Question:Since Administrative Professionals Day is next week, we began thinking, ‘What’s the most annoying co-worker habit in your office’? Now’s your chance to dish on a current or former co-worker and share his bad or unusual mannerisms. — The Editors

Question:“With Administrative Professionals Day coming up soon, what are others doing to celebrate the day or to show appreciation for their teams?  What about those who have a very low or non-existent budget for events, what are your suggestions?” — Kris

“My administrative assistant has worked here for a little over a year. She is personable with good clerical skills. She’s a good clerical worker, but she never really rises above that position. She never has an original idea for organizing the office. It’s as if she is waiting on me for every idea. And when I give her a suggestion, she will do it for a week or two but then stop doing it. Maybe I'm expecting too much, but I thought an admin would be more self-motivated and focused on assisting me. I asked her to please organize the office when she arrives in the morning. I'm not talking about vacuuming the rugs and washing windows. I just want her to have an idea of what is piling up in the office, and what is important and what is junk. She feels that this is treating her like a maid. Any advice?” — Frustrated Boss

“What is the correct form of address for a husband and wife who are both medical physicians?” — Becky Kizer

“I’m always thinking that there’s gotta be a better way to streamline some of my daily tasks, be better organized and stay on top of everything. Does anyone have some good time-savers that they’d like to share?”  — Emily

“A co-worker’s penchant for drama is making me crazy at a time when our company is in severe straits. We’ve had layoffs and buyouts, no one knows what is coming and I may find myself unemployed in my mid-50s. A woman I work closely with has daily “issues” with our manager. Every day finds her crying on my shoulder. She takes offense at everything he says, does or puts in a memo. All of this stress is affecting my health. How can I ease out of the role of ‘agony aunt’?” — Anonymous

Question: “I am the office manager at an accounting firm.  Since everyone puts in such long hours and a full day on Saturdays, the office picks up lunch every Saturday. I have one staff member that is a bit overweight and always orders way too much food for lunch every Saturday.  A few of the partners have commented to each other or to me about the amount of food that is ordered (out of concern for cost and staff well being).  What would be the best way to handle this?  No one here is her life coach, so is it even acceptable to say something or acknowledge it?” — Elizabeth Lamb

Question: “I am an Executive Assistant and have been tasked with setting SMART (specific, measureable, achievable, relevant time-based) professional goals.  I don't know where to start.  Do you have a template or guide that an Executive Assistant can use?” — Diana Blair

Question: “How do I answer a co-worker whose response to me whenever I ask a question is, "why do you want to know?" or "who needs to know?” — Anonymous

Question: “My boss is a dictating micromanager, and I’m having difficulty handling the situation. How can I let him know that I can manage most situations with little or no supervision? I don’t want to be insubordinate, but he needs to stop breathing down my neck. — Cindi

Question: “Our company uses GroupWise messaging and collaborative software, but we don’t have an IT person to help with the software. Can anyone recommend a web site or a course where I can find help on how to use it?” — Tara

Question: “I have to write a self-evaluation prior to my annual performance review.  Does anyone have a form or template for this or know of a web site that offers one?” — Emma
 

Question from the editors: “We’re thinking about hosting a webinar on using the Bibliography Tool in Word 2007. Do you use this new feature that allows users to create a list of cited works that will then be available in every new document? Would you use it if you knew how? Would you be interested in a training webinar on how to use it?” — Forum editors

Question: “We have an individual who whistles almost nonstop at an ear-piercing level.  I have asked him politely not to whistle so loud.  He refuses, saying he has a right.  I finally asked management to do something but they refuse.  Now when he wants to get under my skin he will start whistling loudly.  The tension in our shop is unbearable and others have complained.  Is there some workplace standard addressing whistling?  I can’t imagine any of my supervisors allowing someone to whistle at will in their office, but because I am in a carpenter shop on an air base they don’t feel we deserve the same standards.” —  David Sota

As part of HR Professionals Week, our sister newsletter, The HR Specialist, is collecting tales of what can go wrong when candidates sit down opposite an HR professional or hiring manager. So far, we've heard stories about kittens, nail polish and the police. Share your story — from either side of the interview desk — at the HR Specialist Forum this week.

Question: "My team is responsible for creating a binder for our monthly board meetings. We have to set deadlines, collect reports from several departments, assemble the contents and overnight them. One department is always overdue with their reports, usually because customers are late getting essential information to them. We always give this group a grace period, but it pushes my team to work late.  My boss suggested shipping in two phases: first with reports that come in before the due date and the second with those that come in after. Any other good ideas to maximize our efficiency? -- Bright Idea Seeker

Question: “My boss is always running late for appointments and meetings. I am the one who has to call and explain his tardiness or cancel a meeting. Sometimes, this involves canceling multiple times with the same person. I don’t know if I should be apologetic on his behalf, since it’s frequently the same group of people.  I’m sure they are getting tired of it.  What are some suggestions for handling this?” — Anonymous

Question: “I’m a young executive secretary. I like my job now, but wonder what career opportunities the profession would offer in the future. What should I do to build my career skills? Is this a good field for the younger generation?" — Anonymous

Question: “I’m always looking for time-savers. What are your favorite keyboard shortcuts that you use every day?” – CN
 

Question: “I work for an accounting firm with about 65 employees. We have a receptionist, and her sister (Sue) is her back up. Sue has other job duties as well. Myself and another admin process all of the tax returns, financial statements, letters and all other support duties. When the receptionist or Sue is out, it is my job to back up Sue.

I have complained several times that doing all of my work and Sue’s work is too much.  When Sue is in the office, she doesn’t like to answer the phone so she waits for someone else to answer it; she doesn’t like most of her job duties, so she wonders around and I am told that I need to do her work. When I am out, Sue does not have to do my job. Favoritism seems to be at play here, so how should I handle the situation?” – Numbers not adding up

Question:  “My boss gets at least 25 calls a day. He does not want the phone messages written down on paper; he wants them e-mailed to him.  However, he gets hundreds of e-mails a day, and he complains that his phone messages get lost in the shuffle. How can I resolve this and make it simple for him and me?” — Laura Sanford

Question: “I'm an older student, in an internship. I'm seeking advice on how to deal with immaturity in my fellow interns (they are in their 20s, I’m in my 50s).  I didn't realize they were ganging up on me until I was recently informed by another intern.  Also, they brown-nose the supervisor, while I'm more independent.  So, as I'm beginning to express anger at the interns' treatment of me, I'm looking like the difficult one.  Even if I believe there's some ageism involved, it won't make me popular with management to state this. How do I handle the situation? Can you recommend any books on baby boomer/Gen Y interaction?” — Anonymous

Question: “My boss is somewhat disorganized, so I track requests sent to him and then meet with him every few days to make sure he hasn't let anything fall through the cracks. This takes a considerable amount of my time. I have become very disheartened the past few weeks because every time I go into his office he is playing solitaire! The company measures our success by department responsiveness. How should I approach him about how this affects our accomplishments? This reflects poorly on both of us.” — Anonymous

Question: “I see so many letters today with the RE line directly below the inside address. I learned that anything below the inside address should pertain to the address. I also learned that anything pertaining to the body of the letter should be placed in the RE line, and it should be directly below the salutation. Have the rules changed?  Does the RE line now go under the inside address and above the salutation?” — Betty Dotseth

Question: “Recently, my boss was signing paper letters and asked if it is still proper to write “Dear” in the salutation instead of just the person’s name. And for closing is "Sincerely" and "Very Truly Yours" passé or is “Regards” OK to use? Are handwritten or typed letters more formal than correspondence sent via e-mail?” — Naomi