Things you no longer see/do in the workplace

[TheGrumpiest]

I always really like those threads about food/shops that no longer exist, so I thought I'd start one about the work place. I joined the workforce in the early 90s working for quite large companies.

Luncheon Vouchers - loved these! Like Monopoly money.
Tea trolley lady that came round twice a day. Tea and coffee was free. Small packet of biscuits 5p.
Strippers 😲 A milestone birthday? Getting married? = stripper in the office at lunch time .
Rolls of fax paper on the floor every morning. You had to seperate and tear out each fax with a ruler.
Endless Memorandums with huge circulation lists typed out. You had to cross your name off and pass on to the next name once you had read it!
Friday lunch time = pub. People got quite tipsy.
Lack of HR type processes/concept of people management/development etc. People were just asked to not come back the next day if deemed unsuitable... One lady saw her own (unique) job advertised in the local paper and realised her time was up 😲

BTW these aren't necessarily things I miss about the workplace. Just things that don't exist anymore or not acceptable! Tell us yours!

mainframe rooms also still exist, mainly hidden away in roof top areas. But still there and even in brand new purpose built offices/warehouses/nhs settings.

I love these threads <settles in and gets comfortable>. Only seems like yesterday that I started working in an office- it was actually 25 years ago.

Staff sending postcards from their holiday. They would generally be back at the workplace by the time the postcard arrived several weeks later, so you'd thank them in person. "Your postcard arrived Dave - looks like a nice place".

There used to be HUGE excitement about the Christmas party. Everyone would be talking about it for weeks and discussing what they'd wear on the night. Some of the girls would take the day off or a half-day to get their hair done. We haven't had a Christmas party since before Covid but even before Covid, there just wasn't the same excitement. Maybe I just work with an older crowd now.

A smoking room to facilitate the smokers and a smoking area in the canteen.

No mobile phones, so no way to contact your workplace if you needed to. I've told this story before but I worked for a jewellery shop years ago. We were very busy in the run up to Christmas so the Manager would send me to the bank with large notes to be changed into assorted coins. Customers didn't pay with cards so much back then, so most of our transactions were cash. Anyway, when I got to the bank one particular day, they were low on coins and I had to wait in the bank for something like 15 minutes for the coins to come in. I'd no way of contacting the shop to let the Manager know why I was delayed. I'm sure she thought I'd either been robbed or I'd made off with the cash. If we'd had mobile phones back then, I could have phoned the shop to explain.

Also, when mobile phones did come in, some of our field staff were issued with them, because they wouldn't have access to office phones when they'd be out and about. There was a lot of concern about the health risks of mobile phones and rumours about radio waves frying your brain and all that, so some of the staff campaigned vigorously to get earpieces. I doubt very much they're still using their earpieces .

As a kid I made one of those out of a old toblerone box and it sat on my bedside table, I felt very important

When I started work we saved things to floppy disk, email accounts were only for managers, presentations were delivered via an overhead projector and we had to print them on acetate ourselves.

The senior managers had a silver service restaurant upstairs and there was a staff bar downstairs. There were annual "award" ceremonies that were basically free bar and in all sorts of places. I got to go on all expenses paid jolly to Bilboa one year for being excellent with a spreadsheet!

Thankfully I was spared the smoking room experience.

25 years on and the job I do now didn't exist then and some of the younger members of our team think that we're pulling their legs with the stuff we tell them. Now you're lucky if you get to travel to another office on expenses. All perks are gone, but things are much more efficient now I don't have to channel emails through my manager!

Ooh, dictaphones, foot pedals and tapes, internal envelopes, in and out trays, signing books

Collecting your expenses in cash, smoking and pub Fridays. I really miss the last one - work is a much more serious place these days.

typewriters. And fancy black and red ribbon for them. Getting the keys tangled up.

carbon paper for carbon copies.

teeny tiny super strong brown envelopes with little holes punched in them for weekly wages in cash.

People in my team still say 'that's the end of the tape' despite the digital dictation tool 😆

Backing up computer files by someone photocopying the 3.5" floppy discs each week.

Ashtrays as the first PP says then smoking rooms.

When I first started work, in a government department, many years ago, in addition to many of the things already mentioned, we had a staff directory which listed everyone's date of birth. We also used to get half a day for Christmas shopping and half a day on the afternoon of Maundy Thursday. All long gone now, I imagine.

Overhead projectors and hand-drawn slides with overlays

This is making me v nostalgic - especially the floppy disks!! We used to have cases with locks to hold them all.

I remember the excitement and trepidation when we had a training day on a new development called "email" 😁. Oh and lunch breaks spent in wine bars - those were the days 🍾

HNRTT but typists.

Sadly, the NHS still uses fax machines and dictaphones. My last job had some pigeon holes for mail too. And huge files of paper notes.

Blimey I must work for a very old fashioned organisation! We still have
pigeon holes
internal mail envelopes
free tea/coffee
a fax machine

desk telephones
a PA system
a receptionist on the desk during office hours!
until recently we used to go to the pub at lunch time to but it faded out after the pandemic.
would love to work for a more progressive company! 🙊

Computer file names that could only have eight characters for the file name (and the accompanying lists of what the buggery the files actually contained).

Comp slips
microfiche machines

Chain smoking at the desk.
A typing pool and a mail room with cubbyholes.
Internal mail envelope.
Memos.
Carbon copy paper.
Fax machine.
Juniors having to make tea for the directors, they'd wave their cup in the air from their office doorway.
Big old accounts ledger books.
MS dos computers with the green texts.

The first place I worked in you were allowed to smoke at your desk after 5.30pm and on Saturdays.

There was a running joke that second hand smoke was obviously safe and smell-free evenings and weekends

I feel sorry for all the youngsters who have missed out on the Friday lunchtime pub going

happy days

Oh I do miss all those reusable brown paper 'internal mail' envelopes with the holes in and a bit of string on them to tie them up.

As for fax machines - good riddance.

Do they still make Tippex?

Also, remember the reusable orange internal post envelopes, where you crossed out the last person's name and added the new one; they came with a little string to fasten them closed. Ahhh...internal mail systems......when emails were just a distant dream.....

Still have these and pidgeon holes!!!

Letraset. I worked in a theatre, and remember "designing" a leaflet for a small scale tour using letraset and a typewriter.

And smoking. In another place I worked I objected to everyone smoking in the office - which was two rooms only, but was at the top of a building, so nipping out for a cig wasn't easy. The compromise that we arrived at was that they could only smoke in one of the two rooms, and had to keep the window open...

We were all sent on an e-mail course when it came in. The trainer encouraged us to get familiar with e-mails by sending e-mails to our colleagues. So for example, if we had a phone message to give to a colleague, we should e-mail it to them instead of writing it on a post-it like we normally did. When I'm due back to work after a holiday and anticipating 10 million e-mails in my Inbox, I look back and smile at our innocence.

A secretary in charge of making everyone's tea/coffee - does that still exist?

Franking machines - someone would have to stand there for an hour each evening putting the envelopes through!