Administrative Professionals Day
By Jeff Moffitt
@moffittjc (128824)
Gainesville, Florida
April 27, 2016 7:43pm CST
Today was Administrative Professionals Day here in the United States. At work, all of us in the office (about 25 of us) took our 8 Administrative Professionals out to lunch to a very fancy restaurant. We all pitched in to pay for their meals, and told them they could order anything they want.
Anybody who works in the business world knows that it is our Administrative Professionals that truly keep our businesses functioning! I like to say that they are the glue that holds everything together! Without our admin professionals, all the supervisors, managers and bosses of the world would completely fall apart! We'd all be helpless!
I always joke that in my office, the real boss is my Staff Assistant, not me (and in all honesty, I'm not really joking when I say that). She keeps me pointed in the right direction, keeps me out of trouble, and ensures that my work assignments get completed on time. She reconciles all my budget and expense reports, makes sure I stay on task, and runs interference for me with customers and other business peers.
All too often, our admin professionals do all of this with little pay, little recognition, and little glory. Yet they come in to work everyday with a smile on their face and do what needs to be done.
I, for one, would be lost without my Staff Assistant, and I make sure everyone--especially her--knows how much she is appreciated and valued.
For those of you in the working world, did you do anything to celebrate Administrative Professionals Day?
5 people like this
5 responses
@ElusiveButterfly (45941)
• United States
28 Apr 16
Wow, that was really nice of you all to bring your staff to lunch! Kudos to you for recognizing that your assistant is an important part of keeping your office running smoothly. Having worked as support staff for years in the field of education, I must say that it is a thankless job. But, when your boss recognizes you for your hard work, it is golden.
2 people like this
@ElusiveButterfly (45941)
• United States
28 Apr 16
@moffittjc well you all did a great job. Kudos!
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (128824)
• Gainesville, Florida
28 Apr 16
@ElusiveButterfly Thank you! We really hoped they would like the luncheon, and from the reactions, I would say that not only did we completely surprise them, but they loved being treated like royalty!
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (128824)
• Gainesville, Florida
28 Apr 16
I can't take credit on this one, as it was an effort of all of us in the office to plan and put this together! And we had to do it without our admin professionals knowing what we had up our sleeve! You know how hard that is to do? They know EVERYTHING that is going on in the office environment!!!
2 people like this
@petatonicsca (7070)
• Japan
28 Apr 16
I don't, but this is very much like accompanists and conductors. The accompanists are the ones on whom everything is built, and the conductors (or soloists) know it. So do the accompanists. However, they seldom get any glory!
2 people like this
@moffittjc (128824)
• Gainesville, Florida
28 Apr 16
I think in every profession, there is one critical job that does all the work and gets none of the credit. I think the satisfaction is that the people who hold those thankless positions know deep down inside that they are the most critical and important people in the organization! And knowing that takes the meaning of "power" to a whole new level!
@petatonicsca (7070)
• Japan
28 Apr 16
@moffittjc And a lot of people who do that really don't want to be in the spotlight. I would far rather accompany, be in the orchestra pit, or conduct (back to the audience and everyone is looking at the choir) than be on stage front and center. It's not so "hot" out of the spotlight.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (128824)
• Gainesville, Florida
28 Apr 16
@petatonicsca That is a good take on what many may feel. Deep down they have the satisfaction of knowing their accomplishments and value to the team, without having to necessarily be in the limelight all the time!
@JamesHxstatic (29410)
• Eugene, Oregon
28 Apr 16
Being retired mostly, I did not do anything, but I remember well what used to be called National Secretaries Day, when roses would sprout on the desks of those who deserved much more and lunches were bought too. They are still the backbone of business of all kinds.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (128824)
• Gainesville, Florida
28 Apr 16
Yeah, Secretaries Day has been changed to Administrative Professional Day. Apparently, it's not politically correct to call them "secretaries" anymore! Sort of like it's not politically correct to call a cleaning person a "janitor." You have to call them "custodians" or "maintenance workers." Or my favorite..."sanitation engineers" instead of garbage men! LOL
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (128824)
• Gainesville, Florida
29 Apr 16
@JamesHxstatic In our office, all eight admin assistants are women. Throughout our organization, I only know of one who is a man.
1 person likes this
@JamesHxstatic (29410)
• Eugene, Oregon
28 Apr 16
@moffittjc I know that changed while I was sill working and they were always more than secretaries. The new name suits them. Are all the admin assistants women there or are there some men?
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (381813)
• Rockingham, Australia
28 Apr 16
That is a very nice tribute to admin assistants - and yours in particular. My husband worked in schools as a business manager (bursar) and was always trying to advance the status of the maintenance men and the cleaners. They were an integral and vital part of a well-run school but were often treated as very much the underlings.
2 people like this
@moffittjc (128824)
• Gainesville, Florida
28 Apr 16
Luckily, everyone at my office knows the tremendous value and importance of our administrative professionals, and treats them with dignity and respect! Like I said, they are our real bosses!
2 people like this
@VivaLaDani13 (60812)
• Perth, Australia
14 Feb 20
@moffittjc That was extremely nice to show such appreciation to those who deserved it! And once again, you're so friggen sweet lol
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (128824)
• Gainesville, Florida
14 Feb 20
Don’t tell people that I’m sweet. I have to protect my bad boy image! Haha
1 person likes this
