Things that happened in the 90s work place that wouldn't happen now

[PrincessHoneysuckle]

Well it might have been just my very unprofessional one but anyway.
1.Smoking in the break room.No windows that opened and around and 6-8 people at a time smoking in a small room
2.Stripper.
Male stripper turned up to the office for a woman's birthday surprise.No music just him gyrating on her,there might have been a can of whipped cream involved.
3.No HR no nothing.Just a sadistic manager.

Anyone else have memories?

Smoking in the staff room a 12.30 (if you wanted to eat without smoke being there, you had to go from 12-12.30!). Pub lunch on a Friday with a drink.

Now, the staff room at my school has been repurposed so everyone eats alone in their rooms and the lunch ‘hour’ is 40 minutes so not rough time to go anywhere!

In 1997 I had a temp job for Littlewoods Lotteries where people smoked at their desk! Tbf that was pretty shocking even at the time. Fortunately I was only there a few days as it really wasn't good for my asthma.

I was a junior doctor on a ward round with a well respected consultant, plus several other doctors and nurses. The consultant looked at me, said “that’s a nice shirt”, put his hand up my shirt and squeezed my breast. No one said anything and the ward round just carried on. Memories like that make me realise how far we’ve come!

One job I had a 20 min break for a 10 hour shift. Another no break at all for 11 plus hours per day!

Oh my god! And no one said anything? I do think that the humiliation aspect of sexual harassment is often underestimated. When I think back on instances of sexual assault and harassment I'm struck by how the feeling I remember is shame and humiliation.

Working in a call centre - one of the team leaders would walk around and rub 'himself' against the shoulders of young, pretty girls while they were taking calls. It was all brushed off as hilarious banter because he was good looking and well liked.

Hopefully things are better now, but just 16 years ago I witnessed a consultant put his hands down the top of a healthcare assistant's scrub top, rub her shoulders and say "ooh, no bra today". Yes, I reported it. No, nothing happened.

I was fired from 2 jobs in the very early 90s, no warning, no discussion, no action plan to help me improve. I was 19 at the time. 1st reason was is called in sick on a Monday and this was deemed to be unprofessional - I was the office junior and I had food poisoning.

2nd job I was there for a week and was told I needed write answerphone messages for the 2 managers and leave them on their desk by 9am, (there was just them and me in the company) I started at 9am and I said it wouldn’t be possible and to was told I didn’t fit with the company.

Going out clubbing and then sneaking back to the office to sleep in the break room until the buses started running again.

Using a Telex machine and a fax machine, although my current job only gave up on faxes a couple of years ago.

Going out all night and turning up to work still drunk and reeking, told to have a shower and carry on !

Drinking. Lots and lots of drinking.

In the office where I worked, there was a smoking ban inside the building, but this didn't apply to the big boss who could (and did) smoke as many cigars as he liked!

Some very good fun times, but also some outrageous activities! I remember having a bit of a fling with a colleague - we used to sneak off to the little kitchen on our floor and have a good old kiss and cuddle mid-afternoon!

We had another colleague who was a real creep - if one of us was talking to our manager at his desk, this chap would come to 'help' and stand right behind you with his hand extremely near your backside - not actually touching you but it was really off-putting. He was eventually discovered to have hidden a clutch of dirty magazines in the men's loos!! Nothing happened to him.

Going to the pub at lunchtime.

Having a smoking room in the building (ours was there till the smoking ban came in in 2007)

Men having 'Playboy girls' type calendars on their desks

Sitting for ages at your desk while a tech person sat next to you installing updates to your huge PC tower

Printers all over the office

Filing - piles of cardboard folders building up under people's desks until they finally cracked and did their filing.

Friday night drinks after work - home & hybrid working killed that one!

Calling the boss Mr X, never by his first name.
Women having to wear court shoes and sheer tights. Trousers were not allowed.
Sexual inuendos by creepy older, male staff.
Only childfree women were ever promoted to management roles, even then there was a ceiling limit.
Women who slept with area managers given promotion.
Fax machines.
Having to transfer telephone calls to other departments and the customer expecting to speak to someone there and then.
Long lunches and set working hours, no flexibility.

Still use faxes.

And we used to smoke at our desks.

Having your own desk that you could keep personal stuff in and know it would be as you left it the next day.
Not relying totally on tech so that you could carry on working in the event of a power cut/internet going down etc
Being bollocked if you didn't return a phone call the same day.
I worked for local councils - we had to supply our own tea, coffee etc. We had to declare anything given to us - even tubs of sweets given to the department etc.

When my mum worked in offices in the early 70s, she was pregnant (first with my sister, then me) and other women would smoke and deliberately blow it in her face.

When I started working in offices in the late 90s, my name is unusual (Arab origin), and managers would absolutely revel in pronouncing it incorrectly. Literally mocking it. If a Western name sounded anything like mine, people would say "oh you've got the foreign version of that name" or "is that the English version of your name?" (I'm 100% British).

When I first started working in offices, obviously I was junior, but everyone would refer to me as "oi!" In one job I was a long term temp but no one bothered learning my name. One guy would always scream at me "Oi! TEMP! COFFEE! NOW!!" (I wasn't any sort of kitchen assistant BTW)

Recruitment firms were just as bad. When my son was 4, I joined one in South Molton Street in London, and she quizzed me so hard I cried when I left. She told me I wasn't cut out for work. "what if your son gets ill? What does your mother do for work? Can she go and get him if needed?"

Friday afternoon drinks in the pub

Your last paragraph is still true where I work now.

Going to the pub at lunchtime, paid for on expenses by the bosses. I was the first in my office to wear trousers instead of dress or skirt, someone complained! It was 1989/1990

Cash in brown envelopes.

Sending messages on a primitive systen called host rather than email.

Having to clock in with a card and if you were late it would be red on the print out and you'd get told off.

Having to wear suits every day

Stripper being delivered on a motorbike in the middle of the office for a Boss’s birthday.

Having to wear tights in 30 degree heat because that’s what ladies wear.

Talking about 30 degree heat, having to work with no aircon or blinds and then the bosses wondering why everyone was getting ill.

Oh and I’d forgotten about Petty Cash!

Me too. Vile temp job for a company run by a couple who smoked at their desk ALL DAY. I was sitting next to them answering phones etc. I hated it and left as soon as I could find something else.

telex machines
computers taking up a whole room
promotion coming with strange things like executive toilets
tea ladies