Have you ever noticed in early to mid-80s movies that the characters working in offices are either talking on the phone or kind of just idly sitting in their seat with a day planner in front of them? Yes, back in the day (as condescending people say), working in a cube was even more abstract than it is now.
The implementation of computers in cubicles has given office workers a salvation and a bane. On the one hand, it allows you to fuck off a lot more when there’s nothing to do (which is often), on the other, it is the sole source with which you can “accomplish a task.” I’m not sure what people did in the 80s to pretend to work (perhaps a lot of filing and other menial tasks centered around tangible documents), but the lack of reliance on a computer in your cubicle seemed to make working more honest somehow.