ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the attitudes of clerks who were in a situation quite different from that found in Royal Exchange. The authors interviewed all the clerks employed in the Accounts Department as it seemed probable that the work of the entire office would be altered to some extent by the new system. In Royal Exchange, although the change-over to electronic data processing had been even more drawn out, individual branches had felt the impact of the new system more sharply. The 20 clerks who had known both the old and new systems of work were asked how the firm had been affected by the computer. The really interesting point emerging from the girls' attitudes, however, is the small amount of anxiety shown by the clerks despite the firm's unconventional communication policy. All clerks were asked the more specific questions on the computer's principal advantages and disadvantages for the firm.
