Ask a Manager

AUGUST 15, 2018

This week on the Ask a Manager podcast, I talked to a guest whose assistant mothers her in a way she’s uncomfortable with — and some gender dynamics are making it weirder. Here’s the letter: I am a young(ish) female who works in a department with two slightly older men and one female administrative assistant.

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DECEMBER 6, 2017

In our new office, we have an administrative assistant who is amazing. She makes coffee, orders food, sets up for meetings, cleans common areas, orders supplies, liaises with the building manager, and makes sure things like cable and phones stay on. I’m not bothered at all by the change.

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JANUARY 25, 2022

I never worked from home, as my role as a receptionist/administrative assistant isn’t conducive to that. I am a woman in my mid-twenties. Over the last year, I have grown more comfortable than I was before about going out without makeup. But we have a laidback dress code and are located in a more rural area.

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MAY 17, 2016

Why don’t we send a card and flowers or food, which are more traditional for condolences?”. I am an administrative assistant and have a second job interview coming up the end of this week. I really want to wow them with my great administrative skills and do something that will make me stand out above the other candidate(s).

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NOVEMBER 25, 2015

I used to do restaurant work, and I know this goes against every food safety rule out there. This can easily cause food poisoning, salmonella, and even E. I knew I would have some administrative work, but what I didn’t fully understand at the time of hire is that I’m purely an administrative assistant.

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MARCH 24, 2016

I manage about 15 events every 12 weeks (each event being 3-4 days long) and am in charge of every aspect of the events (on-site logistics, travel, venue accommodations, food and events, agenda and educational sessions, sponsors, speakers…the list goes on). You can’t stay in the job forever waiting for the right time to leave.

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DECEMBER 22, 2015

(We’re in a small department–previously three, and now four, employees; all three of us report to my boss, but I am the most senior of the three reports and the other two provide administrative assistance to both of us. I planned on small gift cards and candles or something similar for the other two.)

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NOVEMBER 8, 2017

I have been at my new job as an administrative assistant for just over two months. My boss is advertising my job because I got sick before some pre-approved vacation time. A few months ago, I decided to make a big career move and change industries.

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OCTOBER 11, 2017

I have been in my role as an administrative assistant for about two years now. The rest of the meeting was full of phrases like “Let’s go traditional with the food, since I like a traditional Christmas, I mean holiday ” and “Oh we can’t do that because Christmas offends some people.”

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DECEMBER 16, 2021

She just assumes I will bring some food for her parties. I recently applied to an administrative assistant position online, and someone from their HR department emailed me on Monday and set up a phone interview with me for that Thursday. I don’t know how to tell everyone I have to scale back without causing problems.

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MARCH 11, 2021

Everything else is basically low-paying retail and fast-food jobs. in my exact field, albeit in an administrative assistant capacity (which would be a step down from my previous compliance position). I currently work part-time as an administrative assistant. Since moving here, my career has hit a dead end.

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