The history books don't always capture the human side of work...
Many of us spend a large portion of our lives in work. The workplace is not just somewhere where we earn a wage. It is often where we form friendships, develop new interests, learn to interact with people outside our immediate family / local networks, and expand our knowledge of life. But historical records don’t always capture these aspects of work very well, and this is where you come in. Personal recollections can help us understand much more about this. We hope you will be able to share some of your memories with us.
The items on these pages are drawn from the archival collections held at the Richard Burton Archives, Swansea University, dealing with the social side of the world of work. They give a flavour of
- employee participation in sports and social events
- the camaraderie of the workplace
- the kinds of social spaces provided for employees at work, such as canteens and recreational facilities.
We hope these examples will help trigger memories of your own experiences of what you did at work, besides actually working!
