Being an admin has its ironic moments. In what other profession would you find someone who wins a service award and then must schedule the banquet; or wins a prize at work and then must order and ship it?
Here are some more funny “You know you’re an admin when…” stories.
Just Put it on My Tab
“When your boss takes you out for a thank you lunch or an admin professional day lunch and then gives you the receipt from the lunch to expense for him/her.”
“I approve all expense and time records of my executive’s direct reports. However, approving my own time and expenses would be a conflict of interest, so someone else has to approve them. I’m the only one in her department whose reports are consistently approved late. She regularly receives “hate mail” from HR & Accounting prior to escalating my tardy reports to the CEO’s office. I contact the CEO’s EA, who graciously approves my reports on his behalf before anyone else is sanctioned.”
“You know when you’re an admin when you order your own Admin Professional Day flowers, on your company AMEX.”
“I’m in HR and my organization has new employee orientation every Monday. As part of orientation, we provide drink/pastry/fruit catering service. In the past, our cafeteria staff would put our order together based on the list of new hires I would send them. As of last week we moved to an electronic form to order food and drinks. Of course the task of creating and submitting the order fell to me because I’m the admin for the employment section of the HR dept. All went fine up until the moment I needed to approve and submit the form. I wasn’t given approval or submission rights on that one form. I carry a company credit card and corporate card for purchasing and travel but wasn’t given approval or submission rights for a catering request that usually runs between $40 – $70. I told my boss I’d just put it on the card!”
Blame it on the Day Job
“When you find glaring typos in the church bulletin but refrain from highlighting it and placing it in the “Share your Concerns” box.”
“When you’re invited to lunch with the team, but you must make the reservations and select the location!”
“Who had to plan and coordinate the Administrative Professionals Day luncheon for the office staff including me? Me, of course.”
“When your boss tries to surprise you with cake and flowers for Administrative Professionals Day but has no idea where to get the plates, napkins, forks and cake knife so leaves that part to you.”
“When you’re promoted and end up writing your own announcement, sourcing the correct employee list from HR for distribution, and sending on behalf of the new boss! It’s all good though… love the new job!”
“When we lead and coordinate an entire Center-wide Promotional Contest Event for three months. The day of recognizing participants and celebrating achievements, your boss forgets to thank the very person that made it all happen since inception, to include the Award Celebration Event. She later apologized privately on an email.”
Happy Birthday to… Me
“You get a surprise birthday cake in a meeting of executives where you are the recording secretary. And you must get up and cut the cake and serve it during the meeting. 😉 “”I was expected to send around my own birthday card and buy my own birthday cake. 😳 “
“Every month I receive birthday cards for the birthdays in our office. I pass them around for everyone to sign. In December, the package is delivered to me. I don’t distribute my card for signature. I save it in case the August delivery is late, and the 8/1 birthday still gets a card. I never get one.”
“Like others… Passing around my own birthday card. The upside is that I get to pick which card I want. Still, I’m (somewhat) surprised when it makes it back to my desk, and it feels good to be celebrated by my coworkers. Plus, I get a chuckle out of it every time!”
Be Careful What You Wish For
“When you feel left out that you’re not included in weekend emails and updates, and then you complain about getting weekend emails and updates… 🤣☺ “
“You know you’re an Admin when you go away on a cruise for 8 days and your boss with 5 other people email you and expect you to answer! Really!”
“You know you’re an admin when you are taking minutes, and everyone asks, “Did you get all that?” “
Let Me Jot that Down
“When you’re asked to sit in on a meeting on a tense subject and pretend to take minutes just to keep the men from expressing negative emotions/words.”
“Your boss calls your desk phone and asks you to bring her tissues because she has “the sniffles.” “
Bon Voyage
“When you organize your own send-off party.”
These sound like good reasons to ditch the corporate world and go into business for yourself.
Of course, many people have done just that. Among them, Virtual Assistants. I’m in that number. Rather than toil away for another company that has little genuine interest in anything other than maximum profit – including not really caring about the employees driving that profit – a growing number of us have decided we’re better off doing our own thing, working with other businesses to take care of their essential administrative tasks so they can deliver even more outstanding results to their customers and clients.
Is that you? Do you have too much on your to-do list and your relationships with your clients and customers is hurting? Click here to see what services you can hand off, and Contact us to see how we can partner to make great things happen for your business.
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