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Infographic: The Evolution Of The Office Desk Rotary dial phones, calculators, fax machines, typewriters, floppy disks and more: these items that once dotted our work surfaces have disappeared from our lives today.

By Sindhu Hariharan

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

You're reading Entrepreneur Middle East, an international franchise of Entrepreneur Media.

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Rotary dial phones, calculators, fax machines, typewriters, floppy disks and more: these items that once dotted our work surfaces have disappeared from our lives today. An infographic released by UK-based price discovery website Make it Cheaper, depicting the drastic transformations in our work desks over time, reveals that while average productivity is now 84% higher than it was 40 years ago, there are lesser items on our desks supporting this. The infographic itself is reminiscent of a video developed by BestReviews, which showcased the changing face of the work desk over the years.

With the passage of time, the typewriters of 1960's and 70's paved the way for personal computers of the 90's that were in turn quick to be replaced by the laptops used today. Even in terms of environment, multi-purpose spaces catering to both work and leisure have replaced the walled and formal cubicle office ambience of the era gone by. The infographic also depicts how if a telephone directory was an employee's best friend in the 70's, it is now difficult to get a day's work done without noise canceling headphones! It leaves the reader with a few thoughts on features that "smart" desks of the future are likely to include- here's to the next iteration of desks!

Image credit: Make it Cheaper.

Related: Office Interiors Say A Lot About Your Corporate Culture

Sindhu Hariharan

Former Features Editor, Entrepreneur Middle East

Sindhu Hariharan is the Features Editor at Entrepreneur Middle East.  She is a financial consultant turned business journalist with a FOMO when it comes to everything technology.

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