Office Work and the rest
Christmas time is hectic in every food producer's business especially when in fresh produce, so yesterday I spent in the office - filing, filing, checking information, filing, sorting a few queries, and still my desk isn't clear.
I thought, 30 years ago, that the advent of computers would reduce if not eliminate paper records. At the time, I remember I worked for a stockbroker as a very junior Junior. It was fascinating. Every day these cards would arrive and it was my job to file them removing the old out-of-date cards. These contained information on company prices; trends; shares etc. Because of where the office was situated, I was also responsible for filing the exact same information in the Cork Stock Exchange. This quiet room situated at the back of the buildig was hidden behind a heavy green curtain in the Y.M.C.A. building in Marlboro St,. Cork. With the curtain closed and the door locked, I would spend a few minutes after filing to just look at all the files and information stored there - I often wondered how often the room was used and who else had access. It is long since gone.
Back in the stockbroker's office, I spent many more hours filing in another room where there were 4-drawer filing cabinets on at least two walls. I must have proven myself capable of filing because eventually my boss directed me to read every file and any that hadn't been opened before a certain date were to be removed. I remember asking when this task had last been done and was told the files had been there since the Year of the Flood. I was in awe until I discovered that the building had flooded some years before I was born and everything destroyed - approimately 30 years previous.
As the Junior, I was also despatched with correspondence including letters; share certificates; cheques etc up and down the South Mall, Cork. After a while I began to recognise other Juniors as we met in doorways; in the only lift I used and where I once got stuck at 1 Sutton Building - I had to go there to get something stamped as far as I remember; and on the street.
Now in hindsight, I think of all that paper moving up and down and in and out of buildings in that Business Street in particular. Today the volume hasn't reduced at all but it's moved by email and then printed so the only missing link is the Junior or the Postal Service.
The actual volume of paper has increased in offices and personal space. Even to open a bank account or make a submission to a government department, the volume of paperwork required is mind boggling.
The very people who told us that paper useage would be reduced are the same ones who are demanding more and more!
I don't have a solution.
Until next time
Avril
I thought, 30 years ago, that the advent of computers would reduce if not eliminate paper records. At the time, I remember I worked for a stockbroker as a very junior Junior. It was fascinating. Every day these cards would arrive and it was my job to file them removing the old out-of-date cards. These contained information on company prices; trends; shares etc. Because of where the office was situated, I was also responsible for filing the exact same information in the Cork Stock Exchange. This quiet room situated at the back of the buildig was hidden behind a heavy green curtain in the Y.M.C.A. building in Marlboro St,. Cork. With the curtain closed and the door locked, I would spend a few minutes after filing to just look at all the files and information stored there - I often wondered how often the room was used and who else had access. It is long since gone.
Back in the stockbroker's office, I spent many more hours filing in another room where there were 4-drawer filing cabinets on at least two walls. I must have proven myself capable of filing because eventually my boss directed me to read every file and any that hadn't been opened before a certain date were to be removed. I remember asking when this task had last been done and was told the files had been there since the Year of the Flood. I was in awe until I discovered that the building had flooded some years before I was born and everything destroyed - approimately 30 years previous.
As the Junior, I was also despatched with correspondence including letters; share certificates; cheques etc up and down the South Mall, Cork. After a while I began to recognise other Juniors as we met in doorways; in the only lift I used and where I once got stuck at 1 Sutton Building - I had to go there to get something stamped as far as I remember; and on the street.
Now in hindsight, I think of all that paper moving up and down and in and out of buildings in that Business Street in particular. Today the volume hasn't reduced at all but it's moved by email and then printed so the only missing link is the Junior or the Postal Service.
The actual volume of paper has increased in offices and personal space. Even to open a bank account or make a submission to a government department, the volume of paperwork required is mind boggling.
The very people who told us that paper useage would be reduced are the same ones who are demanding more and more!
I don't have a solution.
Until next time
Avril
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