Everyday, most of us go to an office with a computer, a cubicle, a desk, a cabin…so many things that we are used to. We couldn’t imagine what work would look like without these things. True, modern designs like agile workspaces are breaking stereotypes of what an office should look like. Still, very few designs can entirely eliminate the concept of an office.
Have you ever wondered, where did it all start? Who decided that employees should come to work in a central location, probably in an industrial building, and spend 7-8 hours a day (or more, if your company doesn’t believe in work ethics)? Let’s take a journey down the memory lane of American work culture, and take a look at how it all started.
Industrial Revolution
Localized economies
I know, here we go again. It seems that almost everything about our current way of life can be traced back to the industrial revolution- and it’s true, in a way. Smith and colleagues (1989) have traced how the industrial revolution shaped the modern office, as we know it today. Back in the 1800s, the economy was completely different. It was completely local in its scope, and mostly agriculture-based in nature.
People grew crops, sold animal products, spices, etc. All that was required for the smooth running of an enterprise was storage, transportation and marketplaces to sell the goods. A few clerks and accountants were enough to take care of the administration side of things.
Every merchant was their own importer, exporter, wholesaler, retailer, etc. They supervised and took responsibility for every aspect with their business, perhaps with some help from family members who were naturally involved in the family business. They made sure things were running smoothly, maintained connections with the necessary agents, and were the sole benefactor of all profits.
Invention of railroads
What changed? First of all- the steam engine. Railroads made it possible for merchants to expand beyond national boundaries. The stakes were high, so the human resources required to maintain such expansive operations were also high. Moreover, the kind of wealth you have to invest for such a business is not something you can withdraw from an individual savings account.
That’s when people started appointing rudimentary forms of investors, stockholders, and board members. Bosses, managers, supervisors, etc. wove a suitable hierarchy around this new structure.
Academicians took notice of this development, and started studying the ‘office’. They started thinking, “What is the most efficient way of running an organization- a factory, a warehouse, an administrative office?” Frederick Taylor (attention, HR professionals!) published his theory of scientific management. He gave some recommendations on how managers can save money and increase productivity by tweaking certain day to day operations in the steel industry.
The ‘assembly line’
One of his recommendations was also the assembly line. Earlier, artisans used to make their goods from start to finish- from raw material to final product, by themselves. In the modern industry, things changed. Every person was asked to do only one part of the process. So if you are making a packet of biscuits, one group of workers will make the batter, another will bake, another will be in packaging.
In these small changes, we can see how the workplace is making a shift from all round control to super-specialization. Earlier, a handful of people knew how to make an entire product. Now, they have divided the tasks in such a way that no one person has the skills to make the entire product. But all of them together immensely boost the productivity of the entire organization, more goods are produced faster, at cheaper rates- there you have it, efficiency!
Does that remind you of anything from your own office? Think about it, you work in different specialized departments- PR, sales, accounting, quality assurance, etc. Even in the modern office, people work on highly specialized parts of the production process. PR and marketing team attracts clients, sales staff closes deals, accountants process cheques and contracts.
By the way, it is interesting to note here, how the producer is separated from the product here. Imagine a factory worker fixing only one part of a car, over and over again, one item after another. They never get to see the car completed before his own eyes. They have no personal attachment to the product- this is what Karl Marx called alienation of the creator from the creation itself.
Also, think about what kind of a life that leaves you with- your work day is going to be utterly boring, meaningless, and exhausting in its own way. This is not so different from the monotony and fatigue many people face in the workplace- doing the same task, day in and out, without ever getting to see any meaningful impact of your work.
Especially people in back office sections, clerks, accountants, data entry operators, etc. feel this way. So clearly, the modern office comes with its dark side, and we will get to that soon toward the end of this article!
Post World War II
Second wave feminism
During the war, the American economy was increasingly supported by a dominantly female workforce. With the men at war, women were being hired to fill positions in factories, offices, stores, etc. This was the beginning of the 2nd wave of feminism. Women realized that they have so much potential, that was being unfairly restricted to domestic duties. That’s how they began to increasingly assert themselves in the workplace.
Office culture
During the war, there was a painful scarcity of essential as well as luxury goods. As the post war economy picked up pace, there was a surge in demand for consumer goods. Now, factory jobs started paying more than clerical ones.
To make office work look more respectable, and to attract talent, office managers began to make changes to their work culture. They had to make up for their modest salaries by improving the overall appearance- physical and social- of their office spaces.
Color coordinated interiors, ergonomic furniture, comfortable offices for executives, and all these things started as a part of this ‘beautification scheme’. There was also a change in how bosses saw their employees.
Gone were the monotonous assembly lines, and the obsession with productivity at the cost of work satisfaction (on paper, at least). More and more managers gave importance to human relations. People were given breaks, the drab uniforms were gone, and offices were made more presentable and pleasant to be in.
Digital revolution
Inventions like telecommunication, automatic machinery, computers, and internet, the role of human resources was reduced. Tasks that once required a team of people- no matter how simple and monotonous- were now done at the click of a button.
On the bright side, production and manufacturing became efficient. The dark side was that people lost jobs. Their work experience no longer made them employable, because machines had taken over their jobs. They needed to learn new skills and start from scratch, which was especially difficult for older adults.
This is a lesson that is going to largely benefit us even today. There are few things that a computer cannot do. AI has been a gamechanger in how we do things. Many historians and anthropologists say that human resources are becoming increasingly redundant in the modern workforce.
Adapting to changing demands of the 21st century
Yuval Noah Harrari, a historian and the author of the famous book Sapiens, says that the key surviving this economy is never limiting yourself to a few specific skills. In fact, he says it is difficult to even predict what kind of skills you’re gonna need to survive in this place. So what we need to do, is develop the emotional and psychological flexibility to accept and adapt to change, to always be ready to start from scratch, and let go of older stereotypes.
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