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Wherever you are, is this day acknowledged? How are administrative people in your organization recognized on this day?
A few years back, I would be taken out for lunch, sometime receive flowers, etc. In the last couple of years, since I started in this new, job of higher responsibility, but still I am an "assistant", nothing. Not even a thank you for a good job....
Just wondering if this is the newest trend, or if my bosses have just dropped the custom...
What happens in your workplace?
~T~
our secretaries usually get flowers/ this year, nothing.
maybe the boss took them out to lunch.
In the last several years our office has "ordered in" - a catered lunch honoring our APs that everyone is invited to attend. Cost is split between the VP's discretionary fund and private chip-ins. This year's is tomorrow, and we're having a make-your-own taco fiesta.
Our general executive ordered lunch boxes from a sandwich shop for all of us in the corporate office since we all assist the branches and we all had lunch together. Also I received a beautiful bouquet of flowers from my boss and so did my co-worker. Last year we all received movie tickets.
My mgr gave me a little pot of pansies with a note in it that said "Admin Assist: NOT for PANSIES!!!" and a gift card for a X'nmy favorite friday night hangout with specific instructions to get a burger and a beer. I love my manager :p
Where I work, "administrative professional" is code for secretary, and those who are administrative assistants handling budget, contracts, etc get offended if you lump them in that category. So we generally take the secretaries out to lunch or give them flowers and a card and don't do anything for the administrative assistants.
I don't have a secretary any more, so my branch gave a nice greeting card and a gift card to the one who helps us out with travel orders. I got a card for the woman who helped me get three promotions through this year, but I was advised not to give it to her this week because she would be offended.
As usual, too many people on travel or leave (including the boss) to take our admin staff (all 2 of them) out to lunch on the day proper. So, we got them candy - cards are still being circulated for everyone to sign them - and next week we'll get our act together and take them out to lunch.
Sad.
Our office manager generally organizes something like lunch or gift cards and then I will do something for my assistant if I remember. (I'm terrible at remembering things like that but I will buy her lunch from time to time for no real reason other than to thank her for putting up with me.)
Year before last (at my old law firm), the office manager got presents for all of the secretaries and female attorneys.:mad: (I don't mean to imply that there's anything wrong with being an admin assistant, but if you're going to give them to attorneys too - not sure why you would - please don't discriminate by gender. I was nice and grateful, but talk about stereotypes...)
This year (new firm), they had an organized, catered lunch for all of the secretaries. I also brought my 3 assistants (not all at once, thank goodness!) flowers.
We had some confusion about what day it was supposed to be. My calendar said Wednesday, but some said today:confused: :confused:
Carrie Anne
I hear ya - and I agree. :mad: We used to have a man working at our office who was a secretary - and he was very good at it. However, he was never acknowledged on Secretaries Day (which was what it was called at the time). However, the female manager was. It just doesn't seem much like appreciation - for those who are included - when it's done that way. Of course, it feels bad to be overlooked, too but the gender dividing line at work is just wrong. --Quote:
Originally Posted by CA_in_NC
Where I've worked, AP's have received anything from flowers or a plant to going out to lunch or a gift basket from Bath and Body. I did work for an ophthalmologist, though, who closed the office and took the entire staff out to lunch on Administrative Professionals Day, Medical Assistants Day, etc. He just called those days "Staff Appreciation Day." Although nobody was individually acknowledged that way, which would have been nice, nobody seemed to be mind being acknowledged more than once.
Deb