Through writing this blog I've found that commonly we all seem to share the same thoughts, feelings and challenges. Where there are good rewarding elements of our roles, there are also challenging elements, and those challenging elements come with a feelings that we all struggle with. Depending on where you work and who you work for, some of us sadly will walk out of the office each day very rarely thinking, 'what a great day I had! I feel appreciated, valued, and integral part of my team!'. We all know that being an EA is a thankless job, and mainly because there is a perception that the tasks we do are just part of our job description. So a pat on the back for just doing your job, is just not going to happen. The thing is though, most of tasks we undertake each day are not actually in our job description, as these jobs we get delegated are so various and vast that they could not be listed, let alone anticipated. But yet we do whatever gets thrown at us, as if we don't do them then who else will?! So given that I thought I would highlight the top 10 challenges I think we all commonly face in our roles. I have no doubt you will all relate to the concepts and the feelings that go with them. I'd love to hear back from you how you manage these feelings too, as it helps us all to have tactics when presented with such challenges.
1. You're not considered as important as others:
As much as our bosses try to make us feel like an equal in our teams, there are certainly those days where you just don't feel as important, or worse still you are made to feel less important than others. Perhaps we don't get paid the same, we don't have the same KPIs to deliver, or have the same budgets to meet as our counterparts, but our roles are as important as anyone's. In tight times though its always the administration and support staff that will get the cut first, but with those heads removed from the team, the realisation is quick to surface how valuable those people were. My rule is that whenever you are made to feel like you are not important then simply act that way in return. If they think they can live without you then let them. They will very quickly realise your importance and once again your value will be restored, in their eyes and in yours. Never underestimate your worth, as if you do you will never gain the respect that you deserve.
2. You're little Miss/Mr fix it for EVERYTHING:
As the least valued in the team we seem to bear the brunt of anything that needs to be fixed. Ironic, I know. None the less we get things fixed and tended to, whatever it may be. The video conferencing system in one of the meeting rooms isn't working? We fix it; the teleconference number they're using for a meeting isn't working? We fix it; your team needs a meeting room all day long with 1 minutes notice? We fix it; a team member has checked into a hotel whilst travelling and has no credit card to pay for his accommodation? We fix it; your boss' flight has landed early and their driver isn't there to collect them? You fix it. Do I need to go on, or have you got the idea here? Everybody else's problems become your problems, and this is all on top of the daily hygiene of regular tasks you fulfil for your boss every day. In fact I'm sure your boss doesn't even realise all the other fires you put out on any given day, on top of their daily requirements. It just what we do, we literally are a Jack/Jane of ALL trades! But that's ok, as long as you still have the word 'no' in your vocabulary. If you are constantly saying 'yes' to everything, be careful you are not being taken advantage of. Always assess the request as to whether they can actually solve the problem themselves.
3. You're a mind reader.....aren't you??:
There is one skill that we as EAs are all expected to have, yet it is never listed on any job ads or within any of our job descriptions. This skill is essential to do our jobs, yet it is never acknowledged. And that skill is? Mind Reading of course! It is basically impossible to do any of our work unless you are a mind reader. In the fast pace world we live in and the super fast paced businesses we work in, who has time to write out or list full details of what is required when delegating a task? With just the 'gist' we will inevitably interpret our boss' needs and requirements and hopefully be spot on with what they wanted. A skill that is highly sought after in the real world, unfortunately in the business world its just something we need to be able to do.
4. You're expected to be always available and you'll respond straight away:
Even though we have the largest workloads, we are expected to always be immediately responsive and always available. If your phone rings, you answer it. If you get a message, you respond to it. And if you get emailed (275 times a day) you respond to every single one! And might I add you do all of these in a timely manner, and when I say timely I mean right away! I can't tell you how many times I will get an email from someone, and 10 minutes later they're walking over to my desk to ask me if I got their email. It drives me crazy as I have no doubt it does you as well. But none the less, we smile and politely say, 'yes, I'll get right on it', yet inside we are cursing and telling them where to go! Funnily enough it's acceptable for other staff members to respond and get back to you in their own time, and some times not getting back to you at all! And it's usually those staff member's that are the ones that are walking towards your desk when you haven't responded within 2 minutes of them hitting send. Don't you love double standards.
5. You're the clean up person:
This challenge makes me laugh and mainly because of a story a fellow EA told me once. She came to me absolutely astounded one day after having an encounter with one of the company Executives when attending a company meeting in the office cafeteria space. When the Executive went to take a seat at one of the café tables he pushed a dirty plate towards her and said 'can you get rid of this please'. She was, to say the least, gob smacked that she had been asked to remove this dirty dish, especially when it wasn't hers. The funny thing is, regardless of whether we make the mess, it always ends up being us that must clean it up. And when you've thrown a team drinks in the office and the whole team decides to continue on to the pub, its always the EA that's left behind to clean up all the bottles and the mess, as who else is going to do it?! Unfortunately that is just the way it is, unless of course you're smart (and somewhat bossy) and request the assistance of others early to help you clean up so you too can enjoy a drink at the pub with the rest of the team.
6. You get dragged into everything:
Its no secret that an EA's workload is nothing less than huge, and it doesn't help our situation when we get pulled into every meeting to take minutes/actions. So how do we manage this? To actually take minutes/actions involves paying attention and listening, so its difficult to try and action emails or work at the same time. So in my mind there are three courses of action you can take when presented with this challenge:
1. Accept to sit in the meetings on the basis you will only take actions, not minutes. That way you can do emails at the same time (but you will need to master the art being able to do both at once!)
2. Share the load of the meetings across the other team EAs so its not the same EA sitting in all the meetings taking the notes.
3. Discuss your workload with your boss and explain you cannot afford to sit in hours of meetings with your workload and present a solution of another team member to take the actions. Alternatively present a solution whereby a different team member takes the minutes/actions each week on rotation so it's a shared exercise.
7. You don't get paid as much as everyone else:
No revelations here I'm afraid. And sadly its us that see all the other team member's salary increases and bonuses, that we get to compare to our own take home wage. When we ask to be considered for a pay review the response is always that 'times are tough' and 'there is a freeze on all increases and headcount', yet they forget that it is us that submit and approve the increases and bonuses in the first place. So why are we not worthy of an increase? And why do we get paid significantly less when we basically are our bosses' counterpart? As I mentioned before, you remove us from the structure and things start to fall apart. A role that is seriously undervalued and underappreciated, there should be a worldwide movement by EAs to push to raise the salary bracket we sit within. You cannot train to learn the skill set we carry, you either have the intelligence for it or you don't, yet this is not recognised. Sometimes I think that there is a perception that anyone could do our roles, but I'd like to see that happen one day as an experiment. I'd like to put a (very) non-EA in an EA role and see how long they last, if at all. We should definitely start this movement #raisethepayfortheEA
8. You get no recognition:
Its sad to see that many large companies we work for have reward / award programs for their staff members that acknowledge them for doing things above and beyond their role. Unfortunately many of these companies exempt their assistants from being nominated for these awards as the expectation is they should go 'above and beyond' anyway. Shocking stuff, huh? If you were to dig out the job description of an EA and then write a list of what we did in any one day it would be clear how much we do go above and beyond in our role. Although I must admit it does depend on who you work for when it comes to recognition. Ive worked for some amazing Executives who would publically acknowledge me for my efforts which would in turn make up for all the additional hard work put in. But when the acknowledgement is not there, but the hard work still is, it can be damaging to the relationship of the Executive and the EA. Worse still I've seen Managers publically humiliate their EAs in an attempt at humour, which I find completely unacceptable. When EA's contribute and organise anything that is above their role they should always get thanked, whether its personally or publically, as it makes all the difference in how valued you feel.
9. Your desk is a dumping ground:
How many times have you arrived in to work in the morning, or arrived back from lunch, to find various items that have been left behind (some for you, and some not) for you to just 'sort out'. From lost property, to mobile phones that have been left in the toilet, to items of clothing and glasses, or piles of mail. Anything that doesn't have a home will inevitably find its way to your desk. The EA will sort it out, she'll know what to do! At least 3 times a week I'll have a mobile phone handed to me that was left in the kitchen or in the ladies toilets. My response is simple, 'put it back where you found it!' The owner will come looking for it eventually, don't move it on them, especially when they will be retracing their steps! Its another case of every body else's problems becoming ours, but in this case I will always push back. Its not my problem either!
10. You're time poor for yourself:
When you spend 100 per cent of your day tending to the needs of other people its not uncommon to find yourself completely time poor to do your own things! How often do you write a list of all the things you need to do for yourself on a particular day (might be paying a utility bill, booking a hair cut, picking up some bread and milk, and getting some petrol) and you do NONE of it! You can do all the scheduling in the world of your own personal tasks and still just not do them, and mainly due to sheer exhaustion at the end of the day. Its frustrating to have your bosses life running like a perfectly oiled machine, but yet our own life is just loosely strung together with calendar reminders of all the things you need to do, only to never get around to doing them! Yes it's frustrating, but at the end of the day we are only human and only capable of so much. But sometimes you need to just take an hour for yourself to do what you need to do, regardless of how busy you are and what's going on with your boss. You have a life too and it shouldn't be put on hold on account of your job.
No doubt some of these challenges resinate with you, and whether we solve them or not, sometimes its nice just to have a vent and know that we are all in the same boat, all trying to paddle up the same creek with the same broken paddle. You're not alone with your frustrations, and when you're having a 'I'm not feeling appreciated' kind of day, take solace in the fact that there is another EA out there feeling exactly the same way!
Have a great weekend.Labels: Advice
There is one skill that we as EAs are all expected to have, yet it is never listed on any job ads or within any of our job descriptions. This skill is essential to do our jobs, yet it is never acknowledged. And that skill is? Mind Reading of course! It is basically impossible to do any of our work unless you are a mind reader. In the fast pace world we live in and the super fast paced businesses we work in, who has time to write out or list full details of what is required when delegating a task? With just the 'gist' we will inevitably interpret our boss' needs and requirements and hopefully be spot on with what they wanted. A skill that is highly sought after in the real world, unfortunately in the business world its just something we need to be able to do. 
1. Accept to sit in the meetings on the basis you will only take actions, not minutes. That way you can do emails at the same time (but you will need to master the art being able to do both at once!)