Extra Ideas

Quiz 1: Are You a Workaholic?

Working long and hard hours and deriving great satisfaction from one’s work does not make someone a workaholic. A true workaholic may not even especially enjoy working, but has to work: It is something he or she cannot do without, just as an addicted smoker cannot manage going a day without cigarettes. Consider the following questions in relation to your work and your feelings about your work identity:

1. When you leave work at the end of the work day, do problems, projects, phone calls, appointments, and meetings follow you home and encroach upon your private time?

2. When you are away from your work, do you find yourself replaying conversations at work, reassessing decisions, and reexamining work details?

3. Do you sometimes find it difficult to enjoy any activity that is not connected with work?

4. When you are not at work or not able to work, do you feel anxiety, depression, or other types of discomfort that might be described as symptoms of withdrawal?

5. Have you convinced yourself that success in your line of work necessitates a dedication bordering on the obsessive—that working the hours you work isn’t really your preference, but “the job demands it”?

6. Do you take setbacks, feedback, or criticism of work projects personally?

7. Do you see what you do for work as being who you are?

8. Are you seeking to prove your worth, whether to someone else or to yourself, by the work you do?

9. Do you believe that only extreme effort and accomplishment will fully demonstrate your true value?

10. Is work an escape from doing things you would rather avoid, such as meeting family obligations or facing family conflicts?

11. Do others close to you complain regularly about your work hours or about your never being around?

12. Has anyone close to you ever described you as a workaholic?

If you answered yes to any of the above questions, you may be having some problems.

Quiz 2: Are You a Compulsive Spender?

Even those of us who are not in the grip of the full-blown compulsive spending cycle may have tendencies that run in that direction. See if any of the following descriptions feel familiar to you.

i. Do you go shopping, whether in person or on the Internet, to escape feeling bored, empty, defeated, angry, or scared?

ii. After a setback or disappointment, does it feel like spending money will help you feel better?

iii. Do you shop or spend money in a way that creates conflicts for you, or between you and others?

iv. Do you spend impulsively and later wish you hadn’t bought the items?

v. Have your spending habits created chaos in your life?

vi. Do you buy things with your credit cards that you wouldn’t buy if you had to pay cash?

vii. When you shop or make a purchase, does your mood change?

viii. When you spend money, do you sometimes feel a secret thrill, as if you’re doing something taboo, dangerous, or defiant?

ix. Do you think about money that you don’t have, money you wish you had, or money you owe, and then still go out to shop?

x. Do you compromise your life or leisure to adjust to your shopping debts?

xi. Are you unable to fully enjoy what you purchase because you feel bad, guilty, ashamed, or embarrassed about your purchases?

xii. Do you make purchases to enhance your self-esteem?

xiii. If no one else noticed or observed that you had bought certain items, would you be significantly less likely to buy them?

If you answered yes to any of the above questions, you may be using money or shopping as a way to regulate your feelings or esteem. If so, your spending may to some degree be in control of you, rather than the other way around.

References:

1. Агабекян И. П., Коваленко П. И. Английский язык для экономистов: учеб. пособие. – Ростов н/Д: Феникс, 2004. – 416 с.

2. Воронцова И. И., Ильина А. К., Момджи Ю. В. Английский язык для студентов экономических факультетов: учеб. пособие. – М.: ПРИОР, 1999.

3. Backhouse Roger E. The Puzzle of Modern Economics. N. Y., Cambridge University Press, 2010.

4. Krueger D., Mann J. D. The Secret Language of Money. N. Y., 2009.

5. Stiglitz Joseph E. Freefall. N. Y., W. W. Norton&Company, 2010.

6. www.economist.com

7. www.aif.ru