Office English vocabulary: 25 words for the working day
A2–B225 words
Office life has its own small dictionary: the words people use for schedules, absences and admin. They rarely appear in coursebooks, yet you hear them on your first day in an English-speaking workplace.
Where you will use it: Workplace conversation, HR admin and schedules.
Office English — The word list
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| handover | Passing work to another person.“She wrote a handover before her holiday.” |
| overtime | Hours worked beyond the normal schedule.“He worked overtime all week.” |
| appraisal | A formal review of your performance.“My appraisal is in March.” |
| headcount | The number of employees.“We increased headcount by five.” |
| workload | The amount of work to do.“My workload doubled this month.” |
| sick leave | Time off work because of illness.“He's on sick leave until Friday.” |
| day off | A day when you do not work.“Tuesday is my day off.” |
| line manager | The person you report to.“Ask your line manager first.” |
| shift | A set period of working hours.“I'm on the early shift.” |
| minutes | The written record of a meeting.“Could you take the minutes?” |
| expenses | Work costs the company repays.“Submit your expenses by month end.” |
| remote work | Working away from the office.“We allow remote work two days a week.” |
| annual leave | Paid time away from work each year.“I booked three days of annual leave.” |
| conference call | A phone or video call with several people.“We have a conference call at eleven.” |
| flexible hours | A schedule allowing varied start and finish times.“The company offers flexible hours.” |
| hot desk | A workspace not assigned to one person.“You need to book a hot desk.” |
| workstation | A desk and computer used for work.“Every workstation has two screens.” |
| colleague | A person you work with.“Ask a colleague to review the document.” |
| department | A specialised section of an organisation.“She works in the finance department.” |
| payroll | The system that pays employees.“Contact payroll about the missing payment.” |
| payslip | A document showing pay and deductions.“Your payslip is available online.” |
| promotion | A move to a more senior job.“He received a promotion last month.” |
| recruitment | The process of finding new employees.“Recruitment starts in January.” |
| staff meeting | A meeting for employees in a team or company.“The weekly staff meeting starts at nine.” |
| work from home | To do your job from your home.“I work from home on Fridays.” |
Useful learning tips
- Learn in small groupsTake five words at a time and review them before adding more.
- Say the examples aloudReading each sentence aloud connects spelling, sound and meaning.
- Write your own sentenceUse each word in a true sentence about your life or work.
How to study this list
Add five or six of these words a day rather than the whole list at once, keep the example sentence on the card, and review them when they come due. WordNest schedules each word across seven growing intervals — same day, then 1, 3, 7, 14, 30 and 60 days — so the list is still with you months later. Read how spaced repetition works if you want the reasoning behind those numbers.
Studying office english pairs well with our business email phrases, business English vocabulary and job interview word list, or browse all free English word lists.
Related guides
Questions about this list
How can I practise Office English?
Start with five words and say each example aloud. Then recall the word from its meaning and review it over several days.
Where can I use Office English?
Workplace conversation, HR admin and schedules.
How many words are in this list?
This list contains 25 English words with definitions and example sentences. It is a starting set, not a complete syllabus.
Turn this list into flashcards
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