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

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The role and the position of the person the PA/EA is assisting is going to define what is and what is not appropriate.

C-level at an investment firm, they are paying you to do whatever is needed to make that persons life easier.

Similar to the reserved parking spot. Every minute counts and equals money. You don't want your top people walking and extra 2-10 minutes each way to their car or thinking about where the best place to park is. You want them working and thinking about work.

This is the biggest load of BS I've ever heard.

I'm sure that's exactly what the executives said to justify spending company dollars on someone to conduct personal tasks for them but you'd have to be a real moron to believe they're spending 100% of their time "working and thinking about work" down to the minute. They're probably spending that extra time laughing at their idiot employees who park their own cars while working to make more money for the company so the company can use it for the executives' personal servants.

[Anonymous]

It is stealing time from the company unless specifically allowed in the job spec.

[Anonymous]

I don't think moving personal flights is a big deal as long as they are being moved solely for work reasons.

Totally inappropriate for the Dr. appointments though.

[Anonymous]

Is this inappropriate? I ask my EA to send a calendar invite to my spouse if there are things like work dinners I need to attend, to let my spouse know she is on kid pickup duty? It never occurred to me this might be inappropriate, but I will stop if it is!