Operators working in small, remote offices also had to take on most of the technical work, because there was no one else to do it.
In terms of job demands, as long as the total number of telephone subscribers remained quite low, the work was fairly easy. But as more and more customers signed up, being a telephone operator became a much more hectic job. In large cities by about , calls were coming in so rapidly that the operators could hardly take their eyes off the switchboards for a second. These automatic switches allowed customers with dial telephones early telephones had no dials to make connections themselves without operator assistance.
Gradually, the need for operators was eliminated for all calls except long distance and collect calls. Many operators found employment elsewhere, such as running the switchboards in office buildings, but others dropped out of the workforce entirely to become wives or mothers.
But afterward, the introduction of increasingly sophisticated automatic switching devices reduced the need for operators.
The career of a telephone operator was one of the few technically oriented jobs available to women in the early 20th century, but it was not open to all women. The telephone company decided that because operators were their direct link to the public, they had to project a positive image.
Even native English speakers were usually given elocution training to make sure their speech matched the image the company wanted to project. Height was also an issue.
Most women under five feet tall, for example, were considered too short to be operators in the early s. Dependability - Job requires being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations. Self Control - Job requires maintaining composure, keeping emotions in check, controlling anger, and avoiding aggressive behavior, even in very difficult situations. Attention to Detail - Job requires being careful about detail and thorough in completing work tasks.
Cooperation - Job requires being pleasant with others on the job and displaying a good-natured, cooperative attitude. Independence - Job requires developing one's own ways of doing things, guiding oneself with little or no supervision, and depending on oneself to get things done. Concern for Others - Job requires being sensitive to others' needs and feelings and being understanding and helpful on the job.
Persistence - Job requires persistence in the face of obstacles. Initiative - Job requires a willingness to take on responsibilities and challenges. Social Orientation - Job requires preferring to work with others rather than alone, and being personally connected with others on the job.
Innovation - Job requires creativity and alternative thinking to develop new ideas for and answers to work-related problems. Analytical Thinking - Job requires analyzing information and using logic to address work-related issues and problems. Long-distance calls would require the local exchange to patch the call through to more distant exchanges, again through a series of cables.
Later, as the exchanges added more and more customers, phones were assigned numbers, and callers could request to be connected that way. Some early telephone operators worked at small, rural exchanges, their switchboards located in the local railroad station or the back of a general store. In cities, massive switchboards could have long rows of operators packed elbow to elbow. A switchboard operator on roller skates on night shift in the telecommunications office of San Francisco, c. At the busier boards, work could be frantic.
Some operators took to wearing roller skates to get around. Otherwise, the dress code tended to be strict—long black dresses and no jewelry, for example. Operators were subject to numerous other rules, and spies sometimes monitored their calls on a device called a listening board. Many operators agreed. The pace of the work and the repressive rules that operators often had to put up with eventually led to dissension in the ranks.
Phone companies discovered that their supposedly docile female workforces could only be pushed so far. Five days later, the company met their demands for higher wages and the right to bargain collectively.
Their mission was to facilitate communications between American, British and French troops on the Western front, serving not only as operators but often as translators. With the coming of the s, technology that allowed telephone users simply to dial another phone without the aid of an operator had become widespread.
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