What was normal in your workplace in the noughties that would be outrageous now

[Shhhhivegotasecret]

My example - all the men going off to continue business meeting at a Stringfellows leaving all the women behind…. Would be the stuff of tribunals nowadays, back then it was 🤷‍♀️

It went out of vogue in the noughties.

i presume thats when the phrase liquid lunch was termed ?

I worked at an industrial site and would have to go down to the sheds. The walls were plastered in porn. The men were generally respectful to my 20-year-old face, though. (Not sure about when I turned around.)

Yes! My female manager caused a right kerfuffle when she wore a trouser suit. Mid 90s, retail sector.

I am 71 so my working experience is from way back. As a teenager my middle aged boss used to chase me and when he caught me he'd lift me up and swing me round. He was getting a thrill out of the close contact. I told my parents but they just shrugged their shoulders. I had to put up with it.

I remember smoking colleagues but in the 00s the smoker had to stand outside the office and people used to complain about the smell coming in the windows. Going back further to the 80s and 90s, they smoked at the desk.

Boozing was massive in the 90s and 'girly' calendars. By 2000, the calendars were more scantily clad but men started reading lads mags in the office with tits galore in them. By the end of the 00s these too had gone out of fashion.

But...but...I miss the office of the 00s. Life was fun and easy going. Wish I could get a Dr Who tardis and get back.

This all makes sense now. I didn't enter the workplace until 2009 so have never witnessed any of the crazier stuff being mentioned. In a way, it makes the sexism that currently exists harder because you start work and think why are these professional adult managers leering at me. The eyes going from your face to your tits still happens every time you walk in the office. Not really respected. Male colleagues happy to flirt with you but not discuss work like an equal. When you've come from a girl power age and then go to the office to be as ambitious as you want to be, it's a massive shock and let down. Work places are just watered down mad men, granted without any of the fun like pub lunches.

I started work 40 odd years ago. Lots of comments on this thread that resonate with me although I stand by my original thought upthread that the 90s was the decade of serious change.

Being reflective about my work life two things stand out....

Technology is the really obvious one - smartphones, laptops, wifi, email - none of this existed when I started work. It's enabled us to work more efficiently

The bigger one though is the increased prominence of women in the professional workplace. My first job out of university was at an international partnership. In my office there were 20 odd partners - all male. However in my degree course needed to get into the job over 50% were women and the graduate intakes in the years I was there were at least 50 per cent women. I left after a few years and there was a couple of female partners by then but many others bubbling under.

I'm guessing if I walked into that organisation today a very substantial proportion of senior people would be women. Its not perfect but we are all the better for it - from a personal point of view two or three female colleagues have become friends and their advice during the break up of my marriage was truly appreciated

Smoking everywhere, even where ash could go in to the dust extraction system. Strangely no daytime drinking at this workplace lthough lunchtime gambling was the norm. At another place 3 pints then driving in the afternoon wasn't unusual

All the misogyny, pornography and paedophilia (one staff member served a prison term, the other didn't prosecuted) won't have changed.

No trousers at a cosmetic company in 1993.
Drinking challenges at conferences in the early 1990s. To be fair I usually won those!
Being asked if you intend to have children at interview.
Being told not to employ blacks, Jews or Polish applicants.
Catching the PR director snorting Charlie.

Recent interview, how old was I?

Interestingly I've known several badly behaved HR women over the years.

Shagging temps in her car in the underground car park, shagging grads 20 years younger, being caught giving her boss a BJ at his desk

None of them were gong to be able to discipline or sack me for bad behaviour😂

In 1992 my boss used to expect me, the office junior, to go down the market at lunchtime and buy him underpants.

The culture of my workplace twenty years ago was very informal,...the vibe and atmosphere was less like colleagues and more like uni students hanging out. Majority were early twenties so the friendships and relationships were more like an extension of school and uni days rather than formal work colleagues. The casual sex talk would be quite shocking looking back but in all honesty it was a laugh rather than creepy.

I started full time work in 2000 and didn't experience any of the stuff noted in this thread, but I worked for the public and charity sectrs. So I think they cleaned up their act well before the private sector it seems.

I can only think of two sexist incidents when I was working for a smallish charity in the mod 2000s. Once the big boss was in the office when accounts were handimg out payslips and he comment to me (then 25,) "going to slend it on a nice dress?" "Not sure there will be much left after my rent and bills" I responded drily.

There was another time when my colleague and I met some stakeholders in the Institute of Dkrectors. They brought one additional person. If you use the main room at the IoD you can only have four people (bigger groups need to book a room). A member of staff came over discreetly to tell us this and he suggested to my male colleague, while gesturing to me, "maybe your secretary could go and get a cup of tea". Reader - I was chairing the meeting.

I moved to London in 2001 and recognise so many of peoples’ memories! The smoking room on every floor (and if you didn’t smoke, you wouldn’t get the company gossip) the beer fridge for Fridays and special occasions. We had email but still got faxes and only 2 people had laptops. The senior sales people used to go to spearmint rhino strip club and it was considered empowering and enlightened the senior sales woman went with them. Coke was openly snorted off the bar of the pub opposite work (where you had to go most nights to be a ‘team player’).

In later jobs in the 2000s, I was often the only woman in meetings and it was assumed I was the secretary and minute taker (I wasn’t) and however senior, the woman in the room always had to pour the drinks, something I don’t see now. Male direct reports were assumed to be more senior than me, and I had a male boss tell male colleagues I could stay in the meeting as ‘she knows the offside rule’.

In some ways I also remember it being more fun back then - out every night, constant freebies, clients taking you out (have to log the ‘gift’ if someone buys me a coffee now under ABC policy). But I was in my 20s and partying, and everything was new :)

Totally relate to the comments people have made about not only doing your job now but pretending to be so excited about every tiny thing about the work and company, I thought I was the only one rolling my eyes inside and faking.

I don’t miss the casual (and sometimes blatant) sexism, the presenteeism, the having to take annual leave for dental and routine doctor appointments, getting promoted cause the ‘big boss’ liked to party with you…

I don’t recognise the lunch break comments though - over the last 10 years or so, I see more and more people using lunchtime to go to the gym.

In the 90's we used to drink most lunchtimes, older guys in the office doing the buying and they all leached after us. Changed industry mid 90's and whilst the male behaviour stopped the drinking didn't, smoking room was got rid of in 1996. Life was pretty different and alcohol consumption was at crazy amounts

Yes to having to use annual leave for so many things...dr app. but also if you had a delivery scheduled at home or needed a plumber etc etc

Banter.

Oh yes! I’d forgotten about how hard it was to deal with home emergencies / furniture deliveries etc!

I’ve also just remembered how when we were broke we used to go out with a friend in Canary Wharf (where she worked) as she was the only woman out with them and they used to fall over themselves to buy her (and therefore us) all our drinks. That may still happen, I’m just not 25 anymore 😂

We made toast every morning at 10:30am, warburtons thick sliced then all the staff helped shouting out answers for the crossword - it was an open plan office, one time a customer came in as a male member of staff was groping my boobs at the back of the office & I was groping his - just for laughs! We all smoked and had mugs of sherry on the tills at Christmas- great times!!

Smoking in offices was common in 90s and even when it became illegal some smaller regional offices ignored and continued.
All going down pub at lunchtime for extended lunch.
Driving in works van 10 or so people standing/ sitting in back.
This is probably more 90s too but page 3 calendars were accepted in offices.
As was casual everyday sexism.
Wolfwhistling, commenting on figure, appearance, expecting women to always make the tea etc.
However no working from home. I did flexi time but all office based.
Always had my very own desk I could arrange how I liked, family pic etc and sat next to same colleagues every day.
Had a works canteen!

Also had a " proper " contract no zero hours.
Most places only worked monday- friday 9-5.
Was paid double time for overtime or triple time if sunday/ bh.
Could do most jobs with 5 GCSEs/O levels and work your way up. Didn't need a degree to even be considered .
Job adverts stated hours of work, pay and holiday. So you knew exactly what you were applying for.
Didn't need all day interviews with online test and group role playing demonstrating upselling for temp Xmas retail job. Didn't do free unpaid shifts as part of interview process.

I was a secretary in 70s remember my boss asking me to do something and I said why don’t you do it, his reply was I didn’t buy a dog to bark myself! Rude.

I always liken the change as happening when the American banks took over the city. Things got a lot more serious when you could be sued for the slightest transgression. Also, when American productivity and management practices came in, as well as the dreaded MBA, that rang the death knell for work as we knew it.