[TUHS] 20% time -- did it originate at the Labs?

[Marc Donner via TUHS]

A small data point.  In 1976 HP made 20% time a prominent feature of their
recruiting pitch for recent grads.
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On Wed, Nov 19, 2025 at 12:05 PM Clem Cole via TUHS <tuhs at tuhs.org> wrote:

> I have always been associated with "1 day a week to work on a project of
> your choice" with HP and Tektronix.  It was encouraged that what you worked
> on during that time might have future benefits (that's how the Magnolia
> Workstation — later commercialized as the 4404 — was started).  But a key
> point to remember was that, in both cases, management tended to disregard
> it in the project schedule — *i.e.*, things were staffed assuming 100%
> output (sometimes more).  FWIW: I don't think I have ever associated with
> BL. @Ron: Where have you seen references to that?
>
> BTW: Besides the "1 day a week" idea, something else I always think of that
> I greatly miss in every company I've worked at after my Tektronix
> experience as a young engineer is the idea of an "open stock room."  I'm
> not sure of HP policies at the time, but it was Tek's.  The idea was if you
> were working a private project (called a G-job) on your own time, you could
> make anything you wanted at your desk or bench, as long as you paid for the
> parts (credit was given as needed), you just took what you needed and
> signed the sheets of what you grabbed so the stock room folks would know
> when to reorder.  The other was that as long as your manager knew, you
> could bring any lab instrument home to use there.
>
> On Wed, Nov 19, 2025 at 11:00 AM ron minnich via TUHS <tuhs at tuhs.org>
> wrote:
>
> > I read an article recently that claimed HP invented 20% time 8 decades
> ago.
> >
> > I had always associated 20% time with Bell Labs. Can someone clear me up?
> > Thanks.
> >
>