The workplace of the 1970s and 1980s was a vastly different landscape, where the hum of typewriters and rustling of paper replaced today’s keyboard clicks and notification pings. From pneumatic tubes whisking documents between floors to typing pools transforming handwritten notes into polished correspondence, office workers navigated a world of physical systems and face-to-face interactions that shaped their daily routines.
These accounts from professionals who worked in the pre-email era offer a fascinating glimpse into how businesses functioned when paper ruled supreme.
“Papers. Papers everywhere”
Back in the day, employees’ desks used to be cluttered with papers and file folders, while filing cabinets dominated every corner. The document management system was simple but labor-intensive — a far cry from sending simple email attachments to colleagues.
An original document had to be taken to the copy room, where a staff member would make multiple copies for distribution. These copies were often delivered to employees using a small cart, and they had to fill out Copy Request Forms (CRF) to obtain the ones they needed.
Here’s how one Redditor captures this paper-centric era: “Paper… tons and tons of paper. We had rooms and rooms of filing cabinets. Mountains of paper and file folders on your desk.”
Typing Pools
Before email revolutionized workplace communication, office workflows were dramatically different. One prime example was the typing pool system, where entire departments were dedicated to document processing.
Employees would handwrite and submit their documents for transcription to the typing pool staff, and the process would usually take up to three days. While this was time-consuming, it ensured that formatting was handled professionally, resulting in polished documents.
A former office worker, on Reddit, offers an interesting perspective on this seemingly outdated system: “You might think this is inefficient, but most people where I work now still don’t know how to touch type, and writing by hand is actually faster for them. Sure, the turn-around time was longer, but they still got more done in a day.”
Finding a Co-Worker
Unlike today, when a quick text message or chat can connect you with a co-worker instantly, in-house communication in the past required a more personal approach.
One professional recalls in a Quora discussion from 2019, that employees would walk directly to their colleagues’ desks for conversations, often leaving paper notes when the person was unavailable. This note-leaving practice would sometimes turn into a multi-day exchange as people attempted to connect.
If the co-worker you wanted to talk to was on another floor, your first option would be to try calling them—though this often resulted in no answer. In such cases, you’d have to hop on the elevator and look for them in person.
Reaching a Client
Communicating with a client in the pre-digital era was far more complex than talking to a co-worker. While you could call them, there was always the possibility that they would not answer. However, giving up was not an option.
The same Quora discussion from 2019 described how business communication typically involved enlisting the help of the typing pool to transform messages into a formal letter. This would then be mailed to the client with an envelope and stamp. In contrast to the convenience of email, reaching a client back then took way more time.
“Did You Get That Memo?”
Before email, internal communication typically flowed through a complex network of memos and physical documents. When a higher-up in the company issued a decree and tasked their secretary with making copies for everyone, you would eventually find the memo placed on your desk.
You’d be up for a challenge if you didn’t understand the contents of the memo, and you were expected to keep these memos. In some cases, employees were required to compile them into binders for future reference.
Office staff also sent memos to the appropriate departments and employees to help coordinate their bosses’ schedules and achieve specific objectives. As one former office worker shared on Reddit, “We had to send memos to five different people in separate divisions just to achieve something.”
Pneumatic Tubes
To facilitate this document-heavy workflow era, offices naturally relied on various delivery systems. One such system was the pneumatic tube network, which transported documents and small packages between different areas of an office. One Redditor recalls the demanding nature of managing these tubes: “can’t help but feel sorry for the person who had to feed envelopes into the proper tubes for hours on end!”
The job required meticulous attention to detail, as these tubes were used for messaging between different areas of the building, and tube operators had to ensure each document reached its intended recipient correctly. While pneumatic systems seemed futuristic for their time, they’re largely obsolete in office settings today. Nowadays, they’re used in hospitals to transport medical supplies and documents efficiently.
Everything was Carbon Paper
The messy reality of the 1970s and 1980s office work involved black-stained fingers and clothing, courtesy of carbon paper—the era’s primary method for creating document copies. With photocopiers being a luxury few businesses could afford, employees had no choice but to sandwich this dark, smudgy paper between sheets to produce duplicates.
The process became especially precarious when used with typewriters, where a single mistake meant starting over, as paper jams would derail the entire copying process.
One Redditor perfectly captures this daily challenge: “We would use carbon paper for duplicates because back then these so-called “Xerox” machines were hideously expensive. But for some reason, using the A.B. D*c* mimeograph was considered very… jejune.”
Everything was Handwritten
During the 1980s and early 1990s, office workers navigated their daily tasks through a maze of paper trails. From taking notes to sending messages, everything was handwritten, especially calculations. Spreadsheets were created manually on paper, with details entered and totaled by hand.
This heavy reliance on handwriting created its own set of challenges. You’d have people complain if your handwriting was difficult to read. As one Redditor recalls with frustration, “So much was HANDWRITTEN. And people b*tched about poor handwriting a lot too.”
This common complaint highlights one of the many differences between workplaces before and after email — clear penmanship could make the difference between effective communication and workplace confusion.
The Magic of Fax Machines
In the absence of email, fax machines were one of the primary methods for sending documents between offices through telephone lines, as they were the easiest and fastest. The daily work routine involved careful planning around these temperamental devices.
Fax machines were notoriously finicky and prone to paper jams, requiring workers to develop specific strategies for successful transmission. Patience was essential when faxing multiple pages, as it was best not to send everything at once.
One Redditor’s experience captures the feeling faced by many workers: “I hate this one with a passion. I can only have 5-6 pages loaded at a time of it will grab 2 or more or it will jam. So if I have to fax 30 pages at the end of the day I have to load 5, then as it grabs page 4 I will load 5 more pages and so on…”
Strong, Sturdy legs
Office couriers used to be the lifeblood of business operations; their swift feet and reliable vehicles kept information flowing between departments and buildings. Even if it was just a single document, if it was important—especially if it was for your boss—you had to deliver it in person.
As one Redditor recalls, these runners played such a vital role that an employee’s performance reviews often hinged on their ability to coordinate with the delivery schedule, sometimes even requiring strategic timing to meet deadlines. This physical document delivery system, while seemingly inefficient by today’s standards, was the backbone of business communication in the pre-email era.