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So I was catching up with a colleague of mine working over in the USA and was surprised at some of the language differences associated with working from home. Whilst I was aware of language differences between words like rubbish (garbage) or nappies ( diapers) I was intrigued about their assumptions by what British people call their home offices – so what do English/British people call on office in their home.
English (and British) people primarily refer to their home offices as home offices. British people also refer to their home offices as studies or home workspaces. The confusion around what home offices are called in the UK is due to the governmental department called the home office.
So what exactly does the governmental home office do? And what are the scenarios that British people will refer to home offices as something other than home offices? Keep reading to find out more.
(Now it’s worth mentioning that this post has a lot of information and so if you’re curious about the best equipment needed to work remotely simply go to my resource page here)
What do British people call a home office?
For a lot of us, it seems like almost 25 years since we last were in our traditional offices. Commuting to work and catching up with our colleagues.
Definitely, one of the more bizarre questions you might have thought of ( and I never thought I would answer) with the amount of spare time we now have to ourselves is what do British people call home offices after all home offices aren’t; always called home offices in other English speaking countries outside of the USA.
To cut to the chase:
- British people will mainly refer to home offices as home offices too.
- Other variations that British people will refer to home offices as will be study rooms, home workspaces, or studies.
- Children in the UK will sometimes refer to their home offices as a homework station
- More often than not however if people do not have an entire office to dedicate to their home office they will just say they are working from their desk.
So why is there so much confusion around home offices?
Simply put, the government.
What does the home office do in the UK?
The home office (HO) in the UK is a ministerial department that manages immigration, policing, security (MIi5), law and order visas, and the fire and rescue services for England and Wales.
What is the U.S equivalent of the home office?
There is no single equivalent of the UK’s home office in the USA. Instead, the responsibilities managed by the home office are split by several different departments on a local, state, and federal level.
The following U.S governmental department would fall into the UK’s version of a home office:
- Department of homeland security ( immigration, border control)
- US fire Administration(USFA) ( fire)
- FBI (Internal security)
What are home offices called in other languages?
So for most English speaking countries ( the UK, Canada, USA, New Zealand, and Australia, home offices will be called home offices, but what are home offices called in other languages? To help explain more I’ve made a table below:
| Language | What is a home office called? |
| English | Home office |
| French | bureau à domicile |
| Spanish | oficina en casa |
| Chinese | 家庭办公室 Jiātíng bàngōngshì |
| Arabic | maktab manzili مكتب منزلي |
| Indonisian | kantor pusat |
| Italian | ufficio a casa |
| Japanese | ホームオフィス, Hōmuofisu |
| Portugese | escritório em casa |
| Bengali | হোম অফিস, Hōma aphisa |
| Russian | домашний офис, domashniy ofis |
| Hindi | घर कार्यालय, ghar karyalay |
| Urdu | وزارت داخلہ |
Are there any other words in English that refer to another aspect of a home office?
The only other difference for equipment for a home office in the Uk that may cause confusion is the word table.
Whilst most British people will refer to their desks as desks, a few people will still refer to them as tables, which may cause some confusion.
What should you put in your home office?
Now regardless of where you live in my opinion, every home office should have a few key items, to not only be productive but also to make the most of your office.
I would recommend then that everyone have the following essential items:
Now if you are in the middle of designing your home office I would recommend checking out the following posts:
Finally, a lot of people reading my blog want to know what products I recommend for a home office/remote working. You can find out my recommendations here and learn how I make money whilst working remotely on the side here.
The content on this site has been written by Fehed Nicass who has over a decade worth of experience in sales and has worked remotely for the past 2 years.