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Vintage photos show the workplace and offices of the past, 1970s-1980s (rarehistoricalphotos.com)
12 points by Brajeshwar on Dec 12, 2022 | hide | past | favorite | 10 comments


The lack of clutter says that most of those photos were probably staged and don't necessarily depict a workplace on a normal working day. You probably came with intent on taking pictures if you came in carrying a camera at the time.


I've worked in those rooms and data-centers decades after the fact. Just dirtier, cluttered, and the hardware's been replaced. Not always replaced though. There are always old relics squirreled away in an interstitial space or in plain sight holding up new equipment.

I've been remote for many years now and honestly, I kinda miss those abandoned corners of business/tech. Had a weird dystopian vibe. Existing in the rubble of a more advanced society.


The article talks about offices but most of the pictures show data centers. As nobody (except administration, IT personal or "operators", how they where called back then) is working in data center today, most folks did not work there back in the 1970s. There is literally only one photo which seems to show a cubicle.


I find it odd that the creator of Action Office 2 apologised for it. Having grown up watching the media of the 90's and 00's, and then working in open spaces, I look at office cubicles with a fond anemoia. I would very much appreciate having my own space at work.


Thanks for the word "anemoia." I learnt it today.


It always strikes me how almost no one is fat in older photos, even here in the US.


It represents a time which lacked many conveniences that we have today, like flying cars --oh wait! Kidding of course! I would guess it has to do with diet (and yes, maybe a little lack of exercise, etc.). By now, we have a couple of decades of poor eating under our belt (sorry for the poor pun)...By this i mean, that we're collectively eating more processed foods, etc.


"Vintage", huh? 1980s is vintage now?

Like Yogi Berra said, "It gets late early out there."


When I look at some of these pictures I feel like I can smell the room they were taken in.


“The concept of telecommuting was proposed in the early 1970s by Jack Nilles, a former NASA engineer. He offered it as an alternative to resource-draining transportation amid the oil crisis of that era.”

And then we went back to draining resources just so we can provide emotional support for those without a personal life or to cover gaps in other’s communication skills.




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