The way that commodities, stocks and shares are traded has changed beyond all recognition from the 1960’s to today’s practices. Roles are, of course, much more compartmentalised and specialised so it is hard to compare like with like. The word “trader” still brings to mind images of men shouting at each other across the trading “pit”, although now we are much more likely to see traders sitting at a desk, viewing multiple screens, quietly evaluating facts, trying to understand the mathematical algorithms that drive falls and rises in prices. Speed is of the essence; if a trader can receive, absorb and interpret information faster then he or she can gain a significant competitive advantage. To support this constant hunger for an edge over the competition new technologies tend to be seen in trading environments first and then trickle down into other office environments.

A trader’s desk in the 1960’s was characterised by a plethora of telephones. Traders would juggle lots of phones; maintaining many conversations at once to receive information and pass on requests to buy and sell. Calculations were carried out during these phone conversations on what we would now consider to be fairly basic electric calculators.

Advances in the 1970’s saw the introduction of a new piece of equipment the “private branch exchange” – a phone exchange that serves a particular business – negating the need for multiple phones. Also key was the introduction of new display systems providing financial data from providers such as Reuters or Bloomberg. The trader’s desk was becoming increasingly cluttered now as multiple video monitors emerge; workstation workplace ergonomics seemingly went out of the window . . .

The major development for traders in the 1980’s was the introduction of spreadsheets as a decision support tool. Then in the late 80’s the biggest development yet started to emerge: the digital revolution. Digital display systems enabled data to be distributed direct to traders’ desktops through a local network. In addition TV’s become commonplace within trading rooms so that traders could keep an eye on events as they happened and react accordingly. The result: desks swamped with bulky technology. The provision and cost of information starts to become more accessible with the development of the internet. By the early 1990’s electronic trading becomes the norm, replacing deals done over the telephone.

The invention of the flat screen display (as opposed to cumbersome CRT monitors) impacted upon trading floors perhaps more than another environment for the simple fact that traders use more screens than pretty much any other worker. It is not uncommon to see a trader working with six or eight screens in a multiple monitor set-up. Not far behind this development the need to provide a supporting desktop architecture was identified. The computer monitor stands provided by the screen manufacturers provided little flexibility and were ditched in favour of multi screen support systems which enabled screens to be double and triple height, stacked above each other and running horizontally across to form a wall of data and information.

It seems that traders’ desks have gone through many dramatic physical incarnations over the last fifty years. Financial institutions are early adopters of new technology and use more diverse types of information communication technology than perhaps any other office based organisation. For a long time workstation workplace ergonomics was were neglected, but with the advent of specially designed desktop tools and multi screen support the health and well being of the user is now a primary consideration.