The work environment has been changing over the last several years and with these changes come new terms to describe the various arrangements and workspaces. Some of the more commonplace names today such as bull-pen, cube farm, and telecommuting have given way to a group of labels that more “aptly” describe the new “task areas”.
I cannot find the original sources for some of these terms that I have been collecting for a while. Many of them came from a column in Wired Magazine called Jargon Watch or from Word Spy. Thought I would present them here for you to review. Have some to add or know the source(s)? Send me a comment.
Cube farm - A collection of cubicles in an office.
Free range - Workspaces that are available to anyone in the company on a first- come, first-served basis, with no reservations required.
Group address - Unassigned team spaces designed for use by project teams and other groups.
Home office - The most common form of telecommuting, in which employees work at home one or more days per week.
Hot desk - A desk that is not assigned to a particular employee, but rather is available for use and can be reserved in advance by a mobile worker whenever they are required to be in the office.
Hot desking - Open office spaces with easily movable furniture and partitions that support on-the-spot group meetings or quickly assembled individual work areas.
Hoteling – (also called office hoteling) is the practice of providing office space to employees on an as-needed rather than on the traditional, constantly reserved basis. This reduces the amount of physical space that a business needs, lowering overhead cost while (ideally) ensuring that every worker can access office resources when necessary.
A hoteling system may include a reservation program that anticipates demand, manages how to meet the demand when it occurs, and prevents resource hoarding (the making of just-in-case reservations to ensure space is always available, whether needed or not). Employees can retain their own telephone number extension and voice mailbox. Hoteling systems can be especially useful to businesses in which employees travel frequently. Remote offices can exist almost anywhere, equipped with ports for notebook computers. Some companies provide special rooms, designed specifically for hoteling, equipped with tables, chairs, and even food services.
Office hoteling began in 1994 with the non-territorial office, conceived by the advertising agency Chiat/Day. Today the concept is used to advantage by diverse businesses including real estate agencies, consulting firms, law firms, manufacturers’ representatives, telecommuters, and flex-time workers.
Huddle spaces - Areas such as cybercafes, which are designed for informal meetings, chance encounters and work breaks to foster idea exchange and communication.
Learning spaces - Rooms that provide a traditional classroom environment or a space for interactive learning experiences.
Lifestyle office - An office organized in such a way that it suits the way of life and style of working of each employee.
Permanent assigned - The traditional situation of one workspace being assigned solely to a single employee or group to support individual or collaborative work.
Prairie-dogging - When the heads of office workers pop up over cubicle walls in response to a loud voice or noise. (Ok so this is not a term describing office space but I just really like the term and thought I would share it.)
Shared assigned - Two or more employees are assigned to the same workspace and figure out a schedule to use the area at different times.
Telecenters - Business centers where many companies rent space for their employees. Centers are equipped with receptionists, clerical help, e-mail and voice mail.
Tenant space - Group spaces that are rented for projects where employees will be working together for a short but intense period.
Touchdown center - A facility where business travelers can make calls, plug in their notebook computers, and connect to the Internet.
Videoconferencing rooms - A room specially designed to support the lighting, acoustic and other special technological requirements of group communication.
Virtual office - Employees who are constantly on the move carry their offices with them. Laptops and various telecommunications services allow mobile workers to connect to the central office from virtually any location.
