The Old & The New

I'm watching "9 to 5", filmed in 1980 with Lily Tomlin, Jane Fonda, Dolly Parton and Dabney Coleman. I really find it staggering - they had no computers, not even the basic ones with monochromatic monitors. They did have electric typewriters, a copier the size of a cow, and as noisy as any unbelievable machinery in a factory. The sorter is this enormously long thing attached to the back of the machine. A nightmare. Now you can have a single tray copier that sits on your desktop.

I knew that technology had made leaps and bounds, but wow... Time clocks with key punch, typewriters, no computers, dictaphones, those enormous phones, the hair--- aaaaaaaa! Absolutely a nightmare. What a horror. And ye gods... harassment was unreal!

I realise Dabney Coleman is supposed to be a totally oversexed bigoted ass, but this sort of thing was not unknown or unheard of and even commonplace. He hit on his secretary all the time, spread rumours that he was sleeping with her. She wasn't sleeping with him but the office staff certainly. He also took his workers' ideas and sold them to upper management as his. He wouldn't promote women.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

No Human Resources department there, clearly. Comments like, "He has a family to support" and "clients just like to deal with men for figures". My gods! Who does this?!

What an improvement the world has made to business!

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