The office environment has changed dramatically over the last few decades. Rapid advances in technology have improved our way of working in almost every way, providing new tools and functionalities that have allowed us to work and communicate more effectively. Today’s desktop computers are more than 2,000 times more powerful than those in the early ‘90s and cost less than a tenth of the price. With World Typewriter Day on 23 June, this is the perfect opportunity to look back at how much has changed in the office environment and see how we got to where we are today.
The 1950s
At the beginning of the ’50s, most office designs were based on a factory or production line, where rows of desks, often with typewriters, were tightly crammed together and managers could easily supervise everyone on the office floor. Towards the end of the decade, all of that began to change. Office layouts took a new direction, influenced by a German workplace design style called burolandschaft, which encouraged a less rigid approach. Now commonly referred to as the modern open-plan office, this layout made the workspace more social and increased collaboration between teams. The style gradually spread from Europe to the UK and finally to the USA in the 1960s.
The 1960s-1980s
In the ‘60s the ‘Action Office’ began to emerge, giving employees more flexible, semi-enclosed workspaces that later evolved into the cubicles of the 1980s. The ‘70s saw the introduction of office game-changers like pocket-sized calculators, Post-It notes and Tipp-Ex. Computers also became small enough to become viable for the office environment. Typewriters continued to dominate throughout the ‘70s, but by the 1980s, offices started to resemble the modern spaces we know today, complete with desktop computers, cumbersome CRT monitors, fax machines, and printers.
The ‘80s also saw the rise of the internet, and the first dot.com business was registered in 1985.
1990s-2000s
Desktop computers became increasingly common, and the first bulky commercial laptops started coming into the office. Some of the things we take for granted today were just getting started. In 1992, the world had its first web browser and a year later, email started taking off. Adobe PDF – the first effective document sharing technology – was invented. Office designs became more utilitarian and functional, and cubicles became smaller as the number of employees and costs of office space rose.
The 2000s-2010s
The turn of the millennium saw a rapid acceleration in the evolution of the workspace and office tech. High-speed internet and ever-advancing technologies began to redefine everything about the way people work and interact with each other. Thankfully, cubicles began to fall from favour, and some people started to work in more alternative spaces such as coffee shops, shared spaces or even remotely from home. With social media platforms taking off and tech start-ups disrupting spaces, workplaces became more casual, and more companies wanted bright, vibrant offices and a deeper relationship with their work culture.
As technology advanced, there was a greater demand for finding smarter and more flexible ways to work. Computers got smaller and more packed with features to meet modern-day working requirements, as did monitors. Better productivity tools continued to emerge in the form of software, and cloud computing began to enable true workplace mobility.
Today
When the pandemic happened, many of us found ourselves working in an at-home office environment. Technology has enabled this business continuity, and has undoubtedly improved almost every aspect of our work life. We’ve clearly come a long when we look back at the typewriters or bulky CRT monitors we used to use just a few decades ago.
Now, the only things a modern workspace needs are a computer, a screen, a mouse and keyboard, and an internet connection. With future-facing technology like LG’s UltraWide monitors we can multitask while we work, open multiple windows and share documents with co-workers half-way across the world. We can learn anything or contact anyone at the click of a button. Technology hasn’t just changed the office environment. Technology is our new office environment.
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