In the early days oftelephony, companies usedmanual telephone switchboards, andswitchboard operators connected calls by inserting a pair ofphone plugs into the appropriate jacks. They were gradually phased out and replaced by automated systems, first those allowingdirect dialing within a local area, then forlong-distance andinternational direct dialing.
A typical manual telephone switchboard has a vertical panel containing an array of jacks with a desk in front. The desk has a row of switches and two rows of plugs attached to cables that retract into the desk when not in use. Each pair of plugs was part of acord circuit with a switch associated that let the operator participate in the call or ring the circuit for an incoming call. Each jack had a light above it that lit when the customer's telephone receiver was lifted (the earliest systems required the customer to hand-crank amagneto to alert the central office and, later, to "ring off" the completed call). Lines from the central office were usually arranged along the bottom row. Before the advent of operator distance dialing and customerdirect dial (DDD) calling, a switchboard operator would work with their counterparts in distant central office to completelong-distance calls. Switchboard operators are typically required to have very strong communication skills.[1][2]
Before the advent ofautomatic exchanges, an operator's assistance was required for anything other than calling telephones across a sharedparty line. Callers spoke to an operator at a central office who then connected a cord to the proper circuit in order to complete the call. Being in complete control of the call, the operator was in a position to listen to private conversations. Automatic, or dial, systems were developed in the 1920s to reduce labor costs as usage increased, and to ensure privacy to the customer. As phone systems became more sophisticated, less direct intervention by the telephone operator was necessary to complete calls. With the development ofcomputerized telephone dialing systems, manytelephone calls which previously required live operators could be placed directly bycalling parties without additional human intervention.
As well as the people that were employed by the public networks, operators were required atprivate branch exchanges (PBX) to answer incomingcalls and connect them to the correctextensions. Today, most large organizations havedirect inward dialing, ordirect dial-in. Smaller workplaces may have an automated system which allows callers to enter the extension number of the called party, or areceptionist who answers calls and performs operator duties. Depending on the employment setting, the roles and level of responsibilities of a PBX operator can vary greatly, from performingwake-up calls in a hotel to coordinating emergency responses, dispatching, and overhead paging in hospitals. Operators employed in healthcare settings may have other duties, such asdata entry,greeting patients and visitors, taking messages, triaging, or performing after-hoursanswering service. Experienced, well-trained operators generally command higher salaries.[citation needed]
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In January 1878 George Willard Croy became the world's first telephone operator when he started working for the Boston Telephone Dispatch company.[3]
Emma Nutt became the first female telephone operator on 1 September 1878 when she started working for the Boston Telephone Dispatch company, because the attitude and behavior of the teenage boys previously employed as operators was unacceptable.[4] Emma was hired byAlexander Graham Bell[3] and, reportedly, could remember every number in the telephone directory of theNew England Telephone Company.[3][4] More women began to replace men within this sector of the workforce for several reasons. The companies observed that women were generally more courteous to callers, and women's labor was cheap in comparison to men's. Specifically, women were paid from one half to one quarter of a man's salary.[5]In the United States, any switchboard operator employed by any independently owned public telephone company with no more than seven hundred fifty stations were excluded from theEqual Pay Act of 1963.
Harriot Daley became the first telephone switchboard operator at theUnited States Capitol in 1898.[6][7][8]
Julia O'Connor, a former telephone operator, led the Telephone Operators' Strike of 1919 and the Telephone Operators' Strike of 1923 againstNew England Telephone Company on behalf of theIBEW Telephone Operators' Department for better wages and working conditions.[9][10][11] In the 1919 strike, after five days, Postmaster GeneralBurleson agreed to negotiate an agreement between the union and the telephone company, resulting in an increase in pay for the operators and recognition of the right tobargain collectively.[12][13] However, the 1923 strike was called off after less than a month without achieving any of its goals.[11]
On October 11, 1983, inBryant Pond, Maine, Susan Glines became the last switchboard operator for a hand-crank phone when that exchange was converted.[14] Manual central office switchboards continued in operation at rural points likeKerman, California,[15] andWanaaring, New South Wales, as late as 1991, but these were central-battery systems with no hand-cranked magnetos.
According to a 2024 study, the mechanization of switchboard operations harmed the economic outcomes of incumbent telephone operators, but did not harm the employment prospects of young women overall, as future cohorts of young women entered into other growing economic sectors.[16]
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Before the 1960s, thetelephone exchange with telephone switchboards and operators played a crucial role in connecting phone calls. A telephone switchboard is a device that allows telephone lines to be interconnected, enabling the routing of calls between different phones or phone networks.[17] The switchboard operator was a person who manually connected calls by plugging and unplugging cords on the switchboard. The role of the switchboard and operator was important because they were responsible for connecting callers with the correct party and ensuring that calls were completed correctly. They also provided assistance with making long-distance calls, directory assistance, and other services related to the use of the telephone network. Dial phones were invented in the 1930s but took years to become standard. New Hampshire switched to dials town by town from 1950 to 1973.[18] Switchboards and operators were an integral part of the telecommunications system until the introduction of electronic switching systems in the mid-20th century.
Of the women who were hired in the late 1800s into the early 1900s, a majority of them were young, white women that lived with their parents. The average age range of switchboard operators was 16-24 years old. Many of the workers accepted a lower pay as they were contributing to an already established household. As the job of switchboard operators became more feminized, the managerial positions became more paternalistic and rigid. A requirement for employment was for managers to do house visits. This practice continued through the 1940s as a method of surveying the nature of people hired. Some managers even made it required for parental permission for young people to join the workforce.[19]
Dorothy M. Johnson, who later became a famous writer, started as a part-time relief operator at age 14 inWhitefish, Montana, in the early 1920s. It was attractive opportunity for ambitious young women in a small logging town out West who needed money for college. The role demanded quick decision-making, meticulous attention to detail, a very good memory for names, and the ability to handle criticism. Switchboard technology was a physically demanding task, involving numerous plugs, keys, lights, connecting cords, and complicated protocols for establishing connections. The full-time operators were on duty 56 hours per week, and while they often grumbled about being overworked by a harsh boss, they were reasonably compensated at $50 a month.[20]
While many of the functions of the switchboard and operator have been automated, telephone operators still play a role in some contexts, such as in emergency services or customer support centers, (such as in hotels or in IT-Support hotlines).[21] Thus according to a 1995 study by Muller et al., the operators who provide directory assistance, "serve as experts in a variety of domains of relevance to their customers' lives, helping them to navigate through government agencies, complex business hierarchies, partially remembered geographies, and dynamic changes in their customers' worlds."[22]
The most famous group of American operators were in the "Women of the Signal Corps Female Telephone Operators Unit" of theAmerican Expeditionary Forces in 1917–1919. They were bilingual female switchboard operators sent to France in the World War I. The 223 women were known informally asHello Girls and were not formally recognized for their military service until 1978.[23][24]
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