Do you remember UK offices before computers and the internet? It’s easy to take modern office life for granted. Emails ping back and forth in seconds, documents are shared and edited live, and cloud storage means we rarely need to dig through drawers. Join us as we jump into the Evolve time machine to rewind just a few decades to before the 1980s when and UK office life was a completely different world.
Back then, everything ran on paper, people, and patience. It was slower, more deliberate, and far more manual. But somehow, it worked – powered by typing pools, filing cabinets, and the quiet rhythm of clacking typewriters.
So what was it really like working in an office before the digital age? Let’s take a look.
Communication: No Email, No Problem (Sort Of)
Before inboxes ruled our working lives, internal office communication relied on a few core methods:
- Face-to-face chats were the norm. If you wanted something, you got up and asked. No hiding behind emails.
- Typed or handwritten memos circulated between departments, often placed in physical “in-trays” and passed around by hand.
- Phones (usually with rotary dials) were key for external contact, though switchboard operators often had to connect calls – especially for long distance.
- Telex machines allowed typed messages to be sent instantly across the world – a sort of early texting for businesses.
- Post was king. Everything from invoices to letters of complaint went via Royal Mail, often with a carbon copy tucked away in a file.
Urgent messages were rare – and when something was urgent, someone would literally run the message to you. The pace was slower, but expectations matched it.
Tasks Took Time – Because Everything Was Manual
Imagine typing a multi-page report on a typewriter. Make a mistake on page three? Start again. Office work was meticulous, repetitive, and unforgiving.
- Typing was a specialised skill. Secretaries and typists were trained to hit 60+ words per minute without errors.
- Filing was a full-time job. Every document had a place, usually in colour-coded folders inside steel filing cabinets that lined the walls.
- Calculations were done with adding machines or calculators, sometimes even by hand with pen and ledger.
- Scheduling meant using diaries, wall charts, or appointment books – and you called to confirm, not emailed.
- Correspondence involved writing, typing, proofreading, and physically sending letters. Replies might take a week.
Even basic admin took longer – but the structure and systems in place meant things ticked along efficiently (most of the time).
The Filing Cabinet Was Sacred
Forget cloud storage – if you wanted to find a document, you had to know where it lived. Filing systems were designed like libraries:
- Folders and cabinets were labelled, categorised, and cross-referenced using index cards.
- Archives held old records, sometimes in storage rooms or even basements.
- Microfiche and microfilm stored records in miniature, requiring a special reader to access them.
- Ledgers were used for financials – big, bound books filled out in longhand.
Lose a file, and you didn’t just CTRL+Z it. You hunted. Or apologised profusely.
The Tools of the Trade
Modern offices are full of screens and software. Offices in the 60s and 70s? A completely different toolkit:
- Typewriters (manual or electric) ruled every desk.
- Adding machines clicked and clattered with every calculation.
- Dictaphones allowed managers to dictate notes for secretaries to transcribe.
- Telex and fax machines handled long-distance communication.
- Carbon paper made instant copies – place it between sheets and type away.
- Duplicators (like mimeograph machines) allowed multiple copies of a single document, usually for notices or circulars.
- Filing cabinets and stationery cupboards were packed with the essentials – from staplers and treasury tags to correction fluid and ledger pads.
If you worked in a well-kitted-out office, it likely smelled of ink, paper, and cigarettes (yes, smoking was common – and often allowed at desks).
The People Who Made It Work
Pre-digital offices relied heavily on people doing very specific jobs:
- Secretaries were the linchpins of many teams, managing everything from correspondence to scheduling.
- Typists often worked in pools – rows of desks filled with people typing non-stop.
- Filing clerks kept track of thousands of documents.
- Bookkeepers manually recorded every transaction, payment, and wage.
- Mailroom staff sorted incoming and outgoing post, managed franking machines, and hand-delivered internal memos.
- Switchboard operators connected calls and passed on messages.
- Office boys and girls fetched tea, delivered notes, and ran errands – a typical entry point into office life.
Every role had its place, and hierarchy was often very formal.
No Instant Messaging = More Planning
With no email, no Teams chat, and no Slack notifications, office life moved at a slower – but more considered – pace.
You had to plan ahead. A memo or letter needed to contain everything, because there wouldn’t be a quick follow-up message. Face-to-face meetings were essential – they were how decisions got made. And delays were expected. If someone was out for the day, you simply waited. No mobiles. No “just checking in”.
Work revolved around physical in-trays and out-trays – a constant flow of paper moving across desks.
The Office Looked Different, Too
Without PCs, servers, and monitors, offices had more floor space – but they filled it with people and paper.
- Typing pools were common: long rows of desks filled with typists, overseen by supervisors.
- Managers had private offices, often with a status symbol like a leather chair or personal filing cabinet.
- Mailrooms and filing areas were separate zones, often noisy and filled with shelves.
- Equipment rooms housed noisy telex machines, large photocopiers, or duplicators.
- Smoking was common, with ashtrays on desks and a constant haze in the air.
Everything was heavier, louder, and generally took up more room – even the phones.
Payroll and Accounting Took Real Graft
Before spreadsheets, accountants had pens, rulers, and bound ledgers. Payroll involved:
- Manual wage calculations, sometimes done with the help of adding machines
- Physical payslips and envelopes filled with cash or cheques
- Paper records for every deduction, benefit, and tax line
- Hand-reconciled accounts, with bank statements checked line by line
- Invoices typed and filed – no PDF in sight
It was precise, painstaking work – and those who did it well were seriously respected.
The Computer Revolution Changed Everything
When computers began arriving in UK offices in the 1980s, things shifted dramatically.
- Word processors meant no more retyping whole documents after a typo.
- Spreadsheets automated financial calculations.
- Databases replaced filing cabinets.
- Email (by the early 1990s) made communication near-instant.
- IT departments appeared, and new job roles emerged.
- Skills changed – shorthand and dictation made way for keyboard speed and software literacy.
Productivity increased, collaboration improved – but so did the pace and pressure.
Learning the Ropes Back Then
There was no YouTube tutorial or digital helpdesk. You learned by:
- Watching someone else, then doing it yourself
- Being mentored by a senior team member
- Reading manuals – chunky, spiral-bound ones with diagrams
- Attending courses – like typing school or shorthand lessons
- Trial and error – a lot of it
Training was slower, but arguably more personal – and once you mastered the system, you really knew it.
The Same but Different
UK offices before computers and email were a world of structure, systems, and steady rhythms. There was no instant feedback, no digital overload – just paper, people, and process.
Yes, it was slower. But it was also more deliberate. People planned better, talked more, and relied on each other in a very different way.
And for anyone who’s ever moaned about too many emails or dodgy Wi-Fi, just imagine typing a 20-page report with no backspace, no spellcheck, and no save button.
Different times. Same deadline stress.
