Asking your assistant to get water

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amother

↑ OP ↓

Yesterday at 4:57 pm

amother Bellflower wrote:

Same, everything from booking travel to dry cleaning and even grocery shopping. But that was my job description, and I was my boss’s assistant

In OPs case the employee is not actually her assistant and therefore should not be asked to do any personal tasks or favors as it’s inappropriate

The employee is the “program assistant” like I’ve said before. Not a personal assistant. But still an assistant.

amother

Ginger

Yesterday at 5:29 pm

amother OP wrote:

In this case, there are no issues that would prevent the boss from getting up, aside from just being very busy.

"Other duties as assigned" are of course part of this job description, but does that include stopping her workflow to get water?

In 1960, yes, male bosses had their female secretaries fetch water and coffee. In 2024, a female boss and a female assistant?

Why would the gender matter?

zaq ↓

Yesterday at 5:55 pm

Printer paper is work-related and acceptable. Water to drink is personal and thus not acceptable, unless, as a PP mentioned, the boss has some sort of physical handicap that makes the task difficult, painful, or impossible. Even if the two people are of the same gender.

amother

↑ Molasses

Yesterday at 6:00 pm

amother OP wrote:

Job title is not personal assistant, it is program assistant. The job does not include personal tasks such as appointments, ordering personal lunch (lunches for meetings, yes. Lunches for boss, no).

Then absolutely NOT!! Unacceptable.

I hate that my boss calls me his secretary when I have an accounting degree but he does not make me get him stuff etc. yeah I do some more phone calls than I like but I’ve come to not mind it so much. Also the secretary part is probably due to him being Israeli and older.

amother

Celeste

Yesterday at 6:48 pm

I’m a manager and would never ask anyone to bring me water unless I ask the same way I would ask any friend…like for a favor. If I’m extremely busy I might ask them to get something from the printer for me.

chocolate moose

Yesterday at 7:57 pm

I understand people don't like to ask. I offer or just bring. It depends on your nature and workload of course but I am happy to keep things humming behind the scenes.

amother

Yolk ↓

Yesterday at 8:15 pm

No.
Get yourself up and get it.
Don’t be lazy.

Assistant is to help out in the office with office work. Not to be a personal servant

ra_mom

Yesterday at 8:18 pm

Bring in water bottles to a conference room in preparation for a client meeting? OK.

Fetch copies from the color printer? OK.

Fill up her water bottle? That's pushing it. If you offered it's one thing. But if she's asking for it, I think that's a bit much.

amother

↑ Yolk

Yesterday at 8:18 pm

amother OP wrote:

Job title is not personal assistant, it is program assistant. The job does not include personal tasks such as appointments, ordering personal lunch (lunches for meetings, yes. Lunches for boss, no).

So what’s the point of asking ?

amother

Bergamot

Yesterday at 8:44 pm

Yes in my office it's normal. We always fill.up.boss water bottle or make her tea. Realistically she is just busy and it's fine. Nobody minds. It's an office joke already at this point. We are a very laid back type of place.

amother

Steel

Yesterday at 8:54 pm

amother OP wrote:

If you are a boss or a manager, regardless of the workplace being heimish or secular, formal or informal, I am wondering if there is ever a time you'd ask your assistant to stop her work to go to your office, take your water bottle/cup, fill it with ice and water and bring it back to you. Or if you'd ask her to get up from her office to bring you a hole puncher that is within even distance between both of your offices. Or get up and go to the fancy printer in the hallway which is closer to your office than it is to hers, to go get the color printed papers you sent there.... etc. you get the point.

If you would, why? If not, why?

Yes. My assistant does all sorts of things for me, including fetch water, make me capuccinos, print and collate files, take the business card and shop for employee holiday presents, stock the conference room with pastries and waters or whatever else I need. This is her job. If I am doing these things myself, her job becomes redundant and would be eliminated. Isn't it better to keep her employed and have her assist me with tasks that would otherwise distract from my efficiency? Why is this even an issue?

Edited to add that after reading some of the responses, there seems to be a communication issue between the assistants and employers/supervisors. My assistant is designated to assist me. I do not have an overly educated, degree riddled assistant who is being underutilized. She is a college grad and we discussed my expectations in the interview. If she doesn't want to do these things, I'll hire someone else. At will employment and all that.

amother

DarkOrange

Today at 5:14 am

Only one place I worked at, where my boss would ask these things of me, but she was highly inappropriate in many ways.
I managed the payments and bookkeeping so I was in no way a personal assistant, yet she would ask me things like taking her returns to the parcel shop but her lunch... I wasn't there for very long.

amother

↑ Peru

Today at 7:26 am

amother Bellflower wrote:

I wasn't a personal assistant.
I was/am an Executive assistant to C level officers.
I had/have access to highly confidential company information as part of my job, (unrestricted access to the company system) which was the main part of my job on a daily basis.

The level I was being paid wasn't to pick up lunch, it just comes with the territory sometimes.

amother

NeonBlue

Today at 7:32 am

Didn’t read everyone’s posts, but isn’t it normal to do something for someone? I work in a school and have been known to fill up water bottles for kids/staff/administration, and I’m not a personal assistant. It’s more like oh if you’re going to the cooler or going to grab a water bottle from the fridge can you get for me or I offer to get for them. Basic menschlichkeit. Not everything has to be done tit for tat or only to be paid.

ora_43 ↓

Today at 7:34 am

amother Steel wrote:

It sounds like she's a personal assistant. I think the water thing would be a normal ask from a personal assistant on a particularly busy day, although I'd try not to make a habit of it.

But OP is talking about a "program assistant." I would definitely not make this request of just anyone with "assistant" in their job title. "Assistant" can mean so many things! If someone is an Assistant Editor or Research Assistant are you going to ask them to make you coffee??

Even if it's an innocent request and you'd be happy to do the same for her, it's just that your busy right now, still, it risks sending the message that you've wildly misunderstood her job title and are planning to treat her as a personal assistant.

imaima

Today at 7:37 am

ra_mom wrote:

Yes especially if you interrupt your work related stuff to fulfill a personal request

↑ ora_43

Today at 7:37 am

OTOH on the other side of it, if my boss made this request of me I wouldn't be like "the NERVE of her, I am a HIGH EDUCATED blah blah blah" I'd just assume she was very very busy and needed an unusual favor.

If it happened more than once every few weeks, or if an increasingly high number of my tasks were more 'personal assistant' than 'program assistant,' that's when I'd start to worry (and start to think of how to say something about it).

amother

↑ Bellflower ↓

Today at 7:58 am

amother OP wrote:

The employee is the “program assistant” like I’ve said before. Not a personal assistant. But still an assistant.

Program assistant can be anything, the word “assistant” does not automatically mean someone to be your errand boy. So it depends on her job description and typical workload

The program assistants that I know are not actually “assistants” like you describe, but rather deal with the program content, coordination and communication. It’s a regular job that has the word assistant in the title but is not anyone’s assistant

So what are her responsibilities? I assume nothing you asked about considering you’re asking to begin with

amother

↑ Bellflower

Today at 8:06 am

amother Peru wrote:

I was as well, to the head of a multi-billion dollar company. Executive assistant is not the same as personal, but like you said it comes with the territory sometimes

amother

Petunia

Today at 8:27 am

I was once offered such a position by a recruiter.

There are bosses that really need this type of assistant but a. They pay a lot b. Its spelled out in the description.

When offered the position to people it should be spelled out that regardless of the title it is a glorified secretarial position.

I was asked
Are you comfortable making him/her a coffee and take his kids to school?

These positions went from 80-120k and sometimes even more.

Also I was once offered an office manager type of position and did some research and realized this boss will need me to be his personal assistant in this way and the title office manager was just the cover story.

I would have done it for someone else but this specific person wasn't someone I wanted to work for so I didn't take it.

Getting back to your question OP it sounds like you feel like a slave and aren't being compensated enough to cover for it.

Either speak up about it if you can risk losing your job or make up your mind that this is a comical part of your daily duties.

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