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 🤷‍♀️

didn’t realise people don’t go for pub lunches anymore at lunchtimes?

Some do where I work but it's strictly soft drinks.

The boss joking to other staff about the receptionist's g-string visible when she bent over...

Then naughtiest is 2000s. I started work in 2001 and there was absolutely no smoking in offices at that point. That was probably more like 1980s and early 90s.

Did people really have offices where colleagues smoked at their desks less than 20 years ago?

We banned smoking in the office where I worked as a decision by the newsroom - in 1987.

I worked there until 1992, and I worked in numerous newspapers and magazines after that; while some colleagues smoked and there was a smoking room in some of them, I genuinely don't recall anyone smoking at their desk in the years since.

Certainly not in this century. It was banned in workplaces in 2007 but surely most offices had outlawed it way before then. Or was I just lucky?

My first cabin crew interview for Airtours (got and took the job) I got weighed at the first stage of the interview.

Tea lady with a trolley.
Being told to wear my shortest skirt at trade exhibitions.
Smoking rooms.
Nipple tassels for secret Santa.

1980s there was definitely smoking in the office, but I think by the 90s it has gone. We had a smoking room on site until workplace smoking was banned altogether.

And people go to the pub at lunch sometimes where I work now. Usually a Friday tbf and no one has more than a pint, but it's still a thing.

Definitely down the pub every Friday lunchtime, quite often for two hours & leave at 4pm
Being called by your Christian name instead of Miss Smith etc.
Wearing trousers to work.
Kissing most staff members whenever a small piece of mistletoe was dangled above your head at Xmas.

@DemelzaandRoss I think wearing trousers to work is OK isn't it? I do it now!

I started working in the mid-90s and I have never known smoking at desks, but as mentioned upthread, there was a smoking room which didn't close till 2007 when it became illegal to smoke indoors in public.

On nights, we used to get on an empty bed in a side room and have an hours sleep on our break (nurse).
The fact that there was an empty bed on a ward at all seems outrageous now in itself tbh.

Smoking in the break room.

Friday afternoons the men finished at 3 and went down the strip club. Sometimes their wives phoned and the receptionist was under strict instructions to say they were "in a meeting".

People turning up to work still drunk from the night before and someone having a crafty drink of vodka to "push through" with.

A different job - Being made to climb ladders to pick stock from the warehouse and men would look up our skirts, leading in 2005 to the rule that women weren't allowed up ladders.

Oh my gosh I have so many stories. My DH's (though at the time we weren't married) boss (City bank) who hit on me and also on his sister. Same boss also hit on a 'new member of staff' who turned out to be someone's teenage daughter there on work experience. Another boss punched a client and wasn't sacked.
My colleague was having an affair with a trainee and his pregnant wife turned up to have a bust up with both of them in the office. Another senior solicitor said to me that he wanted to 'have an inappropriate affair' with me; this was in front of lots of other people too. Nowadays I could probably retire on the money I'd make suing. One partner was having an affair with his secretary even though his wife worked for the same firm. Tons and tons of that stuff went on.

To be honest we all found it funny and not traumatising. I enjoyed working in the City as a 20 something, now I'd find that kind of office work unbearable.

My old place of work still goes to pub at lunchtime to this day. I really miss it in my new job. There was a group that would go every day but I'd just do the Friday. The afternoon was always a write-off but I've never had such work friends as I had there- it really bonds you.

Gosh realising my industry must be an outlier - some of these still happen! People regularly go to the pub at lunchtime and drinks are opened at desks last thing on a Friday. Lots of hungover people in the office too although I noticed a big difference in that when I moved to London vs working in Manchester and Leeds where if didn’t really happen (people drove to work more and “after work” culture wasn’t so much of a thing)

I am going back to the 90s rather than the naughties but smoking rooms and pre that smoking at our desks, we also had a tea lady, we had luncheon vouchers, calling the bosses (all men) Mr so and so. Typewriters, carbon copies, faxes.

I remember sharing a room with 3 other ladies. 3 of us smoked and one didn’t. She was pregnant too. Bloody awful.

It being none of work's business where you went at lunchtime for your whole hour.

Work not being able to start bothering you during your lunchbreak because there was no way of contacting you.

Work not trying to get people to supply their own office equipment (computer, phone, data connection, desk, chair, etc) at the employee's sole expense.

Work not interfering with people's sick leave by demanding that they work from home if they're ill or injured.

Only having to complete one year's employment before protections kicked in.

It being usual to confirm a permanent contract at three months.

The only acceptable zero hours contracts were where people came through an agency and there was no requirement to be permanently available on demand as a condition of taking the handful of hours offered.

Being able to drop a CV off at reception on the offchance they had vacancies and frequently finding out that actually, they did and could you start tomorrow at 9am?

Not having to provide a passport, driving licence, birth certificate, electricity bill and remember every single part time or casual temping assignment you'd ever done to the precise day in order to have the opportunity to stuff a few envelopes for less than a fiver an hour.

Smoking at my desk.
Lunch break in the pub.
Manager with a Cuban cigar constantly on the go.

Lunchtime drinking most days of the week.
Limitless expense account
Lovely gifts at Christmas.

I am going to get told off for this but- despite the sexism etc life was just more fun back then. Everyone is offended and sensible these days.

Can I go back to the 90s? Male department manager and his male cronies all spending every Friday afternoon from lunch to close of business in the pub and leaving all the women and a few men who refused to go along with it to deal with the end-of-the-week rush. He rose through the ranks to be Managing Director and is still there, still running the boys' club.

NHS mid nineties. Smoking room in the hospital. Fairly acceptable to have sneaky fags with patients in the day room. Still wearing nurses dresses, black tights and black shoes, elastic belts. Older nurses still in hats.

Social club in the hospital grounds - pretty much always frequented after a late shift. They did lock ins and it was subsidised booze. Usual to drink until midnight or later and then those who lived off site would crash with friends in the nurses home before next days early shift. Oh and all in uniform and invariably the same uniform the next day. Horrific to think about now.

Later on in Social work, smoking with service users. Pub at lunchtime on Fridays and bought and drunk in the office for leaving lunches Etc. SS canteen provided subsidised hot food and hot puddings. This was great, I was single and it meant I didn’t have to cook at night.

Much less serious than now.

I didn't work in a smoking office past 1990.
There was sexism in the noughties though.

@clary You were just lucky. It didn't stop elsewhere until forced by the law change in 2007 (and even then boundaries were pushed).