Is it OK to handle personal arrangements for boss?

As the admin to the President of our Division, I do a fair number of personal tasks to make his life easier. Perhaps it’s an attitude thing. When he asks me to take on some personal task, it is always with the expectation that I can/will say no if I don’t have time. And he is always very appreciative of the extra effort. As a result, I never resent his asking and almost never say no. My approach has always been that it’s my job to make his life as free of paperwork and meaningless busy work as I can. Anything that I can do to free his time for more important tasks is time well spent. As a result, he knows how important I am to his success and rewards me accordingly.

I feel like this is a personal issue with each administrative assistance. If she feels comfortable doing this, it should not be YOUR problem. Many professionals need their assistants to do these personal details for them due to shortage of time. I am sure that attorneys are extremely busy and often run short of time. I would rather work for a person who needs this service because it helps breakup the daily work routine.

My suggestion is: Each administrative assistance discuss with her partner if she/he is comfortable or uncomfortable doing their personal details and work accordingly. You are only the manager and it should not be your decision to make. You may not realize but in busy times managers needs strong assistants who are willing to “assist” them with their personal requests. Perhaps it should be written into the job description.

Anyone who is really uncomfortable or simply does not liking to perform those requests should really look for another job. There are MANY jobs where you are not asked to do personal details.

I believe the role of an Admin, no matter at what level, is to “assist”. My job is to do whatever I can to make my executive’s job easier. If that means doing some personal tasks for him, I don’t mind. I respect myself and if I ever felt that anything I was asked to do reflected disrespect to me or took advantage of me on the part of my executive , I would discuss it with him. Sometimes, the level of respect one receives directly correlates to the level of respect one demands.

I guess I have a different take on things than the rest of you. I assist the Vice President of a large firm and have never been asked to run a personal errand. Not that I would mind, but this in my opinion is unprofessional. I believe the admin’s job is to assist there boss in anyway possible so they can remain billable, not manage there personal affairs. Doesn’t make sense? I guess you’ll have to remain accommodating, what else can you do?

I think that the person asking the original question has some real concerns. I do a great deal of personal things for the person I support, and I don’t mind doing them. However, this question raises a very good point. The owners of companies are often surprised by how many personal things are truly being done by administrative assistants. And many don’t know the nature of these requests. Higher ups are sometimes not aware of this level of support. For example, if the assistant is supporting his/her person’s entire household: daughters, sons, spouses — and 90% of their time is consumed by personal errands and tasks (and this DOES happen, believe me!) then how much value is the *COMPANY* getting? Is that employee an employee of the company OR the person they support? How does one check abuses? Since I reside in both camps: Administrative and Management, I can see both sides of the coin. If I owned my own company, I’d have some concerns about abuses. I think there should be some safeguards, and this manager’s concerns may be key to checking abuses.

AMEN SISTER!!!! I have been working at a new job as an “Executive Admin.” I thought I would be gaining new skills that would look good on a resume. Instead, I am asked to do such things as: pay personal medical bills, polish/clean an exec’s office, and make coffee. I have done personal things for bosses in the past, but that was the exception, not the daily rule. It was a request not an expectation. After all, this is company time and I believe it should be spent on company business. I got hired to be an admin., an assistant in the office. I agree it is unprofessional that they expect that kind of assistance. I applaud you that you see it as servitude. The admins. under you are lucky that they have someone looking out for them. Bottom line, it’s company time so they should be working on company business. If they have free time and don’t mind, what the heck.

I as the assistant to the president of our company and I do perform some personal tasks for him but he is always appreciative. He makes sure that these tasks never take away from getting my other work done. He always accommodates me in some manner if needed. I personally enjoy the change of pace, sometimes getting out of the office to take a walk somewhere, etc. I think these tasks fall under the ever popular “other tasks as assigned” which appears on most of our job descriptions. My take on this has always been that “my job is to make his job easier”. I am older and think that some of the younger folks coming into this profession see it differently. For me it is all about the respect my boss gives me and he pays me well for what I do.

I was asked to do a personal favor today and order a boss lunch and pick it up, which is downstairs. I didn’t mind doing that because she not break in her day. She has been here probably 5 years and has never asked. She also asked me to do a personal favor and with the respect that this will not be the norm then I don’t mind. Others have asked as well but again not the norm. As long as they say it is personal and know it is over and above my job description then I don’t mind.

I think if it was the norm I would have a problem. As stated before it is the company that is paying you and I am sure the company does not want to pay for you running someones errands.

Kenda

I also agree with Willing & Able. I do not think its an admin’s job to handle an executive’s personal business those people are called personal assistants and they make about $45/hr and receive unbelievable benefits. I’ve supported an exec and he’s never asked me to run personal errands for him. If the job description calls for you to do personal things then no problem, but the company pays for you to assist with company related issues. Personal issues should be completed on his time not the company’s. Are you allowed to run your personal errands on company time? Unless the company has included this in the job description and is paying you for it, then I say this is unprofessional and should not be expected. Also, ask the admins who are doing it. They maybe doing it because they want to if so, then let sleeping dogs lie. I wouldn’t start anything. If they don’t like it, talk to HR, get the job description, if it doesn’t call for it then, I say talk to the partners and explain that the admins job is to support them in company related issues only. Personal issues should be their not the admins. Why should they be the only ones who go home to no errands?

Oh my goodness! That’s what I love about my job – is the break in monotony of my regular duties! I love to take care of personal business. But I would think it rather strange if I were asked to choose personal items i.e. greeting cards, clothes, etc. That should be their “taste”, not mine. Anything to free my boss so he/she has more time to take care of business, including watering plants, getting lunch, taking to airport – I am willing to do as long as it is not my gas or money. I consider myself not just an Executive Secretary but also Personal Assistant. When my boss is a success, I am a success. And the boss I have now let’s me know how much I am appreciated for all I do.

Before work, after work, and weekends. That’s when I do my personal errands and that’s when any working American should do their errands, executive or janitor. If you’re doing personal errands for your boss during work time then there is obviously not enough work of your own to do. You can talk yourselves into feeling good about freeing up your boss’ time, but it’s not right to do these things on company time.
Back to the original problem and some of the suggestions, where do you draw the line of what’s acceptable and what’s not acceptable? Work should be done at work and personal items should be done on personal time. Just my opinion.

I bet that every single respondent has done “private” work on “company” time. I once worked in an office where you had to use a pay phone in the hall to make personal calls, where every office supply down to the pencils had to be “signed out” from the office manager, and where you had an “identification” code to use the copy machine. Those days are long gone. Most of us have used company time for personal business;we have used the copy or Fax machine for to copy & send personal documents, make personal phone calls(if we don’t have cell phones),etc. it’s just that most of us do this infrequently and most of us are not expected to be personal assistants to the bosses. I wouldn’t be surprised if the managing partner (top dog) at the law firm uses his/her admin for personal support and the rest of the lawyers follow this example. It’s up to the individual admin to make appropriate arrangements with the boss without jeopardizing her own position. I would start by politely refusing the most onerous personal assistant jobs by saying: do you want me to postpone the business-related work I’m doing for you?