In August 2000, a time capsule was assembled for the 25th anniversary of the opening of the IEEE Operations Center at 445 Hoes Lane in Piscataway, N.J. This was set to be opened in 2025, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of IEEE staff presence in New Jersey, and the opening took place on 8 October 2025 at the IEEE Global Staff Celebration. Numerous artifacts were contained within the capsule, primarily building-related ephemera from around the time the capsule was sealed — cafeteria menus, photographs of the office and staff, a large scroll containing written messages from the staff to their future selves (pictured above) — however, one of these items was far older.
A staff roll book and various office memos were present in the capsule, dating from the 1920s. These memos primarily deal with staff schedule, which was recorded in the book, at the American Institute of Electrical Engineers (AIEE) office, the older of the two IEEE predecessor societies. The AIEE, like the IEEE, was a volunteer- and member-led organization, and the presence of staff is rarely documented, compared with member-based activities. This roll book is one of the few glimpses we have of the staff culture of the AIEE, which provides a fascinating look into workplace culture of the era.
During this time, Frederick L. Hutchinson was the staff secretary, taking the position in 1912, succeeding long-time secretary Ralph Pope. However, the day-to-day operations of the office were managed by Floyd A. Norris, who joined the staff in September 1904 at the age of 15. In 1905, Harold B. Lewry was hired as Norris’ assistant. Norris and Lewry’s careers were intertwined for nearly fifty years, with Lewry serving as Norris’ assistant until the two retired together within one month of each other in 1954; and in 1967, both men died within a few months of one another. On his managerial style, AIEE/IEEE manager Thomas Bartlett recollected in his oral history that Norris was “very articulate; he was very immaculate in the work that he did. He was the office manager, and he also maintained all of the financial accounting records. The precision that he worked with, and the style that he worked with, set a pattern for my business career.”
The staff roll book covers the period from October 1922 to December 1924. At this time, the AIEE was headquartered at the Engineering Societies Building, located at 33 West 39th street in Manhattan, New York City. Constructed in 1907, the building is still extant, and served as AIEE headquarters until the AIEE merged with the IRE in 1963 to form the IEEE. In October 1922, the AIEE employed 24 staff, mostly women, and grew to 29 staff by December 1924. This increase reflected a growth in membership numbers, in 1922 membership totaled 14,263 (558 Fellows, 2,097 Members and 11,602 Associates), or a ratio of 594 members per staff. In 1924, membership grew to 16,455 (594 F, 2,395 M, 13,496 A), and the increased number of staff slightly reduced the member-to-staff ratio to 567.
The roll book is a daily log of what time employees showed up to the office, down to the minute, noting any absences or tardies. Work weeks during this time were six days for all staff, Monday to Saturday. Saturdays were half days, the office closing at noon during the summer months, and 1 PM outside of summer hours; only one quarter of the staff were asked to stay until 1 PM during the non-summer months. Long weeks were fairly common for office workers during the 1920s, the modern 40-hour work week with a two-day weekend, typically Saturdays and Sundays, was not normalized until after passage of the U.S. Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938.
While most of the glimpses we have of staff culture in the 1920s are just that — glimpses — seemingly mundane artifacts like this roll book can give us considerable insight on how work culture has changed over the years. From mandated six-day work weeks for all staff in the 1920s, to the ability to telecommute full-time today; from being hired at age 15 and having an assistant by age 16 to post-secondary education now being the norm; from a staff of two dozen growing to more than 1,000, the staff culture and environment has changed as drastically as the volunteer structure and the technologies that members develop and staff enable.
