The British Civil Service in the 1980's had not changed much since the 1960’s. The way things were done, the office equipment, the furniture and décor were all a left-over from the 1960’s or 1970’s. Curtains, carpets and filing cabinets were mostly green or orange. Like the land that time forgot, lack of investment meant nothing much had changed over a few decades.
The most junior positions were very low paid so having a second job was not uncommon. On the plus side, the working environment was usually good (especially if you liked retro décor) job security, favourable terms including final salary pension and usually without the pressure seen in the private sector.
However, the wheels of change were starting to move following formation of the Executive Agencies. I bore witness to this change first hand when I worked for what became the first
Executive Agency in the Civil Service. To be fair, there was quite allot of dead wood floating around. There were people who had been walking the corridors doing very little for years. There was little sense of urgency with anything that didn’t
have PQ (parliamentary question) or PSO (private secretaries office) stamped on it. It was the perfect hiding place for lazy intellectuals to go unnoticed for most of their life. Keep you head down and it was possible to reach 40 years service which is probably impossible these days.
Almost every item of office equipment was stamped with SO and the crown (Stationery Office).
During the 1980's the tubular metal office chairs still being used were stamped with dates from the 1960's. At one point the psychedelic patterned seat fabric was given a makeover by adding new plain seat covers! The first true adjustable 'office chairs' with wheels arrived with the introduction of the first IBM computers in the early 1990's. The older orange and green filing cabinets were gradually being replaced with new 'brown' ones. Being brown I think these were probably old 1980's stock.
Stationery was rationed. It was an era when the stationery cupboard had it's own nominated guardian. This meant that if you wanted a new pen or anything else you needed to request one from this person. That person might even scrutinise your need for the requested item. It was a revelation when the day came that you could browse through a stationery catalogue and order something you needed. The problem was that people started ordering things they didn't really need - give and inch and take a mile. So there was some sense in the rationing, even though it now sounds rather Dickensian.
There was a strong hierarchy and everyone new their place. An 'Executive Officer' and above was entitled to an official Civil Service briefcase. This was an old fashioned soft type of briefcase which had the ER crown stamped in gold on the outside. Perfect for your packed lunch.
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| Tools of the trade |
I was proud to become part of British bureaucracy called the Civil Service. In some ways it was a civilian version of the armed services - you signed the Official Secrets Act,
reported for duty and were issued with your essential office equipment which
included:
- biro pen
- pencil and sharpener
- notepad
- rubber (eraser)
- hole punch (double and single)
- stapler
- staple extractor
- treasury tags
Almost every item of office equipment was stamped with SO and the crown (Stationery Office).
During the 1980's the tubular metal office chairs still being used were stamped with dates from the 1960's. At one point the psychedelic patterned seat fabric was given a makeover by adding new plain seat covers! The first true adjustable 'office chairs' with wheels arrived with the introduction of the first IBM computers in the early 1990's. The older orange and green filing cabinets were gradually being replaced with new 'brown' ones. Being brown I think these were probably old 1980's stock.
Stationery was rationed. It was an era when the stationery cupboard had it's own nominated guardian. This meant that if you wanted a new pen or anything else you needed to request one from this person. That person might even scrutinise your need for the requested item. It was a revelation when the day came that you could browse through a stationery catalogue and order something you needed. The problem was that people started ordering things they didn't really need - give and inch and take a mile. So there was some sense in the rationing, even though it now sounds rather Dickensian.
There was a strong hierarchy and everyone new their place. An 'Executive Officer' and above was entitled to an official Civil Service briefcase. This was an old fashioned soft type of briefcase which had the ER crown stamped in gold on the outside. Perfect for your packed lunch.
Times have changed and the last time I passed one of the offices I once worked in
the Civil Service, it had become a ten pin bowling alley. Another one had been torn down to make way for a shopping complex. That somehow sums up
the demise of the old Civil Service. Modernisation is sometimes called for but I can't help thinking that the overall outcome is more stress on the staff. It can be a delicate balance - you don't want lazy people taking advantage of the system but you don't want to drive your workforce into the ground. It's often the case that a minority of bad performers result in a bad deal for everyone.
Fast forward to to now and the Civil Service is a shadow of it's former self - what could be sold off has been; staff terms and conditions stripped away; more work and less people. There may be some positives still but I can't think of any just now. You may as well be working in the private sector.
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