Is it completely inappropriate to ask your assistant to help with any personal tasks?

[Anonymous]

I have an administrative assistant and I have never asked her to help with anything remotely personal. However it is the administrative things outside of work that often are the things I need help with as it pertains to work. For example: moving drs appts so I can make last minute meetings, helping to change personal flights to accommodate new work commitments. Is it completely inappropriate to ask my assistant to help if there is work adjacency? I don’t want to be TA.

[Anonymous]

It’s inappropriate unless you work out an agreement which would consider both time and pay.

[Anonymous]

What’s a TA? You would probably be considered difficult and may have trouble retaining an assistant unless the person you hire knew the tasks were personal in nature. But is that ethical?

[Anonymous]

People have certainly done it. Think about the stereotypical “man has his secretary order flowers for his wife” thing from decades ago. But it’s demeaning unless you work something out in advance with requisite pay.

[Anonymous]

Yes, its inapropriate. the company doesn't pay her to handle your flights or drs appts no matter how "work adjacent" they are. Handle your personal shit.

[Anonymous]

It is 100% inappropriate.

[Anonymous]

If she's your assistant who you pay (eg as the owner of the business) it's fine.
If she works for your employer it's mostly not fine, with rare exceptions - for example if you were actively traveling when the need to change plans came up, you might give her all your personal travel info and ask her to work it out.

[Anonymous]

Yes, they are not your personal assistant. they are your work assistant, and your company is paying him/her (unless you own the company)

[Anonymous]

If you own the business, I guess that would be okay. If you both work for a company, then it's not appropriate. If you have done that, you should get fired.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you own the business, I guess that would be okay. If you both work for a company, then it's not appropriate. If you have done that, you should get fired.

I think in true dcum style that is v extreme take

Op most of the leaders at my office do have their assistants help w some personal tasks as they pertain to their ability to attend to work business

[Anonymous]

You can get in a lot of trouble in govt

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes, its inapropriate. the company doesn't pay her to handle your flights or drs appts no matter how "work adjacent" they are. Handle your personal shit.

Completely agree.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you own the business, I guess that would be okay. If you both work for a company, then it's not appropriate. If you have done that, you should get fired.

I think in true dcum style that is v extreme take

Op most of the leaders at my office do have their assistants help w some personal tasks as they pertain to their ability to attend to work business

PP, I’ve never seen this at large corporations. What sort of tasks?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you own the business, I guess that would be okay. If you both work for a company, then it's not appropriate. If you have done that, you should get fired.

I think in true dcum style that is v extreme take

Op most of the leaders at my office do have their assistants help w some personal tasks as they pertain to their ability to attend to work business

Oh, that's weird.

[Anonymous]

When I was an executive assistant I had a manager who tried this on. I would look him in the eye and say "okay, so instead of finalizing the powerpoint presentation I'll pick up your dry-cleaning, is that right?" He would say, "well, no, I need the pp presentation, too" at which point I would point out that I am hourly and if you substitute Activity A for Activity B, Activity B won't get done, because I wasn't allowed overtime. At that point he would decide to get his damn dry-cleaning himself.