The Inflation from the 1960’s and 70’s to the 1980’s, 90’s and now, has changed everything.
It’s changed our workforce and the jobs folks are willing to do.
As someone who has been gainfully employed since 1967, I can tell you there was more to it than being on time and urinating into a cup.
Great article! btw- “Joe Versus the Volcano” is one of the best pictures ever.
I had a job as a gas station attendant in the mid 70’s for a time. Not only did we pump the gas but we squeegeed the windshields and also checked the oil levels by request. If oil was needed we had the metal quarts stacked on the island and we would puncture the spout into the cans and pour. Don’t find that anymore.
Thank you!
*PING* to an EXCELLENT article courtesy of vannrox.
Slide rules; telex messages; paper airplane tickets; zero security at airports; people smoking on airplanes; Traveler’s Checks; Visa not accepted in many places; typing pools; hand-written weekly technical reports from the field; photo documentation on film; inter office envelopes; two or three weeks vacation where you never called in and didn’t worry about work once; new company car every two years; you never got a useless robot answering your phone call; you were never told Press 1 for Spanish or Press 2 for English; you could walk in west coast towns and cities and not think you were in Bombay or Peking.
To list just a few memories of my first work years in the early 70s. Of course some things never change — beautiful women everywhere you look. But what has changed is they no longer look back. ;>(
The city hired us Jr High kids to staff all positions and got busted for violating Child Labor Laws (working at night).
So the city fired us With Cause.
In private law firms here things were much more strict in the Sixties and Seventies than now. First, law firms were on a 6 day week, but got Sundays off. You had to wear a full suit Monday through Friday. Saturday was a casual day, which meant that instead of a suit you could wear a blazer or sports jacket with a tie and tailored slacks. You had to be at your desk working by 7:30 a.m. every morning. One of the senior partners would go from office to office making sure that the junior attorneys were all in, and you would be disciplined if you were late.
That was a little before my time, but as a new attorney I got disciplined for bringing in a typewriter and typing my notes and memo rough drafts, because that was “unprofessional” for an attorney. We were expected to dictate everything, either to a secretary or into a dictating machine.
A lot of manual labor. I worked in a factory in the early 70’s nothing was automated. Guys hand stacked heavy cases on pallets for 8 hours. Same for box cars - all loaded with two wheel hand trucks. It was real work. Now everything is automated from the production line to the loading dock.
Check out article.
Thanks, grey_whiskers.
Ping for later read.
Your wore a jacket and tie, or a dress/skirt, and actually did something to make society go.
No one asked about your socio-political beliefs, and nobody gave a sh*t. You were there for the company, not your personal psychic healing or to cater to society’s pet foibles.
When I started working in the 1965 I got paid $1.25 an hour.
Some points from the article that stood out:
“Busybodies typically run the HR groups in large corporations.
Americans are cheated out of vacation time, compared to the rest of the civilized world.
Workers used to have fun together.
People used to say Merry Christmas to each other during Christmastime.
......
From the Q & A section:
Q: Is it ok to say “Merry Chrismas” at work?
A: Oh my yes. Everyone here in China says “Merry Christmas”, and it’s not even a Christian nation.
If you are taken aside by HR and told not to express yourself, report that HR manager to the CEO of the company. They are way beyond their mandate.”
Off-Site Office Party - "Little Bits 'n Pieces" - Jim Stafford
(Maybe just past the 70's a bit, but it sounds like the 70's!)Finding A Job - "Get A Job" - The Silhouettes
(Ok - it was a new "oldie" in the 60's!)Working A Job - "Working In The Coal Mine" - Lee Dorsey Leaving A Job - "Take This Job And Shove It" - Johnny Paycheck Smoking - "Smoke, Smoke, Smoke That Cigarette" - Tex Williams
(A little before the 60's, but it seemed to fit! Desktop ash trays were
often supplied in a company's own office supplies room back then!)
bmp
The article is an exercise in over-generalization.
And I don’t know a single restaurant that charges $8 for a cup of coffee.
