Admin professionals working harder

It seems that PAs across the pond are working harder than ever, as an annual US survey has highlighted the growing workload of administrative professionals. The findings, compiled by stationery retailer Staples, reveal that more than half of those polled are supporting more managers than in previous years and additional tasks are being handed to PAs on a regular basis.

Among the new responsibilities taken on by management assistants are budget and payroll, (46.7%) human resources (43.9%) and helping out with the company’s social media profiles (23.1%). The research also found that admin professionals are rated as better creative problem solvers and more tech-savvy than their bosses (57.4% vs 42.5% and 43.4% vs 29%, respectively).

Interestingly, 93.9% of executives say they have never used a virtual assistant service, but another report by the University of Oxford found there was a 47% drop in in-house secretarial and support roles between 2001 and 2013 across the UK. While much of this can be attributed to the economic downturn, automation and technology have also created a threat to admin professionals.

Faster internet connections and better conferencing programmes means PAs can now work remotely and this has given rise to companies that specialise in providing virtual support. The introduction of intelligent personal assistant apps on smart phones such as Apple’s Siri and Microsoft’s Cortana has allowed executives to do more of their own diary management and travel booking, rendering some EA roles redundant.

As part of a marketing campaign for sci-fi movie Ex Machina, the film’s main character, an android, was given a LinkedIn profile purporting to be a PA, but the stunt is closer to reality than some might like to admit, as computers and mobile devices continue to evolve to carry out highly skilled tasks.

However, the increased responsibility faced by bosses means there will probably always be a demand for PAs and they can expect to receive increased pay packages, with the average assistant earning up to $55,000 (nearly £37,000) in the US.

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