Office work

A typical modern office

An office is generally a room or other area in which people work, but may also denote a position within an organization with specific duties attached to it (see officer, office-holder, official); the latter is in fact an earlier usage, office as place originally referring to the location of one's duty. When used as an adjective, the term "office" may refer to business-related tasks. In legal writing, a company or organization has offices in any place that it has an official presence, even if that presence consists of, for example, a storage silo rather than an office.

An office is an architectural and design phenomenon and a social phenomenon, whether it is a small office such as a bench in the corner of a small business of extremely small size (see small office/home office) through entire floors of buildings up to and including massive buildings dedicated entirely to one company. In modern terms an office usually refers to the location where white-collar workers are employed.

History of offices[link]

The structure and shape of the office is impacted by both management thought as well as construction materials and may or may not have walls or barriers . The word stems from the Latin officium, and its equivalents in various, mainly romance, languages. Interestingly, this was not necessarily a place, but rather an often mobile 'bureau' in the sense of a human staff or even the abstract notion of a formal position, such as a magistrature. The relatively elaborate Roman bureaucracy would not be equaled for centuries in the West after the fall of Rome, even partially reverting to illiteracy, while the East preserved a more sophisticated administrative culture, both under Byzantium and under Islam.

Offices in classical antiquity were often part of a palace complex or a large temple. There was usually a room where scrolls were kept and scribes did their work. Ancient texts mentioning the work of scribes allude to the existence of such "offices". These rooms are sometimes called "libraries" by some archaeologists and the general press because one often associates scrolls with literature. In fact they were true offices since the scrolls were meant for record keeping and other management functions such as treaties and edicts, and not for writing or keeping poetry or other works of fiction.

A European office from the early 18th century.

An office in 1903, equipped with speaking tubes.

1937 image of the Division of Classification and Cataloging, National Archives, United States

Pre-Industrial Revolution[link]

The High Middle Ages (1000–1300) saw the rise of the medieval chancery, which was usually the place where most government letters were written and where laws were copied in the administration of a kingdom. The rooms of the chancery often had walls full of pigeonholes, constructed to hold rolled up pieces of parchment for safekeeping or ready reference, a precursor to the book shelf. The introduction of printing during the Renaissance did not change these early government offices much.

Pre-industrial illustrations such as paintings or tapestries often show us personalities or eponyms in their private offices, handling record keeping books or writing on scrolls of parchment. All kinds of writings seemed to be mixed in these early forms of offices. Before the invention of the printing press and its distribution there was often a very thin line between a private office and a private library since books were read or written in the same space at the same desk or table, and general accounting and personal or private letters were also done there.

It was during the 13th century that the English form of the word first appeared when referring to a position involving duties (ex. the office of the …). Geoffrey Chaucer appears to have first used the word in 1395 to mean a place where business is transacted in The Canterbury Tales.

As Mercantilism became the dominant economic theory of the Renaissance, merchants tended to conduct their business in the same buildings, which might include retail sales, warehousing and clerical work. During the 15th century, population density in many cities reached the point where stand-alone buildings were used by merchants to conduct their business, and there was a developing a distinction between church, government/military and commerce uses for buildings.^[1]

Industrial Revolution[link]

The Industrial Revolution (18th and 19th century) saw the rise of banking, railroads, insurance, retailing, oil, and the telegraph industries. To transact business, an increasing large number of clerks were needed to handle order-processing, accounting, and file documents, with increasingly specialized office space required to house these activities. Most of the desks of the era were top heavy with paper storage bins extending above the desk-work area, giving the appearance of a cubical and offering the workers some degree of privacy.

The relative high price of land in the central core of cities lead to the first multi-story buildings, which were limited to about 10 stories until the use of iron and steel allowed for higher structures. The invention of the safety elevator in 1852 by Elisha Otis saw the rapid escalation upward of buildings.^[1] By the end of the 19th century, larger office buildings frequently contained large glass atriums to allow light into the complex and improve air circulation.

20th century[link]

By 1906, the Sears, Roebuck and Co opened their mail order and headquarters operation in a 3,000,000-square-foot (280,000 m²) building in Chicago, at the time, the largest building in the world. The Time and motion study, pioneered in manufacturing by F. W. Taylor and later applied to the office environment by Frank and Lillian Gilbreth, led to the idea that managers needed to play an active role in directing the work of subordinates. As a result, in 1915, the Equitable Life Insurance Company in New York City introduced the “Modern Efficiency Desk” with a flat top and drawers below, designed to allow managers an easy view of the workers. This led to a demand for a large square footages per floor in buildings, and a return to the open spaces that were seen in pre-industrial revolution buildings.^[1]

However, by the midpoint of the 20th century, it became apparent that an efficient office required discretion in the control of privacy, which is needed to combat tedium linked to poor productivity, and to encourage creativity. In 1964, the Herman Miller (office equipment) company engaged Robert Propst, a prolific industrial designer, who came up with the concept of the Action Office which later evolved into the cubicle office furniture system.^[1]

Office spaces[link]

The main purpose of an office environment is to support its occupants in performing their job - preferably at minimum cost and to maximum satisfaction. With different people performing different tasks and activities, however, it is not always easy to select the right office spaces. To aid decision-making in workplace and office design, one can distinguish three different types of office spaces: work spaces, meeting spaces and support spaces. For new, or developing businesses, remote satellite offices and project rooms, Serviced Offices can provide a simple solution and provide all of the former types of space.

Work spaces[link]

Work spaces in an office are typically used for conventional office activities such as reading, writing and computer work. There are nine generic types of work space, each supporting different activities.

• 

  open office

• 

  team space

• 

  cubicle

Open office - An open work space for more than ten people, suitable for activities which demand frequent communication or routine activities which need relatively little concentration

Team space - A semi-enclosed work space for two to eight people; suitable for teamwork which demands frequent internal communication and a medium level of concentration

Cubicle - A semi-enclosed work space for one person, suitable for activities which demand medium concentration and medium interaction

• 

  private office

• 

  shared office

• 

  team room

Private office - An enclosed work space for one person, suitable for activities which are confidential, demand a lot of concentration or include many small meetings

Shared office - An enclosed work space for two or three people, suitable for semi-concentrated work and collaborative work in small groups

Team room - An enclosed work space for four to ten people; suitable for teamwork which may be confidential and demands frequent internal communication

• 

  study booth

• 

  work lounge

• 

  touch down

Study booth - An enclosed work space for one person; suitable for short-term activities which demand concentration or confidentiality

Work lounge - A lounge-like work space for two to six people; suitable for short-term activities which demand collaboration and/or allow impromptu interaction

Touch down - An open work space for one person; suitable for short-term activities which require little concentration and low interaction

Meeting spaces[link]

Meeting spaces in an office are typically used interactive processes, be it quick conversations or intensive brainstorms. There are six generic types of meeting space, each supporting different activities.

• 

  small meeting room

• 

  large meeting room

• 

  Small meeting space

Small meeting room - An enclosed meeting space for two to four persons, suitable for both formal and informal interaction

Large meeting room - An enclosed meeting space for five to twelve people, suitable for formal interaction

Small meeting space - An open or semi-open meeting space for two to four persons; suitable for short, informal interaction

• 

  large meeting space

• 

  brainstorm room

• 

  meeting point

Large meeting space - An open or semi-open meeting space for five to twelve people; suitable for short, informal interaction

Brainstorm room - An enclosed meeting space for five to twelve people; suitable for brainstorming sessions and workshops

Meeting point - An open meeting point for two to four persons; suitable for ad hoc, informal meetings

Support spaces[link]

Support spaces in an office are typically used for secondary activities such as filing documents or taking a break. There are twelve generic types of support space, each supporting different activities.

• 

  filing space

• 

  storage space

• 

  print and copy area

Filing space - An open or enclosed support space for the storage of frequently used files and documents

Storage space - An open or enclosed support space for the storage of commonly used office supplies

Print and copy area - An open or enclosed support space with facilities for printing, scanning and copying

• 

  mail area

• 

  pantry area

• 

  break area

Mail area - An open or semi-open support space where employees can pick up or deliver their personal mail

Pantry area - An open or enclosed support space where people can get coffee and tea as well as soft drinks and snacks

Break area - A semi-open or enclosed support space where employees can take a break from their work

• 

  locker area

• 

  smoking room

• 

  library

Locker area - An open or semi-open support space where employees can store their personal belongings

Smoking room - An enclosed support space where employees can smoke a cigarette

Library - A semi-open or enclosed support space for reading of books, journals and magazines

• 

  games room

• 

  waiting area

• 

  circulation space

Games room - An enclosed support space where employees can play games (e.g. computer games, pool, darts)

Waiting area - An open or semi-open support space where visitors can be received and can wait for their appointment

Circulation space - Support space which is required for circulation on office floors, linking all major functions

Office structure[link]

Open plan TradeMe offices, above NZX, Wellington, New Zealand

There are many different ways of arranging the space in an office and whilst these vary according to function, managerial fashions and the culture of specific companies can be even more important. Choices include, how many people will work within the same room. At one extreme, each individual worker will have their own room; at the other extreme a large open plan office can be made up of one main room with tens or hundreds of people working in the same space. Open plan offices put multiple workers together in the same space, and some studies have shown that they can improve short term productivity, i.e. within a single software project. At the same time, the loss of privacy and security can increase the incidence of theft and loss of company secrets. A type of compromise between open plan and individual rooms is provided by the cubicle, possibly made most famous by the Dilbert cartoon series, which solves visual privacy to some extent, but often fails on acoustic separation and security. Most cubicles also require the occupant to sit with their back towards anyone who might be approaching; workers in walled offices almost always try to position their normal work seats and desks so that they can see someone entering, and in some instances, install tiny mirrors on things such as computer monitors

Office buildings[link]

A small office building in Salinas, California, United States.

The Willis Tower in Chicago is a high-rise office building, the tallest of its kind in the U.S.

While offices can be built in almost any location and in almost any building, some modern requirements for offices make this more difficult. These requirements can be both legal (e.g. light levels must be sufficient) or technical (e.g. requirements for computer networking). Alongside, other requirements such as security and flexibility of layout, has led to the creation of special buildings which are dedicated only or primarily for use as offices. An office building, also known as an office block or business centre is a form of commercial building which contains spaces mainly designed to be used for offices.

The primary purpose of an office building is to provide a workplace and working environment primarily for administrative and managerial workers. These workers usually occupy set areas within the office building, and usually are provided with desks, PCs and other equipment they may need within these areas.

An office building will be divided into sections for different companies or may be dedicated to one company. In either case, each company will typically have a reception area, one or several meeting rooms, singular or open-plan offices, as well as toilets.

Many office buildings also have kitchen facilities and a staff room, where workers can have lunch or take a short break. Many office spaces are now also serviced office spaces, which means that those occupying a space or building can share facilities.^[2]

Office and retail rental rates[link]

Rental rates for office and retail space are typically quoted in terms of money per floor-area–time, usually money per floor-area–year. For example, the rate for a particular property may be 290 dollars per square-meter–year ($290/m²·a) (or $29/ft²·a), and rates in the area could range $200/m²·a–$500/m²·a.

In many countries, rent is typically paid monthly even if usually discussed in terms of years.

Example: A particular 200 m² space is priced at $150/m²·a: (200 m²) × ($150/m²·a) / (12 mo/a) = $2500/month

In a gross lease, the rate quoted is an all-inclusive rate. One pays a set amount of rent per time and the landlord is responsible for all other expenses such as costs of utilities, taxes, insurance, maintenance, and repairs.

The triple net lease is one in which the tenant is liable for a share of various expenses such as property taxes, insurance, maintenance, utilities, climate control, repairs, janitorial services and landscaping.

Grading[link]

The Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) classifies office space into three categories: Class A, Class B, and Class C.^[3] According to BOMA, Class A office buildings have the "most prestigious buildings competing for premier office users with rents above average for the area." BOMA states that Class A facilities have "high quality standard finishes, state of the art systems, exceptional accessibility and a definite market presence." BOMA describes Class B office buildings as those that compete "for a wide range of users with rents in the average range for the area." BOMA states that Class B buildings have "adequate systems" and finishes that "are fair to good for the area," but that the buildings do not compete with Class A buildings for the same prices. According to BOMA Class C buildings are aimed towards "tenants requiring functional space at rents below the average for the area."^[4]

See also[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Offices

Physical[link]

• Business park
• Corner office
• Executive suite
• Factory
• Office supplies
• Over-illumination
• Serviced office
• Steel Buildings
• Warehouse

Soft issues[link]

• Office etiquette
• Office gossip
• Office manager
• Office politics
• Online office suite
• Sick building syndrome

References[link]

Further reading[link]

• Juriaan van Meel, Yuri Martens, Hermen Jan van Ree. Planning Office Spaces: a practical guide for manager and designers. London: Laurence King Publishing, 2010.
• Adams, Scott. What do you call a sociopath in a cubicle? (answer, a coworker) Kansas City, Missouri: Andrews McMeel Pub., 2002.
• Duffy, Francis. Colin Cave. John Worthington, editors. Planning Office Space. London: The Architectural Press Ltd., 1976.
• Klein, Judy Graf. The Office Book. New York: Facts on File Inc., 1982.

See also[link]

• Early Office Museum

Steve Carell
Carell at the Sydney Crazy, Stupid, Love. premiere in July 2011
Born	Steven John Carell (1962-08-16) August 16, 1962 (age 49) Concord, Massachusetts, U.S.
Nationality	American
Alma mater	Denison University
Occupation	Actor, comedian, voice artist, producer, writer, director
Years active	1989–present
Notable work(s)	The Daily Show The Office Despicable Me Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy Crazy, Stupid, Love.
Spouse	Nancy Carell (m. 1995)
Children	Annie Carell (b. 2001) John Carell (b. 2004)
Awards	Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Television Comedy Series 2006 The Office

Steven John "Steve" Carell ( /kəˈrɛl/; born August 16, 1962)^[1] is an American comedian, actor, voice artist, producer, writer, and director. Although Carell is notable for his role on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, he found greater fame in the late 2000s for playing Michael Scott on The Office. He has also starred in lead roles in the films The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Little Miss Sunshine, Evan Almighty, Dan in Real Life, Get Smart, Date Night, Dinner for Schmucks, and Crazy, Stupid, Love.; and voiced characters in the animated films Over the Hedge, Horton Hears a Who!, and Despicable Me. Carell was nominated as "America's funniest man" in Life magazine, and received a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Television Comedy Series for playing the lead role of Michael Scott for The Office in 2006.

Early life[link]

Carell, the youngest of four brothers, was born at Emerson Hospital in Concord, Massachusetts, and was raised in nearby Acton by his parents, Harriet T. (née Koch), a psychiatric nurse, and Edwin A. Carell, an electrical engineer.^[2][3] His maternal uncle, Stanley Koch, worked with Allen B. DuMont to create cathode ray tubes.^[4] Carell's paternal grandfather was Italian;^[2] his father was born with the surname "Caroselli", later shortening it to "Carell".^[3] Carell was raised Roman Catholic,^[5] and was educated at The Fenn School and Middlesex School. Carell also played ice hockey as a teenager for his high school.^{[citation needed]} He played the fife, performing with other members of his family, and later joined a reenacting group portraying the 10th (North Lincoln) Regiment of Foot. Carell attributed his interest in history to this,^[6] in which he earned his degree from Denison University in Granville, Ohio in 1984.^[7][8] While at Denison, Carell was a member of Burpee's Seedy Theatrical Company, a student-run improvisational comedy troupe.^[9]

Career[link]

Carell states that he worked as a mail carrier in Littleton, Massachusetts. He later recounted that he quit after a few months because his boss told him he was not very good as a mail carrier; he needed to be more efficient.^[10] Early in his performing career, Carell acted on the stage in a touring children's theater company and later in the comedy musical, Knat Scatt Private Eye. He also acted in a television commercial for Brown's Chicken in 1989.^[11] After that, Carell performed with Chicago troupe The Second City in 1991, where Stephen Colbert was his understudy for a time. That same year, he obtained his first film work in a minor role as Tesio in Curly Sue.

During the spring of 1996, he was a cast member of The Dana Carvey Show, a primetime sketch comedy program on ABC. Along with fellow cast member Stephen Colbert, Carell provided the voice of Gary, half of The Ambiguously Gay Duo, the Robert Smigel–produced animated short which continued on Saturday Night Live later that year. While the program lasted only seven episodes, The Dana Carvey Show has since been credited with forging Carell's career.^[12] During this time, he also played a supporting character for several series including Come to Papa and the short-lived 1997 Tim Curry situation comedy Over the Top. He has made numerous guest appearances, including on an episode of Just Shoot Me! titled "Funny Girl." Carell's other early screen credits includes Julia Louis-Dreyfus's short-lived situation comedy Watching Ellie (2002–2003) and Woody Allen's Melinda and Melinda. He has also made fun of himself for auditioning for Saturday Night Live but losing the job to Will Ferrell. Carell was a correspondent for The Daily Show from 1999 until 2005, with a number of regular segments including "Even Stevphen" with Stephen Colbert and "Produce Pete."

[edit] The Office

During 2005, Carell signed a deal with NBC to star in The Office, a "mockumentary" about life at a mid-sized paper supply company, which was a remake of a successful British TV series. He plays Michael Scott, the idiosyncratic regional manager of Dunder Mifflin Inc, in Scranton, Pennsylvania. Although the first season of the adaptation suffered mediocre ratings, NBC renewed it for another season due to the anticipated success of Carell's movie The 40-Year-Old Virgin,^[13] and the series subsequently became a ratings success. Carell won a Golden Globe and Television Critics Association award during 2006 for his Office role. He has also received five Emmy Award nominations^[14] for his work in the series (2006–2010). His last episode for the show, "Goodbye, Michael" aired on April 28, 2011.

Carell earned approximately US$175,000 per episode of the third season of The Office, twice his salary for the previous two seasons. In an Entertainment Weekly interview, he commented on his salary, saying "You don't want people to think you're a pampered jerk. Salaries can be ridiculous. On the other hand, a lot of people are making a lot of money off of these shows."^[15] Carell was allowed "flex time" during filming to work on theatrical films. Carell worked on Evan Almighty during a production hiatus during the second season of The Office.^[16] Production ended during the middle of the fourth season of The Office because of Carell's and others' refusal to cross the picket line of the 2007 Writers Guild of America strike. Carell, a WGA member,^[17] has written two episodes of The Office: "Casino Night" and "Survivor Man". Both episodes were praised, and Carell won a Writers Guild of America Award for "Casino Night".^{[citation needed]}

On April 29, 2010, Carell stated he would be leaving the show when his contract expired at the conclusion of the 2010–2011 season.^[18]

His last episode, "Goodbye, Michael", aired April 28, 2011 with his final shot showing Carell walking to a Colorado-bound plane to join his fiancée, Holly Flax.

Film career[link]

Carell at the Academy Awards in 2007

Carell's first starring role was in the 2005 film The 40-Year-Old Virgin, which he developed and co-wrote. The film made $109 million in domestic box office^[19] and established Carell as a leading man. It also earned Carell an MTV Movie Award for Best Comedic Performance and a WGA Award nomination, along with co-writer Judd Apatow, for Best Original Screenplay.

Carell acted as "Uncle Arthur", imitating the camp mannerisms of Paul Lynde's original character for the 2005 remake of Bewitched with Nicole Kidman and Will Ferrell. He also voiced a starring role for the 2006 computer-animated film Over the Hedge as Hammy the Squirrel. He also voiced for the 2008 animated film Horton Hears a Who! as the mayor of Whoville, Ned McDodd. He starred in Little Miss Sunshine during 2006, as Uncle Frank. His work in the films Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, The 40-Year-Old Virgin, and Bewitched established Carell as a member of Hollywood's so-called "Frat Pack" group. (This set of actors includes Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson, Will Ferrell, Vince Vaughn, and Luke Wilson).

Carell acted as the title character of Evan Almighty, a sequel to Bruce Almighty, reprising his role as Evan Baxter, now a U.S. Congressman. Although, ostensibly, God tasks Baxter with building an ark, Baxter also learns that life can generate positive returns with people offering Acts of Random Kindness. During October 2006, Carell began acting for the film Dan in Real Life, co-starring Dane Cook and Juliette Binoche. Filming ended December 22, 2006, and the film was released on October 26, 2007.

Carell played Maxwell Smart for a movie remake of Get Smart, which began filming February 3, 2007 and was filmed in Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., and Moscow, Russia. The movie was successful, grossing over $200 million worldwide.^[20] During 2007, Carell was invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.^[21][22]

Carell filmed a movie during late 2008 opposite Tina Fey, titled Date Night. It was released on April 9, 2010 in the U.S. He voiced Gru who is the main character in the Universal CGI movie Despicable Me along with Jason Segel, Russell Brand, Miranda Cosgrove, and Julie Andrews, which was very successful (he will likely be reprising the role for the upcoming sequel). He has several other projects in the works, including a remake of the 1967 Peter Sellers film The Bobo. He is currently doing voiceover work in commercials for Wrigley's Extra gum.

Carell has launched a television division of his Carousel Prods., which has contracted a three-year overall deal with Universal Media Studios, the studio behind his NBC comedy series. Thom Hinkle and Campbell Smith of North South Prods., former producers on Carell's alma mater, Comedy Central's The Daily Show, have been hired to manage Carousel's TV operations.^[23]

Carell with wife Nancy at the 2010 Academy Awards in March 2010

Personal life[link]

Carell is married to Saturday Night Live alumna Nancy Carell, whom he met when she was a student in an improvisation class he was teaching at Second City.^[24] They have two children, Elisabeth Anne "Annie" (born May 26, 2001) and John "Johnny" (born June 2004). In addition to working with him as a fellow correspondent on The Daily Show, Nancy also acted with him on The Office as his realtor and short-lived girlfriend Carol Stills, and also cameoed as a sex therapist in The 40-Year-Old Virgin.

Filmography[link]

Film[link]

Television[link]

Other awards[link]

Carell won the Spike TV 2008 "Guys Choice", Funniest M.F. Award.^[37]

References[link]

External links[link]

Biography portal

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Steve Carell

• Steve Carell at the Internet Movie Database
• Steve Carell on Charlie Rose
• Works by or about Steve Carell in libraries (WorldCat catalog)
• Dateline NBC's interview with Carell
• Carell's antique country store in Marshfield, Massachusetts
• USA Today article on real-life CEO lessons
• Steve Carell at Emmys.com