The Origins of the Office

The origins of the office If the office is defined quite simply as an area of study that in its strictest definition will just comprise of an area to house a book and table then the first humble beginnings lie with Monks at St Jerome around 400AD who used the first office or Scriptomium to translate parts of the Old Testament into Latin. A desk would be just be a simple table the cloth that separated the book from the table was called the Burra giving rise to the French word for an office, Bureau. Monasteries became the centre of early intellectual development and creativity. The monastic structure and way of life was ideally suited to structured office based work and it is that can be seen early examples of team work and office hierarchy. The Middle ages gave way to the early foundations on Universities in the major cities may of which were founded and run by Monks. The Renaissance developed the office concept further and this is when we saw accessories such as ink and quill pen, paint, the abacus and sealing wax first appear. Typified by individuals working for a common cause often in academic or philosophic achievement a commercial office may have some of these traits but much has been lost to the pursuit of wealth Jono office furniture logistics