Microsoft Word 220505 6min english office docx

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BBC LEARNING ENGLISH
 
6 Minute English 
Life in the modern office 
This is not a word-for-word transcript 
6 Minute English
 
©British Broadcasting Corporation 2022 
bbclearningenglish.com
Page 1 of 5 
Sam
Hello. This is 6 Minute English from BBC Learning English. I’m Sam. 
Neil 
And I’m Neil. Have you seen my pen, Sam? It’s not on my desk. 
Sam 
No, I haven’t touched your pen, Neil. 
Neil 
…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!
Sam 
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. 
Neil 
Hmm, maybe I should quit. I loved working from home during the pandemic – no 
early mornings, no crowded trains… and no-one using my pens! 
Sam 
As the Covid pandemic slows down, more and more people are returning to work 
in the office. In this programme, we take a look at life in the modern office. And of 
course, we’ll learn some useful vocabulary as well. 
Neil 
But first I have a question for you, Sam. As you know, I’m not an office lover. 
Besides disappearing pens, workers have plenty of other complaints about office 
life, from co-workers who never do the washing up, to fighting over spaces in the 

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