The world of work has massively changed in the last four years, let alone the last 50.
Since the pandemic of 2020, home internet connections have allowed millions of people the flexibility of home working.
But in the not-too-distant past, the workplace was very different indeed.
For a start, companies had to provide large office spaces for hundreds of workers, which isn’t the case these days.
The pre-internet days saw a vast amount of equipment needed, much of which has not been seen in an office environment for many years.
Here are 20 items no longer seen in offices.
Typewriters
Once the backbone of any office, these have been replaced by computers.
Though they’ve become iconic symbols of a bygone era, they’re mostly found in museums or as decorative items now.
Fax Machines
While some offices still have them, they’ve largely been replaced by email and other digital communication tools.
Faxes were used to very slowly send documents from one place to another over the telephone network.
Rotary Phones
Not seen for many years, the slow-to-dial phones have been replaced by more efficient digital ones and, increasingly, by smartphones.
Phone Booths or Phone Rooms
Before open office plans and mobile phones, these were essential for private calls.
Paper Memo Pads
With the rise of digital communication tools like Slack or Teams, the yellow sticky note has become less of a staple, but are still seen stuck to people’s screens so they don’t forget things.
Overhead Projectors
Used for presentations before the age of digital projectors and PowerPoint.
Tube Monitors
The bulky predecessors to today’s slim LCD and OLED screens.
Smoking
Once upon a time, offices would be packed full of people puffing away.
Some offices even had, truly disgusting, “smoking rooms” before smokers were made to go outside due to health concerns.
Punch Clocks
These were used to track worker hours, they’ve been largely replaced by digital systems or badge scans.
Floppy Disks
Old computers used to have a slot in the front for floppy discs, which were used to save things on.
They have been made obsolete by USB drives, cloud storage, and other more advanced technologies.
An interesting irony is that many programs still use an icon of a floppy disk as a “save” feature, meaning a lot of people are clicking on the icon of something they’ve probably never seen.
Physical In/Out Boards
These were used to track who was in or out of the office.
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Dot Matrix Printers
These were early printers known for their loud operation and perforated paper edges.
Carbon Paper
These were used to make duplicate copies while typing or writing.
Encyclopedias or Reference Books
Offices used to feature well-stocked reference libraries full of useful books that contained the answers to many questions.
Now, that’s the internet so lugging heavy books to and from your desk is no longer necessary.
Tape Drives
Tape drives were used to provide backup and storage before the age of cloud storage and large-scale server farms.
Physical File Cabinets
Offices used to be full of cabinets full of perfectly organized documents.
They still exist in some places, but they’re a lot rarer due to digital storage solutions.
Steno Pools
These were groups of typists/transcriptionists who worked together in one room.
Transparency Sheets
They were used on overhead projectors for presentations.
Ashtrays
Found on every desk when smoking indoors was permitted.
Interoffice Envelopes
These were document holders of varying colours used to send documents to different parts of the office before emails.
