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“Work greatly influences people’s personal lives—their special interests, their leisure
away from the workplace.”

Discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with the opinion expressed above. reasons and/or examples from your own experience, observations, or reading.

Work, or one’s occupation, has a significant influence on an individual’s personal life. Although some have argued that work and personal lives remain separate, this claim is mistaken – work remains a dominant factor in affecting people’s lives.

Firstly, the largest proportion of a working adult’s daily life is spent in the workplace. Typically, an average worker works eight to nine hours a day. If an average adult is assumed to sleep between nine to ten hours, the vast majority of the time whilst the individual is awake is taken up at work. Importantly, whilst at work, the individual performs daily routines, interacts with the same colleagues and engages in unique tasks and all these characteristics are likely to mould the individual a certain way the job requires. For example, doctors are likely to perform surgeries daily and interact with patients and colleagues, hence, these unique characteristics are likely to become embedded in the individual. Therefore, the combination of a large amount of time being spent at work and the unique experiences the individual has whilst at work are likely to significantly influence his life.

In addition, an individual’s occupation is likely to lead the individual to develop special interests related to his work. For example, a stockbroker, learning relevant skills from his trade, may trade stocks in his spare time, for his personal gain. The skills he has accumulated at work will enable the trader to engage in this activity competently, and it is in his own interest to do so, as more practice gained in his spare time is likely to lead to higher performance at work. Thus, work also greatly influences interests developed outside of work.

Thirdly, the unique lifestyle an occupation leads may narrow down the available leisure activities at the worker’s disposal. For example, a management consultant is more likely than a civil servant to be working longer hours and constantly traveling to client sites, hence, is more restricted in terms of the range of activities that he could potentially engage in. For example, if there was a local yoga class everyday at six in the afternoon, the civil servant, whose work is more predictable and requires less travel, is more likely to be able to attend than the management consultant. Therefore, an individual’s occupation can both enable and restrict the range of activities that the individual can engage in outside of work.

In conclusion, work remains a dominant factor in affecting people’s lives. Although some argue that work and people’s personal lives should remain separate, due to an individual spending a large proportion of a day in the workplace, developing special interests originating from his occupation and work restricting the range of available leisure activities outside of work depending on his occupation, work is crucial in shaping people’s lives.

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