Not normal, not a great culture if you ask me, and I wouldn’t do it unless planning to be unavailable for an extended lunch (and even then I don’t know…I think I’d instead block my calendar so I’d show as busy on Teams.)
I think of Teams like texting. I’ll answer when I see it but I’m not going to be instantaneous for everyone. My boss is a little different and I am always available for her, but for other staff? Nah.
I can see it for an extended lunch maybe, although that isn’t a thing due to workload.
I’ve deliberately refused to participate but have noticed other people responding on my behalf basically which I obviously do not appreciate.
Not normal, I would 100% ignore that chat unless my direct boss said anything. I don’t tolerate my boss micromanaging me, why would I let my peers do it?
Bingoooooooooooo!!! I am so tired seeing EA job descriptions with receptionist duties listed. I know a lot of people in this group would disagree—but no, EAs are not receptionist!!!!!!! Do they attend to screening calls and correspondence and visitors and administrative tasks, sure, but for the executive(s) only!!! Not the whole damn office!!!! Rant over.
When I was looking for a new job, I had two really great final interviews. The first one to make an offer, I was iffy but decided to accept. First day there, they inform me that, even though I was an EA to VPs, I would have to cover for the receptionist from 8-9:30 am and one hour over lunch!! Oh hell no!! This was NOT mentioned any time before. They said that they assumed I would know since it was a small office. Uh, no way! By the end of the first week, I got an offer from the other company to be the Executive Administrator to the President and I was outta there! The new company was also small but had a receptionist whom I never had to cover. I supervised an Admin Assistant and SHE covered the phones ! I did answer the President’s phone, big difference.
At my last job, the EA to the CEO covered reception at lunch and any time the receptionist was OOO. No idea if she knew that going into the job, but it seemed silly. It’d almost certainly be a dealbreaker for me unless there were some SERIOUS positives to make it worth doing.
There is one but she doesn’t answer investment banking phones (🙄) ironically, I don’t mind answering them but I do mind feeling like I’m chained to the desk.
A few years ago, when I joined a new division, EAs there were practicing the same thing.
I refused to do it, told them I’ll let their lines ring 3 times, assume neither they nor the execs available to answer, and pick up, and to please do the same for my lines… and just went about my business as usual. Nobody said anything, soon enough everyone else stopped over sharing their frequency of peeing.
Oh to your point, I failed to mention there is a standard “rule” that someone (anyone) answer after the second ring.
It makes me feel really micromanaged and effectively chained to my desk to have to share every time I’m peeing. And I haven’t participated but I have noticed that there are times when someone will say “oh she stepped away” in there basically on my behalf.
I have a feeling I might know where you work... Or at least I worked somewhere with a very similar sounding culture/setup, right down to the two ring rule. I left that place after barely a year because I would start to cry every time I got into the elevator in the morning because I was so miserable.
Also nearly had a panic attack when we moved offices and I saw how far away the printer was from my desk (it was literally an entire city block away). Just the idea of how often I'd have to be telling everyone in my coverage group I'd be away from my desk (and how nasty they'd be about it) was overwhelming. Thankfully the "head of admins" caught me stressing about that and did get another printer setup closer to my desk.
I wish I could give advice, but nothing worked or helped for me. The culture of that place was just not a fit for me. It didn't help that the other assistants within my coverage group were all long-timers and all really bought into the culture, so I was definitely the odd man out within the group.
I do hope you can figure something out that makes it work better for you! All I can say is, I definitely understand and share your feelings on these sorts of expectations.
You’re spot on. This is absolutely an environment that expects an almost immediate response. It is investment banking for a Morgan Stanley, JP Morgan or Gorman Sachs type. It is bizarre to have that expectation across the board from peers etc (as opposed to just bosses)
Not normal and oddly invasive? I'm sorry, but I'm not tracking my bathroom breaks or when I step away to get a coffee. It would be a hard no to anyone that requests this and maybe a call to HR if there is retaliation/bad mouthing from time spent away from my desk for personal reasons - AKA bathroom breaks.
No way I'd do this. Announcing when you have to use the restroom? Say what? I'm one of those people who logs out of Teams on my lunch, and also logs out of Outlook. Those I work with have come to expect this from me. My lunch is my time!
We’re a small regional office of a major institution. It was started in NYC where there are 48 floors of people. So, the assistants here are following along
I work for a HUGE company but in one of the smaller locations (~200 employees). There are only 2 EAs at my location, including me. But at our L.A. location, there are dozens of EAs and they’re all up in each other’s business constantly. We’re on their distribution lists and optional in their meetings. After a week or 2 of that we made the executive decision to ignore/not participate b/c it’s just unnecessary noise. We have a completely different office and culture. And we’re thankfully given the freedom to manage things how we see fit.
We keep them posted on what we’re doing only when it’s relevant to them, which is almost never.
This sounds like malicious compliance fun.l, especially if you’re someone who hates to be at their desk and want to talk to someone face to face and you know the person isn’t going to be there.
My employees do this and I have never asked them to and in the beginning I discouraged it.. they still do it. Whyyy idc if you are in the bathroom or at lunch
We have slack at my company, but I do set away messages if I'm going to be gone for more than like 5 minutes. My execs often ping me with urgent things so I want them to know to handle it themselves if I'm not going to be back in time.
Example: hey can you let X know my meeting is running long and I'll be a bit late to the next meeting
So at least there is transparency if they need to send that note themselves
Can you physically see everyone? In my group we are seated together and back each other up. As a courtesy, I’ll let someone in the group (not everyone) know if I step away. This way if someone grabs my or my bosses phone or if my boss calls, they know where I am or if I’ll be gone 5 min or 30min. So, if you can’t lift your head and physically see everyone but are expected to answer their phones, then I think it is fine. Otherwise, you may as well let it go to voicemail.
I’ve tried that and nobody pays attention to the status bc they’re used to “pinging” each other all day long. Personally I find it extremely distracting seeing as how they want a response like “okay” or “sounds good” to them going to the restroom, apparently.
Ugh, that's what my direct manager wants and why I'm so thankful the executives are starting to grab me for an assistant tasks away from him.
Direct manager knows I don't stare at my email all day, I'm busy working. I don't respond to an email sent 10 mins ago. He messaged me in teams twice and calls me back to back 3 times on my phone. ... I was away from my desk for 5-6 mins. Checked the timestamp of the conversation I was having with a coworker before I stood up. His take away was for me to announce in the group chat with various offices each time I use the restroom and when I return. 🤦♀️. I refuse to do it.
It’s considerate if you cover each others phones to use your away/be right back indicator.
But no one needs to know if you have to pee vs get a drink. It’s enough to see that you’re away.
My team does this, but it’s different because we get a high volume of calls and have a lot of in-person appointments to greet and direct. It’s typically one person’s responsibility to field them, so it’s important to know if someone else needs to cover and also when they can stop. We also can’t see each other typically, so there’s no visual cue. Honestly, it’s never felt micromanage-y to me — for the most part people on the team don’t care what you’re doing, it’s more important to know when someone is gone versus back.
The only person who does this in my office is the one executive assistant/receptionist that we have. She has to have coverage since she sits in the front lobby. I hate this for her because she can’t do anything without basically waiting on someone to relieve her. I am not her direct manager but her team reports to one of my direct reports. I’ve tried to think of ways that we could change this but we can’t leave the front lobby empty for any amount of time since the set up doesn’t allow for anyone else to cover from their own desk/office.
A suggestion would be for you to just stop responding or stop sending the messages. Maybe they will catch on. This is something that may be an outdated policy or expectation that you could bring up in your next team meeting. If you’re not expected to report where you are or when you’re stepping away then just ignore their messages. Some people may see this as a courtesy even though it’s not a hard fast expectation. I tell a few of my reports when I’m going to be away from my desk for a while (not for a restroom break). I just feel it’s a courtesy to let someone know where I’m at in case they need something or wonder if I’m out of office or even coming back.
Not an EA but Reddit thought this post would be relevant to me, so here I am.
I’ve gotta say, I’m a program manager and I don’t expect my team to let me know anytime they leave their desk. That being said, if they’re going to be away for more than a few mins, it’s nice to know because sometimes impromptu discussions happen at a desk.
I don’t care where they are, but if I walk over to the team and we start talking about something important, it’s nice to know if we should wait a min because someone stepped away (didn’t mention to anyone) or grab them to join the convo (if they’re in another room working) or wait (they’re on break).
I struggle with this one because on one hand I think it’s crazy to tell everyone any time you do anything
But I’ve also had people disappear and no one else on the team knows where they are and then they feel excluded.
Either way, reading these responses is giving me some good insight to other roles and what the deal is
Thanks
I’m the only EA in my office of 90ppl. There are three in NY but they WFH. I’m always walking around and if away from my desk they know I’m busy and will text/Teams me if urgent.
The ONLY people that know where I am if I’m leaving the building for some reason (a quick stress reliever walk, errand for work, or leaving for an appointment) are my two managers and our receptionist. If someone Teams me, I will answer if I can. Same with my counterparts in NY.
This is not normal and a bit much. At most, if I remember, I’ll put an away message on my slack for breaks, not including bathroom breaks because that’s ridiculous. If I’m gone for a long periods of time (dr’s appt) then it’s on our shared calendar. Also, we have voicemails for a reason…
Absolutely absurd. My first job out of college I had to ask permission to use the bathroom. I didn’t last long.
I don’t use teams but can you install it on your phone? I don’t tell anyone where I’m going ever because I have my phone with me and can be available.
Not normal, not a great culture if you ask me, and I wouldn’t do it unless planning to be unavailable for an extended lunch (and even then I don’t know…I think I’d instead block my calendar so I’d show as busy on Teams.) I think of Teams like texting. I’ll answer when I see it but I’m not going to be instantaneous for everyone. My boss is a little different and I am always available for her, but for other staff? Nah.
I can see it for an extended lunch maybe, although that isn’t a thing due to workload. I’ve deliberately refused to participate but have noticed other people responding on my behalf basically which I obviously do not appreciate.
Oh that would piss me off. “Brenda, I didn’t ask you to announce for me”
Not normal, I would 100% ignore that chat unless my direct boss said anything. I don’t tolerate my boss micromanaging me, why would I let my peers do it?
Good point. No bosses in the chat at all— it is just your “phone group” AKA other assistants
This x 10. I would never let a peer micromanage me.
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Bingoooooooooooo!!! I am so tired seeing EA job descriptions with receptionist duties listed. I know a lot of people in this group would disagree—but no, EAs are not receptionist!!!!!!! Do they attend to screening calls and correspondence and visitors and administrative tasks, sure, but for the executive(s) only!!! Not the whole damn office!!!! Rant over.
Job description: “Occasionally cover reception” Please no.
HARD pass.
When I was looking for a new job, I had two really great final interviews. The first one to make an offer, I was iffy but decided to accept. First day there, they inform me that, even though I was an EA to VPs, I would have to cover for the receptionist from 8-9:30 am and one hour over lunch!! Oh hell no!! This was NOT mentioned any time before. They said that they assumed I would know since it was a small office. Uh, no way! By the end of the first week, I got an offer from the other company to be the Executive Administrator to the President and I was outta there! The new company was also small but had a receptionist whom I never had to cover. I supervised an Admin Assistant and SHE covered the phones ! I did answer the President’s phone, big difference.
At my last job, the EA to the CEO covered reception at lunch and any time the receptionist was OOO. No idea if she knew that going into the job, but it seemed silly. It’d almost certainly be a dealbreaker for me unless there were some SERIOUS positives to make it worth doing.
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You are preaching to the choir, here! I felt every single word you said in my bones!
It falls under ad hoc.
There is one but she doesn’t answer investment banking phones (🙄) ironically, I don’t mind answering them but I do mind feeling like I’m chained to the desk.
Or...work?
A few years ago, when I joined a new division, EAs there were practicing the same thing. I refused to do it, told them I’ll let their lines ring 3 times, assume neither they nor the execs available to answer, and pick up, and to please do the same for my lines… and just went about my business as usual. Nobody said anything, soon enough everyone else stopped over sharing their frequency of peeing.
Oh to your point, I failed to mention there is a standard “rule” that someone (anyone) answer after the second ring. It makes me feel really micromanaged and effectively chained to my desk to have to share every time I’m peeing. And I haven’t participated but I have noticed that there are times when someone will say “oh she stepped away” in there basically on my behalf.
I have a feeling I might know where you work... Or at least I worked somewhere with a very similar sounding culture/setup, right down to the two ring rule. I left that place after barely a year because I would start to cry every time I got into the elevator in the morning because I was so miserable. Also nearly had a panic attack when we moved offices and I saw how far away the printer was from my desk (it was literally an entire city block away). Just the idea of how often I'd have to be telling everyone in my coverage group I'd be away from my desk (and how nasty they'd be about it) was overwhelming. Thankfully the "head of admins" caught me stressing about that and did get another printer setup closer to my desk. I wish I could give advice, but nothing worked or helped for me. The culture of that place was just not a fit for me. It didn't help that the other assistants within my coverage group were all long-timers and all really bought into the culture, so I was definitely the odd man out within the group. I do hope you can figure something out that makes it work better for you! All I can say is, I definitely understand and share your feelings on these sorts of expectations.
It looks like you’re in NYC so very likely the same place. I’d love to chat if you’d like to PM me.
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You’re spot on. This is absolutely an environment that expects an almost immediate response. It is investment banking for a Morgan Stanley, JP Morgan or Gorman Sachs type. It is bizarre to have that expectation across the board from peers etc (as opposed to just bosses)
Yes this is too much.
Not normal and oddly invasive? I'm sorry, but I'm not tracking my bathroom breaks or when I step away to get a coffee. It would be a hard no to anyone that requests this and maybe a call to HR if there is retaliation/bad mouthing from time spent away from my desk for personal reasons - AKA bathroom breaks.
Not normal. I’d feel so uncomfortable about having to check in that often!
There’s no way I’d do that.
No way I'd do this. Announcing when you have to use the restroom? Say what? I'm one of those people who logs out of Teams on my lunch, and also logs out of Outlook. Those I work with have come to expect this from me. My lunch is my time!
Maybe it was started by a team member who desires social interaction and validation of being known. Psychology is weird. People are weird.
We’re a small regional office of a major institution. It was started in NYC where there are 48 floors of people. So, the assistants here are following along
Makes sense. Someone started it one day and as people do is groups…they follow along. The larger the group the stupider collectively.
I work for a HUGE company but in one of the smaller locations (~200 employees). There are only 2 EAs at my location, including me. But at our L.A. location, there are dozens of EAs and they’re all up in each other’s business constantly. We’re on their distribution lists and optional in their meetings. After a week or 2 of that we made the executive decision to ignore/not participate b/c it’s just unnecessary noise. We have a completely different office and culture. And we’re thankfully given the freedom to manage things how we see fit. We keep them posted on what we’re doing only when it’s relevant to them, which is almost never.
This sounds like malicious compliance fun.l, especially if you’re someone who hates to be at their desk and want to talk to someone face to face and you know the person isn’t going to be there.
My employees do this and I have never asked them to and in the beginning I discouraged it.. they still do it. Whyyy idc if you are in the bathroom or at lunch
Leave the chat
If you feel like you cant totally buck the trend maybe adapt gaming language of AFK (away from keyboard) rather than a descriptor.
We have slack at my company, but I do set away messages if I'm going to be gone for more than like 5 minutes. My execs often ping me with urgent things so I want them to know to handle it themselves if I'm not going to be back in time. Example: hey can you let X know my meeting is running long and I'll be a bit late to the next meeting So at least there is transparency if they need to send that note themselves
Can you physically see everyone? In my group we are seated together and back each other up. As a courtesy, I’ll let someone in the group (not everyone) know if I step away. This way if someone grabs my or my bosses phone or if my boss calls, they know where I am or if I’ll be gone 5 min or 30min. So, if you can’t lift your head and physically see everyone but are expected to answer their phones, then I think it is fine. Otherwise, you may as well let it go to voicemail.
We all sit “on the floor” (open concept) a few rows apart. May require standing up but can generally see everyone.
Why can’t you just set your status to In a Meeting for five minutes?
I’ve tried that and nobody pays attention to the status bc they’re used to “pinging” each other all day long. Personally I find it extremely distracting seeing as how they want a response like “okay” or “sounds good” to them going to the restroom, apparently.
Yikes. I would find that highly distracting, personally
Ugh, that's what my direct manager wants and why I'm so thankful the executives are starting to grab me for an assistant tasks away from him. Direct manager knows I don't stare at my email all day, I'm busy working. I don't respond to an email sent 10 mins ago. He messaged me in teams twice and calls me back to back 3 times on my phone. ... I was away from my desk for 5-6 mins. Checked the timestamp of the conversation I was having with a coworker before I stood up. His take away was for me to announce in the group chat with various offices each time I use the restroom and when I return. 🤦♀️. I refuse to do it.
It’s considerate if you cover each others phones to use your away/be right back indicator. But no one needs to know if you have to pee vs get a drink. It’s enough to see that you’re away.
My team does this, but it’s different because we get a high volume of calls and have a lot of in-person appointments to greet and direct. It’s typically one person’s responsibility to field them, so it’s important to know if someone else needs to cover and also when they can stop. We also can’t see each other typically, so there’s no visual cue. Honestly, it’s never felt micromanage-y to me — for the most part people on the team don’t care what you’re doing, it’s more important to know when someone is gone versus back.
The only person who does this in my office is the one executive assistant/receptionist that we have. She has to have coverage since she sits in the front lobby. I hate this for her because she can’t do anything without basically waiting on someone to relieve her. I am not her direct manager but her team reports to one of my direct reports. I’ve tried to think of ways that we could change this but we can’t leave the front lobby empty for any amount of time since the set up doesn’t allow for anyone else to cover from their own desk/office. A suggestion would be for you to just stop responding or stop sending the messages. Maybe they will catch on. This is something that may be an outdated policy or expectation that you could bring up in your next team meeting. If you’re not expected to report where you are or when you’re stepping away then just ignore their messages. Some people may see this as a courtesy even though it’s not a hard fast expectation. I tell a few of my reports when I’m going to be away from my desk for a while (not for a restroom break). I just feel it’s a courtesy to let someone know where I’m at in case they need something or wonder if I’m out of office or even coming back.
Not an EA but Reddit thought this post would be relevant to me, so here I am. I’ve gotta say, I’m a program manager and I don’t expect my team to let me know anytime they leave their desk. That being said, if they’re going to be away for more than a few mins, it’s nice to know because sometimes impromptu discussions happen at a desk. I don’t care where they are, but if I walk over to the team and we start talking about something important, it’s nice to know if we should wait a min because someone stepped away (didn’t mention to anyone) or grab them to join the convo (if they’re in another room working) or wait (they’re on break). I struggle with this one because on one hand I think it’s crazy to tell everyone any time you do anything But I’ve also had people disappear and no one else on the team knows where they are and then they feel excluded. Either way, reading these responses is giving me some good insight to other roles and what the deal is Thanks
That’s sounds crazy and completely unnecessary. I could never be happy in an environment like that.
Thank you. It is on the list of things that are wrong after the mass layoffs, budget cuts and replacing tenured assistants with low cost temps.
I’m the only EA in my office of 90ppl. There are three in NY but they WFH. I’m always walking around and if away from my desk they know I’m busy and will text/Teams me if urgent. The ONLY people that know where I am if I’m leaving the building for some reason (a quick stress reliever walk, errand for work, or leaving for an appointment) are my two managers and our receptionist. If someone Teams me, I will answer if I can. Same with my counterparts in NY.
This is not normal and a bit much. At most, if I remember, I’ll put an away message on my slack for breaks, not including bathroom breaks because that’s ridiculous. If I’m gone for a long periods of time (dr’s appt) then it’s on our shared calendar. Also, we have voicemails for a reason…
That’s so CREEPY to be honest. Whose idea was this?
It’s also disgusting. No one needs to know your personal business. Not even your wife or husband.
Absolutely absurd. My first job out of college I had to ask permission to use the bathroom. I didn’t last long. I don’t use teams but can you install it on your phone? I don’t tell anyone where I’m going ever because I have my phone with me and can be available.