Changes in the office environment

The office as place is potentially subject to radical change. Historically there have been three reasons that created the need for the collective office:

• face-to-face contact with co-workers and clients;
• proximity to expensive information-processing equipment;
• access to information held only at a central location.

Advances in technology have caused changes in the office environment. The impact of computers on office work has resulted in redesigning the office. Computers have changed not only the shape of the office, but they have also affected even the lifestyle of office workers.

Firstly, office workplaces have become smaller and simpler. Visual displays have become lighter, require less power, produce less heat and are less sensitive to the lighting of the local environment. Problems of physical connectivity have simplified. These factors have led to progressive reduction in the size, weight and mobility of workplace hardware. At the same time more data is stored electronically and paper volumes have reduced dramatically. The furniture requires less surface area and less capacity for cables.

Secondly, as work has become less routine and more of the functions are performed electronically, office workers need to be able to perform a wider range of assignments and to be able to work in a less structured environment. They are less tied to particular workplaces and need a working environment that supports a range of work activities – particularly those that support communication and creative teamworking.

The balance between workspace and support space is changed with a higher proportion of the latter in the form of meeting and social space. If workplaces are not only reduced in size but also in number then the potential to change this balance is very marked.

II. Put different types of questions to the text.

III. Identify the words as 1) nouns, 2) adjectives, 3) verbs, 4) adverbs.

Co-worker, historically, reduction, simplify, equipment, electronically, expensive, dramatically, location, visual, firstly, environment, capacity, secondly, creative, particularly, mobility, socialize.

IV. State the tense of the verbs in the following sentences. Translate the sentences into Belarusian/Russian.

1. The physical surroundings of most modern places of work are becoming more and more similar. 2. All companies nowadays use personal computers or PCs. 3. The company has equipped its offices with copying machines. 4. In the near future, many of us will work at home – or even out of our cars.

V. Put the verbs in brackets into the correct form.

1. A boss told his secretary not to use the office phone for personal calls. She said she (not to do) it again. 2. She told me that she (to prepare) a report two days before. 3. I was sure that our office work (to become) less routine. 4. The boss asked if we (to participate) in the conference the following month.

VI. Choose the correct pronoun.

1. (Anybody/Nobody) is offended if his colleagues want to help him. 2. Does Treacy hold (any/anything) seminars? 3. In a small office (nobody /everybody) depends on each other. 4. In (any/some) companies the employees work in large open plan offices without walls between the departments. 5. You can go (anywhere/nowhere) you need to do your job.

VII. Define the meaning of the pronouns “ it ” and “ one ”. Translate the sentences into Belarusian/Russian.

1. One can’t stay indifferent when colleagues show signs of understanding. 2. It is important to create a friendly and close-knit atmosphere in the office. 3. The best kind of desk is a tidy one. 4. A small office offers those who work in it unique opportunities a big office cannot offer. 5. One who works with you and has a similar position is your colleague.

VIII. Underline modal verbs and their equivalents. Translate the sentences into Belarusian/Russian.

1. The layout of the office should be constructed so that employees are able to function effectively. 2. The structure of the office may or may not have walls or barriers. 3. The “ atmosphere ” of the workplace can influence the effectiveness of a company’s employees. 4. An office layout has to take into consideration growth needs.

TEST II

I. Read and translate the text into Belarusian/Russian. Do the translation in writing.

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