The Speakeasy and Workplace Nostalgia

I’m getting older but not old enough to remember Prohibition (1920-1933) and the advent of the Speakeasy where booze was served illegally. The New York Times reports that the Speakeasy is making a comeback, despite the absence of any law making it illegal for adults to buy liquor. It’s nostalgia at its strangest.

“Speakeasy bars” are springing up all over the place in 1920′s fashion. They’re hard to find. There are no signs identifying them. Customers have to ring bells and buzzers, use passwords, and sometimes pass through multiple entrances before they’re in. As one current Speakeasy owner says, “People have an affection for  this period of American history, and they want the mystery.”

Not everything about this period brings good memories. Half the liquor was homemade or adulterated. During the 1926 holiday season in New York, 47 people died after drinking poisoned liquor, bringing that year’s death toll to 741.

Because of today’s bad times and unemployment, there’s some workplace nostalgia also going on. It’s important to remember that the good old days of work weren’t all good. There was child labor, substandard wages, sweat shops, and blatant discrimination against women, African-Americans, and certain ethnic and religious groups.

But there are some things I miss: professional attire; manners; an absence of regular profanity; knowing (not via Facebook) the people with whom you worked; being able to let employees off without keeping up with it; telephone etiquette; receptionists who’d been to finishing school; loyalty; small employers where the line between boss and employee wasn’t so bold; and being able to get away from work without the tether of a cell phone or blackberry.

It would help us all if you’d share your nostalgic memories of work days gone by. If possible, take a minute and post a comment about what they are.

1. 

   ACU Frank says:

   June 5, 2009 at 10:43 am

   I thought about this overnight, and I have come up with this conclusion:

   All the things that made previous jobs or workplaces more enjoyable were wrong, and it is probably a good thing they are illegal or ill-advised at best.

   There. I said it. Of course, it doesn’t diminish the fondness of the memories…
2. 

   John Phillips says:

   June 9, 2009 at 3:00 pm

   Frank,

   I think you need to think about this some more.

   John
3. 

   NaeNae55 says:

   June 10, 2009 at 10:50 am

   Most of my memories are not that good. That may, of course, be due to my being female where getting pregnant could get you fired, and where employement applications asked for the date of my last cycle.

   However, I also remember the boss taking us out for 2 hour lunches where alcohol and expensive meals were served freely. One took us out at the drop of hat.

   I also remember the freedom to take home whatever we needed from the office, and having parties (like my bridal shower) at work. It was considered part of the perks, and no one worried about stealing or being politically correct.
4. 

   John Phillips says:

   June 11, 2009 at 5:03 pm

   NaeNae,

   Thanks for weighing in on this. Everything you said rings a bell with me. Times have changed for the better and the worse I suppose.

   John