職場

1. Origins, structure, and basic meaning

• Structure: It is read しょくば. 職 contributes occupation or work and 場 a place, forming a word for a workplace or the working environment there.
• Basic usage: It is used for the place one commutes to or the setting shared with coworkers. The example gives a forty-minute train journey to a new workplace.
  • 新しい職場まで電車で四十分かかる。

2. Common pitfalls and similar expressions

• Workplace versus company
  • 職場 focuses on the place or environment of work, while 会社 names a company as an organization. Someone working in a school or hospital can also call that workplace 職場.