20 Business Etiquette Norms People Questioned in the 60s

In the 1960s business world, the etiquette rules told you exactly who was in charge — without anyone having to say a word.

You stood when certain people walked in.

You waited to be introduced.

You smiled and said nothing when you disagreed.

A whole generation came along in the 60s that was done smiling and saying nothing.

What happened next changed professional life permanently.

1. Always Standing When a Woman Enters the Room

In the 1960s, men in a business setting were expected to stand whenever a woman entered the room.

It was a deeply ingrained social rule rooted in Victorian-era manners.

As more women entered professional workplaces in the 60s, this norm became increasingly awkward and debated.

Was it respectful or was it condescending?

Women who were trying to be taken seriously as colleagues found the ritual more uncomfortable than flattering.

The norm faded as workplaces became more equal — not because manners disappeared, but because the meaning behind them changed.

2. Referring to Women as “Girls” in the Office

Calling adult female colleagues “girls” was completely standard in 1960s business culture.

Phrases like “ask one of the girls to type this up” were used without any sense of condescension.

As the women’s movement grew through the 60s, this language increasingly became a point of friction in professional settings.

Many women began pushing back, quietly at first and then more directly.

Men who had used the term for decades were confused by the objection.

The debate about professional language and respect was just getting started.

3. Shaking Hands Only with Men

In the 1960s, the professional handshake was largely a male ritual.

Men shook hands with each other as a standard greeting. With women, the expected gesture was often a nod or a light hold of the hand.

As women entered business in greater numbers, the question of whether they should be greeted with a professional handshake became a genuine point of discussion.

Some men found offering a full handshake to a woman awkward or inappropriate.

Many women found not receiving one to be a signal that they were not being taken seriously.

The full professional handshake for all became the standard gradually, not overnight.

4. Never Discussing Money at the Table

In the 1960s, talking about salaries, earnings, or personal finances in social or business settings was considered deeply improper.

“Never discuss money in polite company” was a rule taken seriously by most professionals.

This norm had a practical effect: it made pay inequality much harder to identify and challenge, since workers did not know what their colleagues earned.

As labor movements and equal pay campaigns gained momentum in the 60s, some began questioning whether this silence served workers or employers.

The taboo around salary discussion has eroded significantly, particularly among younger workers today.

But in the 60s, breaking it was a real social risk.

5. Calling Your Boss by His Last Name Only

In 1960s business culture, addressing a superior by their first name was considered presumptuous bordering on rude.

“Mr. Johnson” was expected. “Bob” was not.

This formal address system reinforced hierarchy in a very direct and daily way.

As the decade progressed and youth culture pushed back against institutional authority, first-name culture began creeping into some workplaces.

Younger employees in advertising, media, and technology-adjacent industries started using first names earlier than others.

But in law, finance, and most corporate settings, formal address held firm well into the 70s.

6. Men Always Paying for Business Lunches

When men and women shared a business lunch in the 1960s, the expectation was that the man would pay.

This applied even when the woman was the client or the senior person in the meeting.

For women who were building professional reputations, having a man pay over their objection was both awkward and professionally undermining.

The debate about who should pay — and what it communicated — became a genuine etiquette battleground.

Some women simply began grabbing the check before it became an issue.

Others found it was a fight they had to pick repeatedly with colleagues who genuinely could not conceive of another arrangement.

7. Not Speaking Until Spoken to by a Superior

Deference to authority was an explicit and practiced norm in 1960s corporate culture.

Junior employees were expected to listen, take notes, and wait for an opening before offering opinions.

Unsolicited opinions from junior staff were often seen as presumptuousness, especially in formal meetings.

The counterculture of the 60s directly challenged this kind of hierarchical deference.

Young workers who had absorbed the activism and independence of the decade increasingly chafed at being silenced in professional settings.

The tension between traditional authority and a more egalitarian style of working was one of the decade’s defining workplace dynamics.

8. Smoking at Business Meetings

Lighting up a cigarette in the middle of a business meeting was not just tolerated in the 1960s. It was expected.

Ashtrays were standard equipment in conference rooms, executive offices, and client dining rooms.

By 1965, the Surgeon General’s report on smoking had already linked cigarettes to cancer, but the business world continued largely unaffected.

Non-smokers who objected to smoke-filled meetings had almost no standing to complain.

The norm began to crack slowly as health concerns spread, but serious questioning of workplace smoking etiquette did not gain traction until later decades.

In the 60s, refusing a cigarette offered by a client was the etiquette problem, not accepting it.

9. Never Contradicting a Client

In 1960s business culture, contradicting a client — even when they were factually wrong — was considered a serious breach of etiquette.

“The customer is always right” was not just a retail slogan. It was a professional philosophy.

Professionals in law, consulting, and advertising who pushed back against client ideas risked losing not just a contract but their professional reputation.

But here’s the deal: going along with a bad idea to preserve the relationship often cost everyone more in the long run.

Some professionals in the 60s began arguing that honest counsel was the truest form of client service.

That argument is still being made in boardrooms today.

10. Dressing for Your Boss, Not for Yourself

In the 1960s, professional dress was not a personal expression. It was a compliance exercise.

You wore what your industry, your company, and your superiors expected.

The gray flannel suit became a cultural shorthand for the conformity demanded of corporate America in this era.

As the decade’s counterculture pushed against conformity in every area of life, some workers began testing the limits at work.

Longer hair, brighter colors, and less formal dress started appearing, especially in creative industries.

The debate about whether appearance should be policed by employers was genuinely new and genuinely uncomfortable in the 60s.

11. Never Eating at Your Desk

Eating at your desk in a 1960s professional office was considered undignified and improper.

Lunch was meant to be taken away from your workspace, preferably in a designated area or restaurant.

This norm reflected a broader belief that the desk was a place of serious work, and mixing it with eating was a form of self-disrespect.

As workloads increased and lunch hours shrank, this rule became harder to enforce.

Workers who ate at their desks were sometimes quietly judged for it, even as the practice became more common.

Today, desk lunches are universal. But in the 60s, they required a degree of boldness.

12. Always Writing Thank-You Notes

In the 1960s business world, a handwritten thank-you note after a meeting, interview, or business lunch was not optional.

It was a required follow-up that signaled professionalism, gratitude, and attention to relationship-building.

Business etiquette guides of the era were explicit: failing to send a thank-you note was a mark against your professional character.

As communication styles changed and phone calls replaced letters, some began questioning whether the formal note was still necessary.

Others held firm, arguing that the effort involved was precisely the point.

The debate about whether digital communication can replace the handwritten note continues today.

13. Men Holding Doors for Women

Holding doors for women was a standard expectation for men in 1960s professional settings.

Elevators, office doors, car doors — the expectation was consistent and largely unquestioned at the start of the decade.

As women in professional roles began to push back against gestures they found patronizing, this simple courtesy became unexpectedly complicated.

Some women welcomed the gesture. Others found it a daily small reminder that they were being treated differently.

Men who had been raised to do it felt confused and sometimes criticized no matter what they chose.

The discussion about courtesy versus condescension was very real in 60s workplaces.

14. Not Discussing Religion or Politics at Work

The prohibition on discussing religion or politics in professional settings was a serious 1960s business norm.

These topics were considered too personal, too divisive, and too risky for the professional environment.

The turbulent politics of the 60s — civil rights, Vietnam, assassinations — made this norm extremely difficult to maintain.

Workers who felt strongly about the major events of the decade struggled to separate their professional and personal identities.

Some workplaces tried to enforce the old silence. Others found it impossible.

The question of what subjects belong at work has never been settled.

15. Waiting to Be Introduced Rather Than Introducing Yourself

In formal 1960s business culture, introducing yourself directly to a senior person was considered presumptuous.

The correct approach was to wait to be introduced through a mutual contact or your own superior.

This gatekeeping norm shaped professional networks in ways that systematically favored those who already had access to the right people.

As the decade’s culture became more informal and direct, self-introduction began to seem not bold but simply efficient.

Networking as a concept barely existed in the 60s — the formal introduction ritual was the whole system.

Its decline opened professional relationships to people who had no one to introduce them.

16. Never Showing Emotion at Work

In the 1960s professional environment, displaying emotion was almost universally considered unprofessional.

Excitement, frustration, sadness, and even enthusiasm were expected to be managed and contained.

Workers who showed strong emotion at work, especially women, were often labeled unstable or difficult to work with.

The expectation of emotional flatness at work was questioned as the decade progressed and psychology became more mainstream.

Some began arguing that authentic emotion was not a weakness but a sign of engagement.

Others held that professional restraint was what separated business from personal life.

17. Giving Up Your Seat on Public Transport for a Superior

Professional deference in the 1960s extended beyond the office.

On commuter trains and buses, junior employees were expected to give up their seats if a superior was standing.

This kind of hierarchical courtesy was taken seriously in corporate cultures where social rank was constantly being performed and monitored.

As workplaces became more casual and rank less visibly performed, this expectation faded.

But in major business centers in the early 60s, it was a genuine and observed norm.

Ignoring it was a social risk that younger workers weighed carefully.

18. Addressing Envelopes and Letters with Precise Formality

Business correspondence in the 1960s followed strict and detailed rules about address and salutation.

“Dear Sir,” “Gentlemen,” and “To Whom It May Concern” were the standard openers, regardless of who was actually receiving the letter.

The assumption built into standard business correspondence was that the recipient was male — because in most cases in the early 60s, the decision-maker was.

As women moved into positions of authority, the formal letter formats became awkward and sometimes offensive.

New guidance on gender-neutral salutations emerged through the decade.

But updating the language was one of those small changes that met surprising resistance.

19. Never Arriving Late — or Early

Punctuality in the 1960s business world was treated with near-military seriousness.

Arriving late to a meeting was a mark against your character. Arriving too early could be seen as presumptuous or eager in an uncomfortable way.

The correct arrival time was typically two to three minutes before a meeting, not earlier and never later.

People kept track of these things, and a reputation for lateness could follow a professional for years.

The strict punctuality culture of the 60s began to loosen as meetings became more informal over the following decades.

Today, showing up five minutes late to a meeting is barely noted. In the 60s, it was remembered.

20. Never Disagreeing with a Senior Colleague in Public

In the 1960s business world, contradicting a senior colleague in front of others was considered a serious breach of professional conduct.

Disagreements were supposed to happen in private, and the public meeting was for presenting unified positions.

This norm protected the image of organizational harmony, but it also silenced dissent and allowed bad decisions to go unchallenged.

As management theory evolved through the 60s and 70s, some began arguing that constructive debate in meetings led to better outcomes.

Others held that public disagreement undermined authority and morale.

The debate about how much open conflict is healthy in professional settings has never really ended.