Question: “Our company has an outing every year. I felt very uncomfortable at the last couple that I attended, and I would rather work than be there. The same employees that huddle at the office are the same ones that huddle at the outing. I speak to everyone at the office, but I do not have a certain group that I'm around all the time. I try to be a team player and attend functions that are given by the company, but I really hate going. Any suggestions?” — Angela Murphy

 Question: “What is the preferred (or most common) title for someone who reports directly to an assistant general manager: administrative assistant or executive assistant?” — B.J. Carroll

Question: “I have moved back to my hometown and taken a position that I held 13 years ago. At the time, I was the only secretary/administrative assistant in the office. Now, there is a secretary and an administrative assistant, which is my position. The secretary resents me because she did not get this position. She did not get this position the last couple of times it was filled. She has a good friend in our IT Department and the two of them talk about me and things that go on in the office. The secretary also is abrupt to the public and uses profanity. I don’t like her talking about me and I feel that she should be more professional. What should I do?” — LS 

Question: “I need help in revising our current policy on continuation of medical insurance during the following cases: temporary layoff, permanent layoff, workers’ comp. Currently, the employer pays 100% of employee insurance benefits. Any advice would be appreciated.” — Anonymous

Question: “I have been asked to help arrange a business meeting/workshop in another state. I know that I will need to depend on someone else at that location for assistance. Whom do I work with?  What types of things do I need to do to make this a successful meeting? What things should I pay attention to?” — Anonymous

Question: “I work for a nonprofit board of directors (50 members). Every year, I give each board member a small token gift for our December meeting, and a little nicer gift for the annual meeting in June. I try to keep the budget to about $1 to $1.75 per gift (for the December gift) and a little more for the June gift. I've given coffee cups, clocks, pocket calendars, lunch Koozies, Slinky toys (as stress relievers) and even polo shirts. Does anyone have any suggestions for gift ideas that I could give this year? Any web sites would be helpful.” — Anonymous

Question: “Does anyone have a policy on start/end work times for jobs that don’t require employees to punch time clocks? We polled the staff as to when everyone would like to start work in the morning, and they agreed to 8 a.m. Now, people have started strolling in at 8:15, but they put the usual 8 a.m. on their time sheets. Their supervisors don’t mind, but I’m the project assistant, so how should I address this issue?” — Virginia M. Howard

Question: "My company will be closing its doors within the next two years. I am 61 years old and have worked as a secretary here for 19 years. Our facility is out of the city limits, I have not had to interview for many years and I do not have the early-year career-drive that I did while in my 30s. Does anyone have any advice as to where or what I do to begin re-thinking my current job position and future potential? I find that the job market is keener on hiring the younger and more adventuresome admins. I had hoped to be able to work at this position until I could retire at age 66." — Anonymous

Question: “I am the assistant to our company’s CTO, who is very ‘hands on.’ She is constantly in meetings and on conference calls, which takes a toll on her e-mail inbox. I am tasked with helping to control the outrageous amount of e-mails that come in to her on a daily basis. I have become good at detecting the junk mail, but it doesn’t even put a dent in the total. Does anyone have any suggestions on e-mail management?” — Leslie N. Robus

Question: “The holidays are approaching, and I need help thinking of a nice and reasonably priced holiday gift from my male boss (CEO). Any suggestions?” — Sandy S.

Question: “What is the appropriate way to list a retired physician on our letterhead and web site?  Should we remove his name or simply put (retired 2008) beside his name?” —Viki

Question: “We have a long-term temporary worker who manages to get the job done, but the collateral damage is staggering! She is loud, abrupt and downright rude. The only people who like her are the salespeople she supports because she does provide them tangible results. How can I ask her to conform more to office behavior without causing a strain on our working relationship?” —Kristin

Question: “We have an employee who has been going through a difficult divorce for the past year and a half. Lately, she has been making more and more mistakes and it seems she needs training on things we all should know and that she once knew. She seems overly sensitive to basic constructive criticism and is beginning to play a bit of the blame game. I think she needs a vacation, but she refuses to take one. Any suggestions on how to get her through this divorce without sacrificing job performance? Or is there such thing as a “mandatory” vacation?” — Jocelyn

Question: “I’m responsible for selecting new office furniture for the VP of my department (this is who I report to) along with furniture for the Director and 10 managers. I’ve been told a dark wood color and straight lines. They want it to look “intimidating” and professional. Suggestions?” — Randall S. Cook

Question: “In my 30-year career, I’ve never heard of a company requiring that holiday time be accrued, i.e., each pay period an employee accrues the time, but if the employee doesn’t have enough accrued time and a holiday rolls around then it’s time off without pay. Is this legal?” — Peg

Question: “When I started at my company, I worked for two senior execs. Now, I also work for the president. I handle all of their office and personal work, which includes personal errands for the president. On my review, it was stated that I am not enthusiastic about everything that I am asked to do. I’ve never refused a request, but I don’t want enthusiasm to be interpreted that I need more to do. I am frequently complimented by customers and co-workers on my helpfulness. I also work overtime every day on an unpaid basis. I noted this on my last review comments. But the president keeps bringing up the ‘enthusiasm’ comment on my review. How should I respond to this comment?” — Anonymous

Question: “What user-friendly database software can connect to Quicken Books?  The nonprofit I currently support has MS Access, but I don't know if that's the answer.  Is there a program that’s more user-friendly?” — Anonymous

Question: “How do you tactfully tell a co-worker/friend, who recently received a promotion to an upper-level management position, that she needs to dress more professionally? She dressed very nice for the interviews, but the next day she was back to wearing wrinkled, sloppy clothing. She will be meeting potential donors and prominent business people, but she doesn’t seem to have a clue about her style. How can I help her succeed in her new position without hurting a friendship?” — Want to Help

Question: “I have been tasked with finding scheduling software for our company.  Sounds easy but I need software that will allow us to schedule different people, in different countries, on different schedules.  We need to schedule it so we know who can work in what country and what skill sets they have .The shifts are 12 – 21 days (varies by country) and we’d like to prepare reports so that we know who has worked where and for how long and, how much time off they have had (to meet individual country requirements).  In my dream world, it would also alert us when we have double scheduled or when we have a mismatched pair or have missed a scheduling slot. Since this isn’t your normal work week scheduling I haven’t found a software package that will allow us to track everything we need.  Has anyone found a software package that might work for us?” — Pam Cashwell

Question: “Our department is expanding and hiring additional staff and two new managers. My previous boss was promoted to a new higher-level position, and I was promoted to be her assistant (new position). We’ve worked tirelessly to support the new staff, including the new managers. I have difficulty understanding one of the new managers because she has a heavy accent. When she’s not satisfied with something, she just talks faster. She is not satisfied with my performance and has asked me to stay and help her assistant in setting up meetings. I have refused. Now she has reported me directly to HR. It is a power struggle. How do I solve this problem but still keep a good working relationship? I have received nothing but good performance reviews for the past 20 years. I am afraid I might lose my job.” — Hilary

“We have an employee who lies about her time, doesn't do all her work, complains about co-workers and tries to change policy for her benefit. The administrator ignores all of our complaints.  How can we handle this difficult employee?” — Anonymous

Question: “I am the receptionist for a large assisted living facility.  Visitors must sign in at the reception desk and then wear a visitor badge.  People do not like this and have told me it’s none of my business who they are or why they want to visit. I explain that it is for the visitor’s safety as well as that of our residents. Any ideas or suggestions how best to handle this?” — Gwen O’Brien

Question: “What is the best career path that an administrative assistant can take in the admin or facilities field, and what would the duties be?” — Sreekumari K

Question: “I work in an office with all men.  My boss is wonderful except he forgets that I am part of the team too. Recently, he gave all the guys a hooded sweatshirt with the company logo on it and failed to give me one. I don't want to sound selfish, but I would like to have one like the rest of the office. What is the best way to handle this situation with the boss without sounding greedy?” — A team member too

Question: “I’m interested in learning if other companies offer adoption benefits, and if so, what benefits they offer?” — Joan Frieden