Administrative Professionals Overworked and Underappreciated, Finds New Todays Office Professionals Survey

FT. LAUDERDALE, Fla., April 13 /PRNewswire/ -- According to a recent Todays Office Professionals survey, for 63 percent of administrative professionals, no celebration will take place during this year's Administrative Professionals Day, despite the increased workload and expanded responsibilities most have taken on as a result of the economic downturn. The 2010 Administrative Professional Survey conducted by Monster on behalf of Todays Office Professionals, found that 62 percent of administrative professionals say their workload has increased as a result of the economic downturn. Furthermore, 45 percent say they are supporting additional personnel.

"The role of the administrative professional was already evolving into much more than traditional receptionist or secretarial duties, even prior to the recession," said Brendan Courtney, president of Todays Office Professionals. "As companies began to recognize the tremendous value administrative professionals brought to the organization as a whole, they began to increase the responsibilities of these workers. If there were ever a year to be celebrating and honoring administrative professionals and the integral role they play in a company's success, this would be the year. Yet for so many, a celebration will not take place. Although many organizations are struggling financially in this economic environment, there is still opportunity to pursue low-cost ways to honor and appreciate these hard-working professionals."

Demand to be More Connected

According to the study, nearly half (42 percent) of administrative professionals say they feel their role as an administrative professional demands that they stay connected to the office 24/7. In addition, nearly one-quarter (24 percent) of administrative professionals say they work more than 40 hours a week.

When it comes to the use of technology in the workplace, 15 percent of administrative professionals say the use of technology in the workplace has increased their workload, and another five percent say it has made their work more complicated. However, a full 60 percent say the use of technology in the workplace has made them more productive.

Satisfied, but Feeling Under Appreciated

Most respondents (66 percent) say they are satisfied as an administrative professional, and another 43 percent consider their role a life-long career, according to the findings.

However, nearly half (49 percent) say they do not feel appreciated in their role as administrative professional. Perhaps adding to the feeling of under appreciation, 63 percent say their company does not celebrate Administrative Professionals Day. Furthermore, nearly one-third (32 percent) would get a new boss/supervisor if they could.

Additional findings from the study include:

• Fifty-three percent of respondents work for companies that do not offer training opportunities for administrative professionals
• Ten percent of respondents are Certified Administrative Professionals (CAP), while a full 88 percent are not.
• For 36 percent of respondents, their role as an administrative professional is a temporary position that leads to other career paths.

Methodology

The March 2010 Todays Office Professionals Administrative Professionals Snapshot survey was conducted online within the United States by Monster Worldwide on behalf of Todays Office Professionals between March 18 and 29, 2010 among a U.S. sample of 317 working adults, aged 20 years and older. Respondents represent those invited to participate in the survey, which includes full and part-time workers. All sample surveys and polls, whether or not they use probability sampling, are subject to multiple sources of error which are most often not possible to quantify or estimate, including sampling error, coverage error, error associated with nonresponse, error associated with question wording and response options, and post-survey weighting and adjustments. Therefore, Monster feels the use of "margin of error" is misleading. All that can be calculated are different possible sampling errors with different probabilities for pure, unweighted, random samples with 100% response rates. These are only theoretical because no published surveys come close to this ideal. Respondents for this survey were randomly selected from among those who have agreed to receive communication from Monster, so no estimates of theoretical sampling error can be calculated.

About Todays Office Professionals

Todays Office Professionals is a premier provider of flexible, temp-to-hire and direct-hire professionals to a diverse portfolio of clients. Founded in 1982, Todays delivers high-quality talent and increased value through its network of 26 offices located across the U.S. Specialties include: administrative and clerical, call center, customer service, legal and financial staffing.

Todays Office Professionals is a division of SFN Group, Inc. SFN operates a family of specialty businesses providing strategic workforce solutions in professional services and general staffing. To learn more, please visit www.todays.com.

SOURCE Todays Office Professionals