What can we learn from the first “digitalization push” in the 1990s for today?
Once upon a time… a short time ago
Remember the time when Excel was the great leap forward? It was brilliant: even if several factors changed in the middle of a list, the associated numbers, and consequently the results and even the charts, were immediately adjusted. Those who really delved into it discovered infinite possibilities in the universe of invoicing!
WORD gained popularity even faster. Suddenly, many people were “opening the window” while sitting at their desks. Files could be created so quickly, sections moved around so easily – all without scissors, glue, or a copier.
PowerPoint replaced the overhead projector in lecture halls, and emails quickly replaced faxes or even letters – at least outside of government offices.
Microsoft Office triggered a true upheaval in office and meeting culture. What we now recall as a gentle breeze of change, in the 1990s, for many users, was like a revolution in their everyday working lives. Revolutions divide: some embrace the new order with enthusiasm, while others feel extremely uncomfortable or overwhelmed by it. It was no different here.
Outrageous: “Hello Mrs. Schneider!”
For years, an electric typewriter stood next to the PC on many desks (or was it the other way around??). WHEN an email was then acknowledged, it was not uncommon for it to be blocked from being dealt with because of the salutation. A concrete example:
“Hello Ms. Schneider, …” caused severe anger among one of my clients. Because emails were long viewed as a substitute for letters, the professionals in the secretarial office in particular clung to the corresponding formulas. A letter – including an email – had to begin with “Dear Ms. Schneider” and end with “… kind regards”. “Hello Ms. Schneider …” was seen as an affront. The American style in particular aroused real outrage: “Ms. Schneider, (please) prepare the template for Mayer. thx LR (LR for Ludwig Reichel)”. Wording in emails could lead to heated, serious conflicts.
Indeed, the introduction of Microsoft Office in many companies was followed by angry tears, heated arguments, and even separations. Did shorthand skills and self-developed documentation and filing systems no longer count for anything?! Where was the appreciation for acquired skills and hard-earned solutions?
What sounds like something from an old black and white film happened a good twenty-five years ago.
As a young coach back then, I learned a lot about the depths of perceived disrespect and the fear of failure. And as an experienced coach, I observe exactly the same thing again today. Unfortunately, little has been learned from these early days of digitalization.
Was it the supposedly complicated application that at times seemed to offset the time savings of the tools through discussions and arguments? No. It was people with their professional experience—and, above all, their fear.
Everything went well for everyone
I wonder: Why doesn’t anyone remember this emotionally charged part of the change that affected all—really all!—desk workers in companies? Anyone who studied or completed an apprenticeship back then will still remember the transition from pasted-up copies of theses to well-formatted templates on the PC. Regardless of the subject, you learned, whether you wanted to or not, how to wrestle with formatting templates and printer drivers.
So Grandma doesn’t talk about the war, but about the beginnings of the struggles with the general introduction of IT into her own (professional) life.
And yet no one talks about it anymore. As if this phase of the first wave of digitalization had been nothing. Why?
The main reason for this enormous memory gap is probably that over the following years the people in question were gradually replaced.
At the same time as the introduction of MS Office, a generational change was brought forward in some cases, which would otherwise have happened shortly afterwards anyway.
By the mid-1980s, baby boomers had been swept from overcrowded classrooms into overcrowded lecture halls or training centers. From there, they were sent hunting for jobs that were well filled by the children of the economic miracle. In the early 1990s, the previously unindulged generation of the many learned how to use computer mice and the like. This wasn’t easy, as the software was still quite cumbersome and had no tolerance for errors. Relevant adult education courses had long waiting lists, and companies booked “computer courses” for their employees. Those who were young and curious, or older and flexible, were offered new opportunities on the job market. The timid ones could only stay where bosses opposed everything new – and ended up on the sidelines. Some were allowed to manage the transition, while many happily took early retirement under favorable conditions.
However, part of the office revolution went wrong: Instead of a paperless office, the introduction of PCs and email led to unprecedented toner and paper consumption for years. Even the Baby Boomers apparently couldn’t shake the familiar feel of text on paper. The common justification was “better safe than sorry”; the regular crashes of their PCs proved them right for a long time.
What remained
Overall, the introduction of Microsoft Office and everything that followed (like Googling, Wikipedia, smartphones, iPads) was a huge success story. Young, well-educated people were able to build their careers. Older people looked back proudly on having helped build prosperity. Reunified Germany was technologically advanced by the 2000s, the economy was growing, and pensions were secure.
Everything had gone well.
This will not happen again.
What will
Today, it’s not just the aging generations that pose a problem in the face of digitalization, but rather the growing uncertainty and eroding trust. Corporate leaders play a very special role here. They are the ones who can be questioned, experienced, and observed.
They are the ones who can transform “the specter of digitalization” into a figure that may still pose a major challenge, but no longer leads to previously reasonable people trying to tackle the future with absurd arguments.
The coming years will show whether leaders in Europe and the so-called Western world will be able to win (back) employees in such a way that they are open to new things.
This time, too, some companies will stick with the “electric typewriter” for a long time to come. They will also increasingly be sidelined.
However, unlike back then, their pensions are no longer secure.
