Office People Furniture Receptionist Sits Information Section Small

A typical office has a desk with a hutch, filing cabinets, and office chairs. But some jobs require "specialized" (serving a specific purpose) office furniture that helps the employees complete their work.

For example, a "receptionist" sits near the main door of an office building and greets people who walk in, helping them find the information they need or meet with the people they have come to see. The receptionist normally sits behind a "reception desk," which has a nice "finish" (the way something appears, especially wood) on the side that faces the entrance with a low section the receptionist can see over while seated, and a higher section where the people who come into the office can set down their papers and speak with the receptionist comfortably while standing.

The "back office" (a room that is not open to the public, usually filled with office supplies, photocopy machines, and fax machines) often has "mail slots" or "cubby holes" (many small boxes or shelves, usually with one for each employee, labeled with names) where mail and other items are "distributed" (given to someone) so that each employee can "check" (see what is there) his or her cubby hole once a day.

Often people who work in "call centers" (large buildings where many people provide customer service or technical support over the phone) or "data processing centers" (large buildings where many people type information into computers) don't need their own office. Instead, they have a "cubicle," or a small area separated from other workers by "partitions" (short walls that do not reach up to the ceiling), but they can hear the people around them and easily see them, often simply by standing up and looking over those partitions.