"Be An Assistant"

Assistant = helper, supporter

April is the month a special day is set aside to honor Administrative Assistants for their work.

There were days when those in this field of work were called secretaries or clerks. They were seldom recognized and were near the bottom of the pay scale.

As the business world advanced, the field failed to keep up with the growth of business and commerce especially economically.

It is a much told story meant to be a joke, that the secretary (administrative assistant) is really the one who does the bosses’ job and directs the office. And, in some cases, this is true. Traditionally assistants have been women; however, there is a growing trend of men taking positions as administrative assistants. Will this be a factor in raising the pay scale of assistants? Hopes are high.

If you look at the synonyms for assistant listed above, you will see that no mention of value or importance is mentioned. Helper, supporter can be anyone from a volunteer to a vice president of a corporation. Anyone who has a job is an assistant to someone in whatever business or industry they work in.

I’m an assistant. I assist in keeping my organization viable through overseeing and guaranteeing the payroll and benefits system is up and running and accurate. There are others who also assist in the daily forward movement of the organization: executives, custodians, managers, supervisors, accountants, supply and purchasing assistants and well, the list could go on and on.

No one should think any less of an assistant - any assistant – no matter what title has been assigned to their job. If we all weren’t functioning as an assistant somewhere, in some capacity, just think what a mess might result. Where would you be without your assistant – at work, at home, in volunteer organizations, professional associations, unions?

Celebrate the assistants in your life and let them know they matter! Also, think about supporting them for a pay raise.