Life in the modern office

Question 1

hot-desking

Answer 1

system where office workers do not have their own personal desk but use any available desk on a day-by-day basis.

… and someone’s taken my coffee mug too! Agh, ever since we started hot-desking, people in this office think they can do whatever they like!
Neil doesn’t like the new rule about office hot-desking, the system where workers don’t have their own personal desk, but use any available desk, on a temporary basis. Maybe he should look for another job and quit the nine-to-five – a phrase describing jobs which start at 9am and end at 5pm, the normal hours that people in offices work from Monday to Friday.

Question 2

nine-to-five

Answer 2

work which begins at 9am and ends at 5pm - the normal Monday to Friday office working hours.

Neil doesn’t like the new rule about office hot-desking, the system where workers don’t have their own personal desk, but use any available desk, on a temporary basis. Maybe he should look for another job and quit the nine-to-five – a phrase describing jobs which start at 9am and end at 5pm, the normal hours that people in offices work from Monday to Friday.

Question 3

montage

Answer 3

The woman Harriet interviewed used photos and postcards to create a montage – a piece of work made by putting together several different items, often in interesting combinations. Her photo montage reminded her of the people and places she loved outside of work.

Nowadays most modern offices are open-plan, large spaces without internal walls dividing them up. The idea is to create a sense of togetherness, but many employees prefer having their own space, and use all types of objects to mark out their own personal territory. These could be anything from family photos and holiday souvenirs, to home-made cakes and biscuits placed at the end of a desk to allow people grab a biscuit and start a conversation.

Question 4

sense of familiarity

Answer 4

feeling of knowing something or someone so well that you feel close, comfortable, and relaxed around them.

For Harriet this shows that people want workspaces to have a sense of familiarity – the feeling of knowing something so well that you feel comfortable and relaxed.
there’s still evidence in this research that people want to feel comfort, and settled and have some sense of familiarity.

Question 5

worn out

Answer 5

so old or damaged from continual use that it cannot be used any more.

Harriet interviewed a hairdresser whose salon floor had been worn out – damaged by continual use, after being walked on again and again as the woman cut people’s hair. For her, the worn-out floor symbolised hard graft, or hard work.
Whatever your job, we all spend most of each day at work, so it’s important to have a workplace that’s safe, comfortable and familiar… where people don’t steal your pen!

Question 6

hard graft

Answer 6

(slang) hard work.

Harriet interviewed a hairdresser whose salon floor had been worn out – damaged by continual use, after being walked on again and again as the woman cut people’s hair. For her, the worn-out floor symbolised hard graft, or hard work.

A sort of half-moon scuff mark that goes right round the back of the chair – so literally, she’s worn out the floor. It’s exactly where a hairdresser would tread for many, many hours of the day. And she took the photograph, and she showed it to me, and she said, ‘This is me. You want to know about identity. It represents hard graft’.