What did people do at work before the internet existed?

I tell ya one thing they did was keep their affairs with their secretaries quiet with no social media …

The internet was NOT common in offices in the late 80s. Try more like mid 90s. Before that it was in colleges, DoD/Govt sites, and some large tech companies. It had not yet invaded run of the mill business. There were computers but they weren't all connected like they are today. A lot of DEC Vaxes, System/36, PDP-11s, AS/400s, etc.

Source: I was there. I remember. We had email, BBS, archie, unix talk, etc but it was definitely NOT common in offices like legal firms, financial services, manufacturing, etc.

No, it's not, and votes from the kiddies can't change facts.

Every office had fax machines, and if they needed digital communication, their own private servers for a modem to dial in directly.

The only really big change from the www is to buy/sell/advertise online. But that's not any quicker than selling stuff over the phone, and usually sells less - sales is a real human-skill job that can't be replaced by a wall of text. It eventually did decline, but it took decades to happen.

To find a business, you looked in the yellow pages - the phone book. Ironically, the internet eventually migrated from desktop computers to mobile phones, whose users often spend more time talking than surfing the web.

i.e. the ones that really needed it already had it, like I said.

Should have paid attention in English class

This is correct. It wasn't until Netscape was released in 1994 that the internet went mainstream in offices and with consumers. Before that it was all text based and you needed to know some Unix to navigate your way around. In offices in the 80s exchanging information usually meant copying files to a disk drive that you handed to someone.

But once a user-friendly interface was widely available the adoption of the internet was rapid.

I had long abandoned Compuserve by 1994 when I purchased my first at-home internet service subscription. A text based thing called Delphi. I thought it was incredible that I had access to the AP news wire and was learning of current world events before anybody else.

Watch "Office Space" ... that was pre-internet (widespread)

Productivity comparisons between pre-internet and post-internet are tough. I see a lot of kids coming out of college that can do certain tasks very quickly because they are accustomed to the various internet-based tools that allow them to be more efficient. The advantage that seasoned employees have is that they are usually better at using pen and paper to sketch out ideas and brainstorm solutions to complex problems. Hopefully, the older generation of workers can pass those skills on to the younger workers that are very adept at being efficient within a given task.

In the 80's we were using the FAX machine and Telex to communicate with all the people that we were doing business with. Always had to be aware of the time zone differences which meant coming into the office very early and leaving very late which was the norm for expats based in Asia. The internet made things a lot easier. It also cut down on my travel requirements which was a good thing.

minesweeper and cigarette breaks

Ha ha, minesweeper... I haven't thought about that for a long time.

But someone mentioned Unix. How about those old Usenet boards? It was kind of like an early reddit, with every topic under the sun, but only geeky computer users in the communities. Most people still had no idea what the internet was.

In maybe around fall 1993 (freshman year of college), I was trying to remember who sang a certain song or something like that. I put that question out on some group and had an answer within minutes. That was the first time that I really saw the power of the internet.

ever play for survival instead of speed? # of boards cleared without dying once. More realistic

This is the correct answer. It was Netscape that released the potential of the internet.

My first e-mail was the Eastern Kentucky University (sigh..) VAX terminal in 1996. Black screen with white text. I remember the old t-and-f uoregon list serv.

Alan

Even into the 1980s you could smoke in the employee lounge and sometimes even at your desk.

I think this is a good response and an example of how less was done back then.

You can do things faster now.
They once thought that efficiency would lead to shorter work weeks and more leisure.
Instead it’s lead really to more productively and people working at least the same amount of hours.

I worked in an office whee everyone typed and made phone calls at desk quite close to each other. You'd just say a few words to someone else every once in awhile or chat with someone who got up and strolled by.

My first engineering section head would smoke cigs in his cubical while we discussed projects. He was nice enough to blow the smoke straight up. We had a Division VP who would smoke cigars in his office, but he had some special air-handling equipment installed to mitigate the smoke/smell somewhat. Silicon Valley, early '80s.

The big promise - technology will immeasurably improve our lives!

Rancor, misinformation, lack of social skills, ease of running up debt, stalking, permanent adolescent behaviors, personal insecurities, porn addiction, more obesity, FOMO, conspiracy accepted as fact, loads of poorly produced entertainment, the ability to buy loads of cheap quality goods very cheaply, the lack of critical thinking and filters, etc.

What a bright future we have created!