By Neha Kale
This post was originally published as 5 Mad Men office policies we’re glad were left in the ‘60s on the Robert Half Work Life blog.

Manhattan in the 1960’s epitomised on-the-job drinking and chain smoking to rampant sexism and outdated views on race, but we’re grateful these over-the-top office policies are no longer in play.

Here are five we wouldn’t tolerate today.

Non-white staff members are restricted to administrative roles

Although diverse hiring practices play a starring role in the modern workplace, Mad Men is proof that this wasn’t always the case. In season five, Sterling Cooper’s management team published a bogus advertisement asking African Americans to apply for a position and were shocked when dozens of applicants flocked to the office in response. In the end, this led to the hiring of Dawn, the company’s first non-white employee.

Pregnant women must sacrifice their jobs

These days, working mothers in Australia and New Zealand are eligible for as much as a year of maternity leave, but in the 1960s, women contemplating babies were forced to end their careers. When Sterling Cooper’s office manager Joan Harris becomes pregnant, she’s immediately forced to surrender the job she loves.

Partners are encouraged to take long, whisky-fuelled client lunches

At Sterling Cooper, employees and clients discuss contracts and new projects over long, alcohol-heavy lunches. In fact, the partners at the firm spend more time surrounded by intoxicating liquor than they do meeting professional responsibilities, leaving little room (if any) for getting work done.

Women aren’t supported in the pursuit of leadership

Mad Men sees women stuck in secretarial positions, while the men are creative directors, art directors and senior managers. However, Peggy Olson’s anomalous ascent from receptionist to head of copy — a path paved with double standards — is a central focus of the show.

Chain-smoking indoors is a daily ritual

In an era where indoor smoking is considered unthinkable, it’s surprising to note that cigarette consumption was once a regular part of professional life. In Mad Men, creative director Don Draper is often hunched over a typewriter, inhaling nicotine instead of oxygen — a workplace practice that spells disaster for public health.

Mad Men’s office policies prove just how far we’ve come — shining the spotlight on attitudes that would spark uproar in the modern workplace.