Why are administrative assistants treated like they don’t exist unless something is needed?

5 Comments

1. Kathryn MontbriandSeptember 28,2022 at 2:11PM UTC

   This is one of my biggest pet peeves because administrative assistants are some of the most valuable partners in an organization....but they are overlooked or devalued.

   I won't speculate on the psychological reasons behind why people perceive or treat admins poorly, but I will offer a few suggestions.

   1) if you are the admin - ask to be included and participate in team meetings, offsites, etc. You likely have a unique perspective to add and you can show vs. tell them that

   2) ask for feedback and development conversations - admins can grow in the role and also towards other roles (but often their managers are too busy to think about adding these dev convos to the calendar - ask for them!)

   3) if you are a manager of an admin - demonstrate their importance to the team by including them in strategy sessions or organizational meetings and then ask for their input. Have them lead or join projects that make the team better (they likely have a whole bunch of good ideas!)

2. AnonymousSeptember 29,2022 at 1:35PM UTC

   This is great advice, thank you so much for sharing!

3. AnonymousSeptember 29,2022 at 4:36PM UTC

   People tend to take others for granted.
   I had a very hard time being an administrative assistant and cleaning up people's messes. The below advice is very good, but I was not patient enough to reinvent the wheel and ultimately worked my way out of that position to something more suiting.

4. Stacey DarlingSeptember 29,2022 at 5:48PM UTC

   I am so very fortunate that my manager knows my value and worth, and tells me how much she is grateful to have me on her team. My organization as a whole understands what we (the admins) bring to the table!

5. LatonyaOctober 2,2022 at 1:34PM UTC

   It depends on the manager or the culture of the organization. Some view education, position, or connections as a status symbol in the work place. And, even at times because of cultural differences some of those in higher position have hidden racial bias that affect how they view others. My suggestion to you is to be really good at what you do and ALWAYS stay 2 steps ahead of the game and dodge the politics. Learn as much as you can and be proactive. You'll command respect and you will land in a position where you're valued either with your company or somewhere else.

   My bosses didn't view me as a "lowly" administrative assistant. They called me their Partner and Project Coordinator because we are so much more than an AA.

   All the best!