Reading. Read the article and choose the sentence a - c that best describes the main point.
a. All employees have tidy desks.
b. A tidy desk isn't always important.
c. We don't like desks.
1. What things made from paper does the writer have on his desk?
2. What is next to the keyboard?
3. Where do workers usually put their documents?
4. How much time do people with untidy desks spend looking for things each day?
5. How many types of workers does the article mention?
6. What are the disadvantages of being a "filer"?
7. What are the advanatges of being a "piler"?
8. What should you do next time you tidy your desk?
Read the article again and answer the questions.
Reading.
The paperless Office
Leave my desk alone. It works
I'm writing this article at my desk. It isn't a tidy desk - there are lots of things on it (books, brochures, files, notepads and newspapers). There are six pens and some documents next to the keyboard and there's a printer under my chair. It isn't a problem, and there are a lot of desks like mine in The Economist's offices.
But in many companies it's very important to have a tidy office. Some companies say that workers can't leave documents or paper on their desk at the end of the day. Employees put all the documents into filing cabinets or drawers. Experts say that a person who works at an untidy desk is not organised and spends about one-and-a-half hours a day looking for things. An organised worker always has a tidy workplace.
But is that true? Research shows that there are two types of worker. The first type is the "filer". They receive a document and immediately file it. The second type is the "piler". They have piles of paper on their desk. Who do you think can find things quickly? The answer may surprise you.
Workers who file everything have a tidy desk, but they file too much. There are twomain problems with this. First the files and filing cabinets take a lot of speace in the office. And second, there are so many files that it takes time to remember where a particular document is.
Now let's look at "pilers". They often have an untidy desk, but they aren't always disorganised. Some experts say that a busy desk helps "pilers" to think about current projects and makes it easy to find documents.
So next time you tidy your desk, stop and think. Perhaps and untidy desk makes it easier to find things!
Glossary
expert (n): a person who knows a lot about a subject.
research (n): the study of a subject to find new information.
disorganised (adj): not organised.
current (adj): happening at the moment
Speaking. Which kind of worker are you - a "filer" or a "piler"? Why? Do you tidy things on your computer in the same way?
Who is more likely to have a tidy work area - someone who works from home or someone who works in an open-plan office? Why?
Writing. Write a brief summary of each parragraph from the reading above.
My Notes
B U S I N E S S C O N T E X T
Inglés Online Empresarial