J. J. Voskuil's monumental novel "The Office" is literature that embodies the everyday life of an office, as many know it. "Het Bureau" achieved cult status in the Netherlands and has won numerous literary awards. Following Volume 1, "Director Beerta," and Volume 2, "Dirty Hands," the third volume is now available in German translation, accompanied by an afterword from Gerbrand Bakker. The daily life in Maarten Koning's office remains dreadfully dull even in the years 1972 to 1975. The diligent as well as the less diligent folklorists in Amsterdam are mostly preoccupied with themselves or are scheming intrigues. Meanwhile, disasters are already looming: the constant trouble with Professor Pieters from Antwerp over the editorial policy of their joint magazine, or Maarten's unilateral decision to create a "brummtop" for the office's traditional New Year's card, bypassing Director Balk.