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The difference in usage is not localized English: it's cultural student/academic vs. employed. To a student with no professional experience, "office hours" are
by bregma 6y ago
The difference in usage is not localized English: it's cultural student/academic vs. employed.
To a student with no professional experience, "office hours" are posted times when a professor is available to further mentor and guide a student. "office hours" are designated times outside of the scheduled class times and professors are generally required to provide them so others can benefit.
To a professional and others with white-collar jobs, "office hours" are hours are times when an employee must be seen by a manager to be considered working. Times outside of the scheduled work times are called "outside of office hours" and employees are generally expected to provides them so others can benefit.
- deleted 6y ago[deleted]
- okamiueru 6y agoTo clarify the distinction is both academic AND language/culture. The concept of professorial office hours, and calling it "office hours" is not universal to all of academia, as people there speak different languages, and use then different words for things. Even if they might also use English, it doesn't mean they would call it that.
- ddoeth 6y agoI think the authors explanation with the german word "Sprechstunde" is really great. There is a clear distinction between "Arbeitszeit" which is the working time and the "Sprechstunde" which is the time someone is available to talk to.