How we used to work

How we used to work

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Last week I talked about the challenge of change. This week I'm looking back at how we used to work. I'm taking a pause and traveling back to 1991 when I had my first proper job in the UK civil service. Now it's fair to say the pace of change has picked up over the last 30 years in terms of change at work. And these days AI seems to be everywhere, but when you look back at the workplaces of the early nineties, there are things that make me think, good Lord, can you believe it used to be like that.

. I'd also love to hear your [: 00:01:00

Thanks for tuning in folks. People Soup is a podcast that mixes stories, science, and a sprinkle of daftness to explore what helps people thrive at work and beyond. Our mission is to give you the listen. The ingredients for a better work life through insights and stories grounded in behavioral science, especially acceptance and commitment therapy, and other evidence-based approaches.

rough Connection, and you'll [: 00:02:00

And on Thursday the 23rd of October, I'm excited to be joining Joe Oliver for a live online q and a. All about using act in the workplace.

We'll be talking about introducing act to organizations, how to get leader buy-in, How to weave act into your facilitation and those vital first steps. And I hope to see some of you there so for now, get a brew on and let's dive into my reflections on how we used to work.

so let's rewind to: 1991

I'd opted for a non-smoking environment. I found [00:03:00] out what this really meant on my first day, although it was labeled non-smoking. In reality, it meant that less than half the people in the office smoked. That was a bit of a shock. They smoked at their desks when they were on the phone With these enormous glass ashtrays, you'd often open a paper file and find a sprinkling of fag ash inside, which was a delight. This was the smell of bureaucracy in the early nineties. Paper smoke ink for passport stamps and instant coffee.

And when we're thinking about how far the workplace has come. There were no computers on our desks. Everything was paper files. There was a telephone on my desk and above each desk were shelves for the ever-growing mountain of files. My work involved considering requests for people to extend their stay in the uk.

e UK from abroad as a person [: 00:04:00

these applications involved me seeking and reviewing evidence like marriage photos, and then making a decision. It was very interesting work, especially the marriage interviews, which involved interviewing the husband and wife separately, like an episode of Mr.

And Mrs. Or the film green card. Anyway, if you can imagine a world without a computer on your desk, try imagining a world without email. What a joy. If you wanted to get a message to someone, perhaps you might pick up the phone or write a minute in a file and then send them the whole file via the messengers.

Imagine that, or of course, you could get up and walk over and speak to someone.

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Other handwritten letters were sent to the typing pool and the clutter of typewriters echoed down the corridor. That was the sound of work. Another feature of the office was, and I can hardly believe I'm saying this, a subsidized bar on the 19th floor, i'm not sure. This bar contributed enormously to productivity in the workplace. then there were the annual reports.

These were a big deal and contained your rating for the year. Something along the lines of exceeded requirements, fully met requirements, partially met requirements or not met requirements. of course, we were all trying to aim for exceeded requirements,

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this report was a document of about 20 pages, I guess, but we were only allowed to read the front page with our personal details, our overall rating for the year, our likelihood promotion.

Can you believe that's all we were allowed to read? Can you imagine that now your whole year summarized in a document you weren't even allowed to read?

It kind of blows my mind. Let's go back to computers. When I first joined, there was one computer terminal per floor, and this was to check microfiche records for every landing card that had been filled in by a foreign national entering the uk. There was quite a knack to operating this, and it was quite a cumbersome system. You had to select the day of their arrival and then find the relevant cassette to load into the machine

thing that felt very cutting [: 00:07:00

I was tasked with supporting the rollout of the training. I was given the learning objectives and asked to design a hands-on course 12 learners at a time each with a terminal, a mouse, and a barcode wand.

she carefully picked up the [: 00:08:00

Treadle. She looked up and smiled proudly and said, right, I'm ready.

Isn't that a beautiful illustration of the workplace context and how we can apply what we know already to new things? that moment has stayed with me a tiny snapshot of those early days of digital change.

Everyone's trying to adapt, learn, and make sense of the new, and sometimes they plant their foot in the wrong place.

Finally, let's talk about individual officers. When I first joined the person, two grades above me had their own office, and I had to address him as Mr. Blackstone. The person, the grade above, Mr. Blackstone had a vast office, and if he was coming to visit our casework group for a walkabout, it was like a royal event.

We had to polish our desks.

, but never Alas. Had my own [: 00:09:00

Perhaps the heart of work hasn't changed that much. It was still about people doing their best, navigating change, solving problems, and occasionally sneaking off to the 19th floor for a paint of courage. And it's funny, isn't it, at the time, it all just felt normal. That's the thing about change. It can sneak up on you. One day you're typing with carbon paper. The next you're asking chat GPT to write your annual report. but underneath all that, it's always been about people connection and adapting together.

I'd love to hear from you. Peace supers. What was your first workplace like? What strange habits, rules or rituals do you remember? Maybe you had an office bar too, or maybe just a dodgy vending machine. Sadly, when I joined, I just missed the era of the tea lady with a large urn on a trolley.

That's one thing I [: 00:10:00

that's it. Peace Super is my reflections on how we used to work. In the bag, you'll find the show notes for this episode at People Soup Captivate fm or wherever you get your podcasts.

Now more than ever, you can help me reach more people with the special people soup ingredients, stuff that could be really useful for them. So please do share, subscribe, rate, and review. Thanks to Angie Glenn for his Spoon Magic and Alex Engelberg for his vocals.

d buy for now. she carefully [: 00:11:00

Treadle. She looked up and smiled proudly and said, right, I'm ready.