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I've worked in Administrative roles along side several supervisors and I feel that more often than not I'm really the unofficial "boss" even though I'm not compensated for it. It seems that when the bosses secretary gets rolling they often times end up being more reliable and productive than the boss themselves. There are even clients who rather deal with the secretary than the boss themselves to get things done.
yep. Put in the work and become a boss if it bothers you to do your job.
Just one of many examples: I've been working as a paralegal and all my boss did was hold the initial interview and go to court and sign the documents I created.
However, the boss is liable. The boss is responsible for f..ups, the boss puts in the money to get everything started, the boss had to go to college or bring up the courage to start a business., the boss will go down if the business goes down. The boss gets calls late at night. The boss checks their emails outside work hours and the boss is the one with the sleepless nights if business is slow.
"Productive" is a relative term. In every job I've ever held, the secretary absolutely produced more work than I did, yet I get paid anywhere from 5 times to 10 times more.
It's because the work I do is more valuable to the company. Not belittling the secretaries at all- they are essential to getting the less valuable but more time consuming things off of my desk so that I can focus on the more valuable work. I would create so much less value for the company if I didn't have a great secretary.
It also has to do with supply and demand of your skill set.
From what i've seen, anyone with a high school degree and good manners can be a secretary. Meanwhile, you need someone with a college degree or some sort of license to do the 'little' work that the boss does. The right person for that job is a little harder to find while the demand for it is higher.
nope- but i worked in financial services at a fortune 100 so most people that have a secretary are senior level executives and the admin's are there to handle email/phone/meeting type support. Basically the items that are a waste of a senior exec (or their teams) time. No offense to admins- but most i have known at my company (which is about 7) spent the majority of their day doing personal things or surfing the web.
I've worked in Administrative roles along side several supervisors and I feel that more often than not I'm really the unofficial "boss" even though I'm not compensated for it. It seems that when the bosses secretary gets rolling they often times end up being more reliable and productive than the boss themselves. There are even clients who rather deal with the secretary than the boss themselves to get things done.
Can anyone else relate?
You're actually productive in the "Small things" you're not looking at managing 30 offices. The Boss is checking overall sales, HR, marketing and deployment of the new items. He's looking 1-3 years into the future.
The boss only comes out to fight fires when it's consuming the company.
It may seem like you are doing all the work, trust me you aren't. Until you are the boss, don't judge what he/she does. I was very much like you when I was younger. Thought my boss was a slacker and didn't know what she was doing. I got promoted and that changed quickly. I ate my words.
yep. Put in the work and become a boss if it bothers you to do your job.
Just one of many examples: I've been working as a paralegal and all my boss did was hold the initial interview and go to court and sign the documents I created.
However, the boss is liable. The boss is responsible for f..ups, the boss puts in the money to get everything started, the boss had to go to college or bring up the courage to start a business., the boss will go down if the business goes down. The boss gets calls late at night. The boss checks their emails outside work hours and the boss is the one with the sleepless nights if business is slow.
Couldn't rep, I agree.
Until someone does every job in the business they are in, they will not know the good/bad/and the ugly.
I have sat at my desk for days going over a business deal. I read every day on new ideas to cut down on workload and cost, and try to decide which will actually fit our business.
Did I get much done? Yes and no.
I've stared to read this forum about work and employment to try to understand more what people think, how they react, etc. Then I research it. It has actually helped. But how productive was it? Depends on what comes up and what is needed.
A business is a team, and when respect and compassion is gone...so then the company goes. Boss tends to secretary job, saves money at first.....then comes back to bite them when no time to deal with other duties.
I'm reading more and more that there are far more "Chiefs", than "Indians". More add to their headdress than there are feathers to fill it.
My admin gets a ton of stuff done. Things are scheduled, invoices processed, supplies ordered, records kept, phone calls answered and responses sent without consulting me, small jobs taken care of before I even know it is a problem. I could not live without her.
But that is her job, not mine. I am working on a major project that nobody but me will see for three years. I am making decisions that will shape that project now. I understand how it will integrate with other areas, and if I don’t understand, I learn and incorporate that knowledge.
In three years my admin will be up to her eyeballs in this stuff, but she will essentially be cleaning up the loose ends that I am setting in motion now.
She is critically important. I cannot complete this without somebody in this role. But if I don’t do my part now, her job won’t exist in three years.
Who is more productive?
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