The history of the emergence of office employees
First white-collar workers
Until the mid-19th century, the existence of office employees was so insignificant and decentralized that no one even tried to separate them into a separate group. Already the era of industrialization accelerated production and increased the volume of administrative, and with it paper work. Clerks became more and more, references to them began to appear in the press and literature, and gradually they began to realize themselves as part of a certain community.
One of the hallmarks of this new social group was white-collar overheads. Shirts were too expensive, so clothing stores began selling collars to clerks.
Since its inception, office work has impressed those around it with something unnatural.
In a world where everyone worked as farmers, carpenters, and sailors, office work seemed a bit frivolous, and the clerk was a funny and curious figure. In 1880, only 5% of the working population was engaged in such labor.
How office work has become prestigious
However, their number was growing rapidly, and at some point, offices and their employees became one of the determining factors changing the face of the city. One of the main reasons for the change is the specialization of the business. Previously, one person combined multiple roles, he was an exporter, importer, retailer and wholesaler, ship owner, banker and insurer all rolled into one. In the second half of the XIX century, each direction found its own separate executor, banks began to issue loans, insurance companies - to minimize risks, ship owners - to transport goods, sellers concentrated on specific goods.
This division of tasks led to the fact that manual labor (all this dirty, noisy and foul-smelling world) was completely separated from the mental. Manufacturing companies began opening offices away from their own factories. Even if they were located in one building, they made two entrances: one - simple - for workers, and the second - clean and beautiful - for office employees. Another clear difference between these groups was the method of payment. Workers were paid for hours worked, and clerks were given a monthly salary. In this regard, office work has become associated with stability and security, it has become increasingly prestigious.
What did the first offices look like
The first offices were very different from the usual bright open spaces filled with air conditioning. For the most part, these were dark, stuffy rooms where all employees were sitting side by side, bosses with small clerks on equal terms. This gave rise to a special close relationship between them, for leaders their subordinates were at the same time assistants, and proxies, and potential sons-in-law.
The success of the clerks in many respects depended not only on the efficiency of work, but also on the image they created, good manners and other personal qualities that would then form the classic behavior of the office employee - emphasized by polite and executive. No other community has been as obsessed with status as clerks. Their intermediate, incomprehensible position in society made them feel uncomfortable. On the one hand, they were no longer ordinary workers, on the other, they did not reach the elite and even the middle class. This problem of internal self-identification will always haunt office employees.
Change at the Turn of the Century
If the clerk of 1860 saw his brothers in the profession of 1920, he would not believe his eyes. The tiny office rooms in which your good friends work are replaced by huge halls with high ceilings and identical tables and chairs set out in several rows. In fact, these offices were built in the likeness of factories, where tables were in place of the machines.
Until the mid-19th century, the existence of office employees was so insignificant and decentralized that no one even tried to separate them into a separate group. Already the era of industrialization accelerated production and increased the volume of administrative, and with it paper work. Clerks became more and more, references to them began to appear in the press and literature, and gradually they began to realize themselves as part of a certain community.
One of the hallmarks of this new social group was white-collar overheads. Shirts were too expensive, so clothing stores began selling collars to clerks.
Since its inception, office work has impressed those around it with something unnatural.
In a world where everyone worked as farmers, carpenters, and sailors, office work seemed a bit frivolous, and the clerk was a funny and curious figure. In 1880, only 5% of the working population was engaged in such labor.
How office work has become prestigious
However, their number was growing rapidly, and at some point, offices and their employees became one of the determining factors changing the face of the city. One of the main reasons for the change is the specialization of the business. Previously, one person combined multiple roles, he was an exporter, importer, retailer and wholesaler, ship owner, banker and insurer all rolled into one. In the second half of the XIX century, each direction found its own separate executor, banks began to issue loans, insurance companies - to minimize risks, ship owners - to transport goods, sellers concentrated on specific goods.
This division of tasks led to the fact that manual labor (all this dirty, noisy and foul-smelling world) was completely separated from the mental. Manufacturing companies began opening offices away from their own factories. Even if they were located in one building, they made two entrances: one - simple - for workers, and the second - clean and beautiful - for office employees. Another clear difference between these groups was the method of payment. Workers were paid for hours worked, and clerks were given a monthly salary. In this regard, office work has become associated with stability and security, it has become increasingly prestigious.
What did the first offices look like
The first offices were very different from the usual bright open spaces filled with air conditioning. For the most part, these were dark, stuffy rooms where all employees were sitting side by side, bosses with small clerks on equal terms. This gave rise to a special close relationship between them, for leaders their subordinates were at the same time assistants, and proxies, and potential sons-in-law.
The success of the clerks in many respects depended not only on the efficiency of work, but also on the image they created, good manners and other personal qualities that would then form the classic behavior of the office employee - emphasized by polite and executive. No other community has been as obsessed with status as clerks. Their intermediate, incomprehensible position in society made them feel uncomfortable. On the one hand, they were no longer ordinary workers, on the other, they did not reach the elite and even the middle class. This problem of internal self-identification will always haunt office employees.
Change at the Turn of the Century
If the clerk of 1860 saw his brothers in the profession of 1920, he would not believe his eyes. The tiny office rooms in which your good friends work are replaced by huge halls with high ceilings and identical tables and chairs set out in several rows. In fact, these offices were built in the likeness of factories, where tables were in place of the machines.
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