When Baisch emerged as a new business in the 1950s, the office world was seeing large transformations. Women had surged into the workforce and office layouts were rows of desks. Manual typewriters and adding machines were newer technology.
The 1960s saw offices where drinking and smoking were common and a “three martini lunch” wasn’t unheard of. Cubicle walls were engineered, and office workspaces were reinvented. Electric typewriters and computer systems emerged. Business attire was the norm and was expected.
An economic bust in 1975 created job insecurity for the first time in a long time. Businesses still had dress codes but were more relaxed with loafers instead of dress shoes and perhaps a tweed blazer for a day with no client meetings. The fax machine was a HUGE hit in the business world and floppy disks became available. At a Xerox conference, it was shared that the future of work would include, “A computer that could edit documents, draw bar charts, toggle between software programs and pull up documents and drawings from stored memory.” How right they were!
Talk about work-life balance started in the 1980s and the idea of a 9-5 workday was born. Corporate culture became important, Apple launched Macintosh, the first dotcom was registered, and the World Wide Web came online. Despite two recessions in three years and a one-day stock market crash, the 1980s finished with 19 million more jobs.
The 1990s brought the idea of long-term company loyalty into question. Employees started putting their own needs and interests above their employers’. Casual Fridays become common. The use of cell phones and email grew exponentially and purchasing items changed forever with the birth of Amazon and eBay.
Remember the introduction of cubicles in the 1960s? Well, it’s the 2000s and cubicle walls are out, and open floor plans are in! The technologies we use every day today were launched including Google, Gmail, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and the iPhone.
It’s the 2010s and the economy is recovering from the 2008 recession. The workforce is more diverse than ever including Baby Boomers, Gen X, Gen Y and Millennials working together. Microsoft Teams and Google Docs surged in popularity and utilizing Cloud storage became common, changing how many businesses work with their clients and internal teammates. Mobile Apps became a normal part of daily life.
The 2020s will see employees caring less about where they work and more about how they work with their team. Work culture is a deciding factor on where employees stay. Most teams prioritize developing strong relationships so they can work better together which is an ongoing goal of Baisch. Transparency is a trait employees value in a company and one of the reasons Baisch started Town Hall meetings with all employees last year. Employees will continue to work from all different locations; in-office, hybrid and remote, opening the doors to recruiting talent from outside of an office’s geographical area.
With each decade over the last 65 years, Baisch has adjusted, changed and grown. Baisch strives to create a work environment that meets the needs of our employees while providing the product and service our clients expect and deserve from us. The future is bright! Here’s to the next 65 years!
A 2020 Retrospective on the History of Work – Infographic (atlassian.com)
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