Paragraph F, line 1

Answer explanation: the first line of paragraph F states, “I’ll promise a client I’ll do something tomorrow, and then promise another client the same thing when I really know it’s not going to happen.” The explanation provided indicates that stress often arises from setting unrealistic expectations. Making commitments that are not feasible can lead to highly stressful circumstances and a loss of trustworthiness. Neil Plumridge refers to this phenomenon as procrastination or Parkinson’s Law, which asserts that “work expands to fill the time available.” Essentially, even when a task could be completed within a short timeframe, individuals tend to prolong it until the deadline. Consequently, the correct answer is option D.

5. Answer: D

Question type: Summary Completions

Answer location: Paragraph G, line 2

Answer explanation: The 2nd line of paragraph G mentions, “This is a misapprehension, according to the authors of the report, Professor Gal Zauberman, of the University of North Carolina, and Professor John Lynch, of Duke University.” The preceding context mentions that a research study featured in the February edition of the Journal of Experimental Psychology reveals that individuals tend to assume they will have less work in the future, which is proven to be inaccurate, as confirmed by Professor Gal Zauberman. Thus, the answer is D.

Tips for Answering the Question Types in the Stress of Workplace – IELTS Reading Answers 

Now that you know the ‘Stress of Workplace – IELTS Reading Answers with its explanation, let us check out some quick tips to answer the 3 question types in the  “Stress of Workplace – IELTS Reading Answers:”

Matching Features

Matching Features in the IELTS Reading section typically involves a task where you are provided with a list of options or features and a text with several sections or paragraphs containing information. Your task is to match each option or feature with the most suitable section or paragraph in the text.

• Read the statements or questions carefully. Make sure that you understand what the examiner is asking you.
• Scan the passage for the keywords and phrases in the statements or questions.
• Read the paragraph headings or paragraph numbers carefully. Try to identify the main topic of each paragraph.
• Match each statement or question to the paragraph that contains the relevant information.
• Check your answers to make sure that they make sense.

Multiple Choice Question

Multiple-Choice Questions (MCQs) are another common type of question on the IELTS reading exam. You will be given a question and a list of possible answers, and your task is to choose the answer that is most accurate and complete. Here are some tips for answering MCQs:

• Read the question carefully. Make sure that you understand what the examiner is asking you.
• Scan the passage for the information that you need to answer the question.
• Eliminate any answers that are clearly wrong.
• Choose the answer that is most accurate and complete.

Summary Completion

Summary completion is a type of question in the IELTS reading exam that tests your ability to understand the main ideas and supporting details in a passage. You will be given an incomplete summary and a list of possible words or phrases, and your task is to complete the summary by choosing the correct words or phrases from the list. Here are some tips for answering summary completion questions:

• Read the incomplete summary carefully. Make sure that you understand the overall meaning of the summary and what information is missing.
• Scan the list of possible words and phrases. Pay attention to the key words and phrases in the summary.
• Try to predict the missing words or phrases. What information would make the summary complete and grammatically correct?
• Choose the words or phrases that make the most sense in the context of the summary.

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