The Bully Boss Strikes Again! Admin assistants dish on how to deal with bosses who make crazy requests

With Administrative Professionals Day approaching (April 22), the editors of www.BusinessManagementDaily.com asked administrative assistants to weigh in with the craziest things their bosses had ever asked them to do. They expected to hear about killer hours, volatile tempers and perfectionist demands.

They didn’t anticipate anything involving stool samples.

Here are some of the best examples of "other duties as assigned."

Inspect the boss’s sandwich every day to make sure it contained no tomatoes.
Drop off a pet’s stool sample at the vet. “He left the container on my desk while I was having lunch.”
Call around for a used toilet to replace one that had broken in the boss’s rental house. “Uh, do you guys have any used toilets?”
Send fake rejection letters from universities to the boss’s daughter as a joke.
Take a Johnny Mathis album cover to the tailor to find material that matched Johnny’s jacket.
Throw a surprise party for an up-and-coming vice president’s dog.
Look for “anything suspicious looking,” after someone had called in a bomb threat.
Stuff tissue between the boss’s upper lip and teeth, after he chipped a tooth and then glued it back together.
Check the pencils daily to be sure they were sharp enough. “If they weren’t, I was to sharpen them, but only to the correct size for his hand. If he deemed the pencil too small, he would give it back to me and nastily tell me to save it for my children. I had no children.”
Spray the boss’s bald head with sunscreen.

And just to show how far the admin profession has come, here’s one for old time’s sake:

“Back in the day, a vice president would walk out of his office and, without a word, set an empty glass on my desk. That meant he wanted a glass of water. And the kitchenette was right next to his office!”

These outrageous stories came in response to a post on “Admin Pro Forum,” one of BusinessManagementDaily.com’s expert blogs.

Even if your direct supervisor swamps you with petty tasks and doesn’t appreciate all you do, you can always “manage up” to make sure the boss’s boss knows your worth. Here are seven ways to do that:

1. Be the best at something by developing a high degree of skill on a topic or picking up technical knowledge (such as software skills) that can help your company. News of your expertise will trickle up.

2. Volunteer for a rush job or a project that’s running over deadline. Higher-ups will notice. Execs love employees who show their commitment to the team.

3. Seek out praise for your group. When you say, “My team did a great job,” that’s showing leadership skill that people will remember.

4. Nurture relationships with key clients. If you’re in a position to be indispensable to key clients, you’ll be able to build on your professional relationships with them.

5. Become a mentor. You’re never too young to share your experience with junior members of your organization.

6. Praise your boss—when it’s deserved—to your co-workers and other supervisors. Example: If your boss has been extra supportive of your career development, write her an e-mail telling her that you appreciate it. Be sure to “cc” her boss.

7. Gain a deep understanding of your boss’s goals, the department’s strategies and the company’s objectives. It will help you set priorities and make smart decisions about what work to tackle.

About BusinessManagementDaily.com:

BusinessManagementDaily.com is one of the web’s fastest-growing business management portal sites. Our expert editors update BusinessManagementDaily.com hourly with practical advice that business owners and managers can use to save time, improve productivity and make more money.

The site offers business management news, opinion and training on:

•   Business law
•   Career management
•   Employment law
•   Finance and accounting
•   Human resources
•   Leadership skills
•   Marketing
•   Office communication
•   Office management
•   Office technology
•   People management
•   Personal finance
•   Sales management
•   Small business tax