What were the rules when you started work?

[QuickGuide]

I worked in a bank from 1988. For men shirts must always be white, socks must never be white. For women, no open toed shoes and tights at all times.

But you were allowed to smoke at the counter whilst serving customers 😆

@QuickGuide God yes, the amount of drinking we did was insane during work hours. Lunch times in the pub, drinks back at the office sometimes or not coming back at all, all before mobiles so nobody could find us 😂! I remember people smoking at their desks with little ashtrays in open plan offices and the fuss when they stopped.

When I worked in the civil service (late 80s) everyone would fiddle their manual timesheet so that they could get as much flexi-time as possible for extra days off. Nobody bothered checking as they were all at it. Another place we had to clock in and out.

I also remember the internal envelopes for card/collections and we once collected for a strippergram for a woman who was getting married.

Only 15 years ago...
Women recieved a couple of extra pounds each month in our wages. This was to buy tights.
On the payslip it even said hosiery allowance.

Oh yes, DemonicCaveMaggot, I forgot about the lunchtime drinking. A couple of our directors went on a drinking session networking lunch almost every Friday after which they would wander round the office making stupid comments for an hour or so then drive home. I remember a few arguments between one of them and his secretary when she tried to take his keys from him because he could hardly stand up.

Oh yes the sexism was shocking. During a review a manager asked me when I was going to have a baby as if it was soon I couldn't be recommended for promotion. He got short shrift I can tell you!
Lots of boozy lunchtimes and early evenings. I was once taken to a very seedy drinking club by my manager, along with a number of other people on the team, I hasten to add. He used to bet on the horses and go to the races sometimes and we were expected to cover for him. His managers actually knew exactly where he was.

When I started as a trainee teacher in September 2007 the smoking staff room had gone the summer before with the smoking ban. A lot of people were seriously annoyed about it. The ex smoking room- which had been the smoking room since the school opened in the sixties- had been turned into a meeting room and despite a lick of paint and a few air fresheners it still stank of smoke and always did while I worked there (for five years). Probably still does.

Retail, late 80's. Women had to wear skirts or dresses, no trousers allowed. It cost so much to keep me in tights.

You learned what kind of drinker your managers were. I had some that would sign anything after lunch and others who became ultra critical after a drink and nothing would pass, so you learned which one's signing had to be ready before lunch 😆

I found how work has changed since I started 23 years ago really interesting! I worked in publishing initially, now in corporate content management.

It seems quite weird now to think that it was strictly everyone in by 9 on the dot... this began to shift about 15 years ago in my experience when I started seeing some people allowed to start and finish later. WFH, around the same time, started being a thing but very strictly by arrangement- then became more casual over time.

Not rules, but technology-wise, when I started in 2000, we still had quite a few authors who didn't use email, and one pair, very eminent in their field, who still wrote on typewriter so it had to be retyped on computer! I had to explain pdfs a lot when we started sending out some proofs that way, but they were still posted on hard copy quite often.

I started as a Saturday sales assistant right in the middle of the 90s. Smoking was still allowed in the staffroom. The uniform was hideous static inducing blouse and pencil skirt with American tan tights. It quickly changed though. With a year or so, we were allowed to wear trousers, the smoking was banned. It coincided with a complete refit of the shop. They also introduced team building days.

Another 1980's banker here. I remember applying for a staff loan to buy a brand new car (Vauxhall Nova) at the age of 21. My manager granted it and said "it'll probably be the only new car you'll ever have ".

Drinking at lunchtime was rife and managers often went to lunch gatherings with other business men and building society managers. I remember after one such lunch a Building Society manager returned to his car only to find it wasn't there. He reported it to the police who said they'd look out for it. He then remembered that he'd actually parked it somewhere else, went to it, got in and drove off back to the office - only to be stopped by the police who thought it was stolen, promptly got him breathalysed and he was banned from driving for 12 months!

Not so much a rule but I remember doing work experience in 5th year at school and the blokes had page 3 girl calendars and pictures pinned on their desk partitions.

I had a Saturday job in a vet’s when I was at 6th form in 1981, on my way to vet school. Not only did the practice reuse disposable syringes, which was quite common then and for some years later, in the veterinary world (they did get resterilised before reuse), but also they reused disposable hypodermic needles. One of my jobs was to wash the used needles, flushing them through with soapy water. I then had to check them for sharpness by running the back of the needle along the side of my finger. If the needle was too blunt it would catch on my skin and I was allowed to throw it away. Otherwise, it got packaged up and resterilised.

they had more or less stopped smoking in operating theatres by then, at least.

Retail early noughties. We had to line up and be assessed every morning, hair, nails, clothes sitting correctly. My lunch was often at 3.30 after starting at 8.45. The day would end at 5.30 so I couldn't really see the point!

My brother was at Sandhurst around the same time and they were told to put pictures of a girlfriend up. They had to be naked or at least very revealing pictures. Mine had to borrow some from a mate as he didn't have any pics!

Had a holiday job in the local garage working the switchboard. 1980.
All men there apart from the cleaner and the 3 of us in the office. All the managers were Mr... the men in the workshop by first name. The other women I addressed as Mrs...
everyone could smoke at their desk, not sure about the workshop, I guess they had breaks?

I also had to make the teas and coffees for everyone.

When I applied to be a student nurse in mid 90s the occupational health assessment included a visible skin check to see if we had any tatoos that could be seen in a nurses uniform (if you did then you couldn't start). Dc1 is just doing training now and the uni group picture shows 3 people with large tattoos on their arms dc was flabbergasted when I said in my day they wouldn't have been accepted onto the course.

Hair had to be pinned up if longer than collar length.
Absolutely no make up whatsoever.
No nail polish, nails very short.
American tan tights.
Black shoes, heel height no higher than half inch.
No visible tattoos.
No unnatural hair colours.
No jewellery, except for a wedding ring.
Uniform clean and ironed, hat and belt straight.
Inspected by the matron prior to shift starting.
Staff addressed correctly, such as sister Jones, doctor Smith etc.
Mid seventies nurse.

Every year the male staff had an unofficial vote on which woman had the best legs in the office and the winner was announced on the company notice board.

What???!!

When I was 20 back in the 90's I worked in retail. Was told by my manager to wear more makeup and the managers were addressed as Mr /Mrs, we had to wear full shoes and tights.

1990s. Men: collar and ties at all times. Jackets always on when with a client. OK to remove it at your desk (keeping your jacket on at your desk was the sign of an overly ambitious erk). Women: Trousers were OK as part of a suit (but privately frowned upon). No bare legs with skirts. No flip-flops or "beach sandals" and no spagetti straps on dresses/tops. Our HR Director (a formidable woman) policed the dress code v strictly.

1990, publishing.

No rules whatsoever.

It was quite a shock after my Saturday job in a flagship Oxford Street shop, which was very Are You Being Served? Knee length skirt, uniform blouse tucked in, hair tied back, Mr This and Miss That, Sir/Madam for customers, and no sitting down anywhere a customer might see you. Bloody good staff canteen, though.

Late 80’s office junior. Had to wear business dress including closed toe heels. Duties included making tea for everyone in the office.

No draconian rules at my first proper job, around 2000. Normal office wear, trousers were encouraged as I worked on site and jeans were easier. Some Site Managers smoked in the site office, but weren't supposed to. If we were getting a visit from above the site they'd just left would ring to let us know they were coming to us, and we'd ring the next site so everyone was prepared and could clean up.

In a City insurance broker Wanker of The Week was only banned in 2012. The 'winner' of the title had to wear a high viz jacket with Wanker of The Week emblazoned on the back in the office and crucially whilst going out for lunch/ to the pub.

There was uproar when it was banned!

Started in a big bank in 2002. Office wear expected no trainers, make up and neat hair expected even though we were behind closed doors.

Loads of boozing, lunch time and afterwards.

Very strict on starting times. 9-5 even if getting in 10 mins later would save you commute. Variation was not allowed.

The monitors were huge and everyone had a big plastic phone on their desks, we had a little directory with all the uk phone numbers in them. Updates to procedures came round on little notelets that you had to tick your name off to say you’d seen it! 😂

I moved to Tech much later - 2014ish and it was still very much an old man’s club. They had a best looking employee award at the end of the year. The manager assured me it was all ok as they had a male AND a female category!!!

Smoking was only allowed in the toilets, you literally couldn’t get in at break times for all the people crammed in puffing away. This was a food factory.