I work on the floor

[Harry Smith]

What do native speakers mean saying " I work on the floor"
Thanks in advance!

 

[5jj]

What do native speakers mean saying " I work on the floor"
Thanks in advance!

It could mean several different things. have you more context?

 

[Harry Smith]

No, I haven't. I'd be happy to know all the meanings or at least one of them.

 

[Raymott]

What do native speakers mean saying " I work on the floor"
Thanks in advance!

The only common meaning is the literal one. "I do my work while sitting on the floor."

 

[SoothingDave]

Could be a carpet layer or a businessman in a tall building or a prostitute. Vastly different meanings.

 

[Harry Smith]

Thanks very much!:up:

 

[Barb_D]

Or they work in a factory, and they work on the production floor actually manufacturing something, not in an office; or they work for a retail establishment, on the shop floor selling, not in an office ordering inventory, etc.

 

[SoothingDave]

Or a stockbroker who works on the trading floor.

 

[emsr2d2]

Or a nightclub worker who works around the clubbers, not behind the scenes, not the DJ, probably not a barman. Could be a bouncer.
Or perhaps an archaeologist currently involved with a dig. The others might be working on the walls or on a mosaic. This person is working on the floor.

Can you see why we ask for context so often on this forum? Just because all of the suggestions above have come from native speakers, it doesn't mean that if you hear the statement you quoted, it will necessarily mean any of the things we've suggested.

 

[Rover_KE]

It would be good to know what prompted your question, Harry.

It can hardly have been a random sentence you plucked out of thin air.

Rover

 

[Harry Smith]

It would be good to know what prompted your question, Harry.

It can hardly have been a random sentence you plucked out of thin air.

Rover

No, nothing of the kind... A professor from a Russian University wrote it in the forum for Russian teachers of English. Today he said Working on the floor in Ireland means being a waiter at a restaurant. All your sugested answers seem to be correct and accept my thanks again...

 

[emsr2d2]

No, nothing of the kind... A professor from a Russian University wrote it in the forum for Russian teachers of English. Today he said Working on the floor in Ireland means being a waiter at a restaurant. All your sugested answers seem to be correct and accept my thanks again...

After post #2, when 5jj asked you "Have you more context?", would have been a great time for you to have posted the information in the first half of this post. I am assuming that he didn't just randomly post "Working on the floor" in a forum with no other information, no explanation or that it wasn't in response to something.

 

[Harry Smith]

The thing is that he posted it there yesterday and gave his own version today a few minutes ago... He wanted to know what the others think about it...