Living and working: city vs countryside

It’s a much more formal working atmosphere than London. But it’s calmer. Because people have more clearly defined roles, the average working day involves less running around and yelling at each other than in England.
The unions have huge power in Germany so there are shorter working hours. People tell me off if I don’t take lunchtimes, and if you stay more than 30 minutes after work: someone asks you to leave. There are downsides too, though – for example, there’s not much scope to move from a PA into a different job.

There’s a huge ex-pat community here that mixes well with local Germans, so I have no shortage of friends. Many PAs would be put off working abroad by not knowing the language, but don’t be. I know lots of people who don’t speak much German – who have an edge as a PA in some other way – and are doing brilliantly.
The City PA
Neelum Sheik is PA to the MD and deputy general manager of the Cavendish Hotel, London.
This location is about as busy as it gets. Apart from being a 230 bedroom hotel, it’s minutes away from Picadilly Circus. I commute by train from another area of London, which takes around 50 minutes.

I could work a lot closer to home, but being right in the thick of city life gives me a buzz. I meet a lot of different people from all walks of life and I have plenty of things to do after work.

I’m a single parent and work part-time. People often think working in the city means working all hours, but I am proof that’s not the case.
The only pain to working here is if the trains aren’t working. But there are always other tube lines nearby – or a bus. Even with the snow earlier in the year, everything was fine.

My day-to-day job involves going through emails and handling a lot of paperwork. I handle VIP bookings and the guest satisfaction surveys too. I pick them up every morning and if I need to tell any department about anything positive or negative, I get to work on that. I also update certain areas of the website including restaurant menus and concierge.
I never take stress home. If something isn’t completed by Monday evening, I just do it on Tuesday morning.
The Suburban PA
Richenda Kew is PA to the CEO and operations manager at the Glaucoma Association, based in Ashford, Kent.

I’ve always worked as a secretary, but only recently moved into the voluntary sector. When that chief executive retired from a previous job, Office Angels found me a similar role in Ashford, Kent. I was keen because we have a big family history of Glaucoma. Also, the job is great. When an elderly person gets help because of this organisation, that’s a good feeling and I enjoy the tasks of my job, which range from diary management to minute taking at meetings.

It’s a longer commute – about half-an-hour’s drive – than before, but I don’t mind. There are pros and cons to working in the suburbs. We don’t have a city buzz and we don’t get the benefits of complete countryside. In fact, being in a business village means we have nowhere to go for lunch, except a Tesco Express and a little chemist. There’s no chance of a gym or getting your nails done, but then again the community spirit is good. I think it’s because the women here don’t have anywhere to go and because we’re all local that we all know each other really well. That makes for a good atmosphere and great team working. We know each other’s children and husbands.

Because we have board meetings in London, I do have to go up there from time to time, which is nice. I’d be sad to have no contact with the city.
The Rural PA
Mark Todd is operations manager at Renegade Media, a PR and digital marketing agency based in rural Gloucestershire.

I think there are eight houses in total here, so it’s not even a village – just a hamlet, but it’s a real joy to work in as it’s so peaceful and is surrounded by beautiful countryside.

I moved out of London four years ago, wanting a slower pace of life and live right on the edge of the River Severn with amazing views of the Cotswolds. The only stressful thing is if you get caught behind a tractor on the commute to work.

This is a small agency, with a handful of people working in the office, but we’re very busy and it’s no less exciting than any job I’ve had in London. The difference is that I can step outside into complete tranquillity.

My hours are pretty standard, but we do have Feet Up Friday in the afternoon, where we all try and chill out a bit. I think that is partly to do with us being rural. On the one hand, we’re all here to succeed. On the other, one of the reasons people move to the countryside is for quality of life. There are four parts to my job. I look after the finance, all HR issues, the boss, and the office management stuff – compliance, company secretary work, IT etc. It wasn’t an easy job to find somewhere so rural. Indeed, one of the main downsides to working here is staffing. When you need to hire someone new, it’s not easy.