A RECENT exhibition in London concerned .almost exclusively promotion of perhaps the most important wonder of the microprocessing revolution — the word process. Forty two stands displayed word processing systems ranging in price from £3,000 to £70,000. There are already some 20,000 word processing systems installed in this country, leaving (according to the Radio 4 announcer) some two and a quarter million secretaries and typists 'behind the times"
The manufacturers and other apologists for word processing argue that these automatic typewriters will free secretaries and typists from boring routine work tor fulfilling and creative work. In addition, one word processor can do the work of two and a half to five typists.
the apologists don't make however, is what will happen to those typists who will be replaced by the machinery. question', they say, 'of how you use it'. The reality is somewhat different.
-The word processor will mean a threat to the jobs of millions of office workers and increased boredom for those lucky enough still to have a job. It is important, theretore, to look at what the word processor is, why it is being introduced, and what its impact will be, or could be...
While typewriters with memories have been around since the '60s, their output was limited and the cost prohibitive. Advances in chip technology have enabled the development of the much cheaper and more efficient word processor.
Briefly, the equipment consists of a keyboard, a memory, a mini-computer, a visual display unit (VDU) and a printing out machine. Instead of typing onto paper, the typist now 'keyboards' in information which is displayed on the screen.
T'hese elements carp be arranged either together in one 'stand-alone' system or as part of a "shared-logic' system where each station (keyboard and VDU) is connected to a memorv computer and the orinter.
The advantages of the word processor (for employers o cetinen standard letters, paragraphs and sentences as well as address lists in the memory, all of which can be recaleo at the press of a button, displayed on the screen, added to and fitted together in different combinations and then, when ready for printing, printed out at around 500 words per minute (compare the average typist's speed of 60 wpm).
Siemens have even perfected a laser printer which can print 2,000 lines per minute.
The memory and storage facility eliminates the need for constant re-typing of standard deners. It aiso enmunales Lne conslant e суршь of drafts, which is the bug-bear of many typists faced with incompetent bosses.
It can also perform many tasks previously considered part of the typist's skill. For instance, centring headings, justifying margins and tabulation work can be done automatically. There is an automatic carriage return and corrections can be done simply by 'typing' over the error.
According to one executive responsible for the introduction of a WP system 'the cost case was based on saving people' - but behind this is the need to increase productyity Historically, increased productivity been achieved by managements taking control over the work process out of the hands of workers by stripping them of their skills, fragmenting their jobs into smaller tasks and subordinating them to machinery Although office work has been subject to different forms of reorganisation, rationalisation has been hindered in two imPotlailt ways.
On the one hand, because of the particular methods of control and discipline which exist in offices. It is no acident that the majority of lower grade office and secretaria! workers are women - not only can they be paid less, but as women they can be controlled in ways. which reflect the relations oi male domination and female subordination which permeate whole of society.
This method of control works in two ways. For instance, the provision of secretaries has consistentv been used as a means of securinz the loyalty of lower and middle managements by according them status _ an 'ottice wite'. And even in typing pools, it is quite usual for a typist to attach herself to one boss or department and vice versa.
In turn, the highly personalised nature of office work enables managements to control women themselves by other than purely econOlEC Incdis. Many women in offices find themselves unable to ask for a rise because discussing something as basic as money reduces the job to a pure economic transaction, while the whole ethic of the office is based on a sense of professionalism and gentlemanly behaviour.
Few women office workers in the private sector are represented by trade unions which can negotiate wage rises for them and going individually to a boss reinforces their subordination both in class terms and as women and is Socialist Challenge 16 AneRM 1979 interesting, clear, 'It's a work hold thus experienced as something highly embarrassing.
has The problem for managements concerned with productivity is that, by performing caring and servicing tasks for the boss/bosses such as making tea/coffee, going on errands, watering. his plants, secretarial workers do not spend the whole day typing The second hindrance to rationalisation is complete that control over the typewriter, existence of typing pools, has remained firmly in the hands of the typist. raționalisation control transferred onto the machine which is only possible now processing.
With a conventional typewriter, the typist determines such things as when she starts work, when she puts the paper into the machine, how the une work is 1o De sel OuL,. eLc.
enables her to ceașe working, or delay working, in order to engage in more human activities such as contact with workmates.
The additional auxiliary tasks allotted to the typist traditional office -filing, taking shorthand, collecting. stationery-and even those which reinforce her status 'office wife', such as organising presents and servicing the boss, have all allowed her a certain amount of space and time away from the actual task of typing.
The whole culture of the office, then, has contributed to the loss in 'produetive' time productive, that is, for managements. On the 011er 12114 it provides typing boring incomprehensible With some sort of job satisfaction The immediate impact of the introduction of word processors is loss of jobs. widely known example is that of Bradford Metropolitan Council which reduced its staff in one department from 44 to 22. Otber equally:
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— being 'productive'. money is by cutting the payroll.
despite the are women women, if any, For complete would have be with the development of word 'AHIS CONCO cally since the war.
organisation leaving office described above.
At this stage the spend their time, they many of them will wener Telneacy documents SCHOHOSL DELIC LACIONA The most taking dictation.
WOrd La pro.
them to go technology high reductions have been achieved by the National Coal Board, the Central Electricity Generating Board, and the Gas and Electricity Faced with massive expenditure cuts, the public sector is finding that in addition to cutting vital services, a useful way of saving Those mainly affected by office automation ence.
and despite the fact that few work.for 'pin money', it becomes all too easy with high unemployment levels to resurrect those old arguments about women's rightful place being in the home.
In the private sector, also, there is a concern to cut down on staffing levels. In relation to those engaged in manufacturing, the costs of administrative staffs have grown astronomihowever. It is relevant to emphasise that office automation will not just affect typists and secretaries. Especially in the here. private sector there is growing concern about the inefficiency of lower and middle managements which itself reflects the culture of the cost of securing their loyalty is becoming prohibitive and so, while not traditionally subject to controls over how they will increasingly be expected to improve their productivity and face the prospect of As described above, the word processor can , traditionally seen as part of the typist's skill. Increasingly, also the skill of shorthand is being replaced by audio-typing which saves the time used in processing systems.. work in conjunction with dietation systems uhree augh go under the thought-provoking titles of Dicta Mastermind). On the basis of a sime and " houchtmaster imemaste] motion study which is carried out prior to installation, managements have an exact record of how fast the operators can type. On the basis the dictation •yoLCu can allocate audio-work automatically to each operator.
Only the supervisor has control over the system, so the operators are continuously fed new work which they do not necessarily see once they have keyboarded it in. The printing out can be done in another room.
The typing process has been broken down into its smallest fragments and the typist now simply spends her time keyboarding the information into the machine.
Even without the dictation system, the word processor has built into it the ability to supervise and monitor the operator's work. Initially, opcralors leei mal bicy gan greater control, since they are engaged in working a complicated piece of 'new technology'.
Getting used to the various functions of the machine, however, takes very little time and the operator soon finds that she can perform be job 'automatically" - the effect then is not freedom from boring work, but de-skilling and an increase in boredom. With the office routine tied to the pace of the machines, personal contacts between workers are minimal closing off the last possibility of job satisfaction.
Research carried out in the US, where word processors and visual display units are much more common than in Britain, has pointed to several major health problems resulting from continuous work with VDUs.
Most important is 'visual fatigue" or eyestrain which results from 'flicker' and glare on the screens temselves. It has been estimated that one third of the workforce have uncorrected visual defects and for these people and those over 45, eye problems could be exacerbated.
Even, instance, in those rare ottices where the typists are on a rota which allows back onto ordinary typewriters every six weeks or so, problems associated with eyestrain are reported.
The increased use of audio-typing means that operators will spend a large amount of time staring at the screen. •C HAKC C ARE reflection onto the screen from spectacles and the green lettering itself are found by many operators to be irritating It is important to recognise that the kind of which has produced word pro cessors is not inevitable. There is no such thing as malulal technologal progress Technological advances have been made in areas which could actually benefit people but have not been sponsored by big business because they are not profitable - for instance, the light bulb which can last a lifetime. The introduction of word processing and other automatic processes must be seen as part of management's attempts to increase productivity and therefore profits and not as part of a great philanthropic gesture to eliminate the boredom from office routine.
Office workers shouid, therefore, seriously consider saying no to the introduction of word processing on the grounds that it will close off hopportunities women in this country.
While we may be criticised for defending what is a boring job anyway, it makes sound economic sense to defend even a boring job against no job at all. And in addition, it is important to defend the gains that women have achieved over the past 30 years the most important being the right to financial independMany women office workers however are either non-unionised or in unions which are male-dominated and which do not consider it important to fight for women's rights. Trade unions which do represent women 1. office workers should develop sound policies for protecting their members If. faced with the introduction of word processors tne minimum agreement must be no job loss which should include the provision of no voluntary redundancy (these jobs are not ours to sell), no natural wastage and no compulsion for women to work word processors The question of health and safety is crucial The TUC for instance recommends a break every 2 hours for those operating VDUs and the CPSA has negotiated an agreement that no operator should work more than 50 minutes without a break Regular eye checks are important and anyone suffering eye problems as a result of VDUs should be redeployed with no loss of skills and pay. Those in trade unions are legally entitled under the Health and Safety at Work Act to elect Safety Representatives who have the right to demand full details of health and safety factors connected with any new developments and changes in the work process.
Jobs massacre at the office — Women's Voice pamphlet on word processing, 25p. Availabk frei the Other Bookshop, 328 Upper St London NI, 100 p8e
ago. This reinforces a point made in a
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