Apple
A journey through 40 years of office tech.
For decades people have spent the majority of their working lives sitting in offices.
But while offices are still commonplace, today's workplace has very little in common with that of our grandparents' generation. Typewriters have given way to computers, computers and phones have shrunk down to devices we can carry in our pocket and ubiquitous internet means work is always with us, for better or worse.
The contribution of modern technology to each worker's productivity is nearly five times greater today than it was in the 1970s, according to a study by the Centre for Economic and Business Research, conducted on behalf of telecoms operator O2.
This scene captures the office of the 1950s and 1960s, from the solid metal Remington typewriter to the bulky Bakelite hand-dialled telephone. The receptionist would generally have operated the switchboard and routed all of the calls.
The mock-up is part of an exhibition showing the evolution of the office over the past 40 years to mark the launch of The O2 Business Show Live in the Business Design Centre in Islington, London.
In the 50s and 60s, the typewriter, 100 years old at the time, was a standard piece of equipment in the office. Computers were still in their infancy and IBM was establishing the Selectric as the de facto standard typewriter in offices, replacing the raucous clack of the older typebar machines with its quieter gyrating typeballs.
Workplace roles were more unequal than today, with women generally employed to do the typing for men.
At the time the annual UK salary was just over £100, with 70 percent of British workers employed in manual labour. It wasn't until this time that it became the norm in Britain to work five days a week rather than six.
Caption by: Nick Heath
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