Another question. BTW - thank you for the 2 responses I received yesterday.
For those of you on salary - what are your hours, do you skip lunch sometimes do you go home early, what if you work 9-10 hours 1 day, can you work 6-7 hours the next if work is slow. Does anyone have flexibility as a professional being EA for 20 years? What is the current norm for a EA to a high level professional?
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Where I work we're not rigid about keeping track of hours. If there's work to be done we stay and get it done, unless a prior commitment means we need to leave at a certain time. On the other hand, if it's slow and it's a warm sunny day, most of my department can be found on a golf course, and no one cares. As long as the work gets done (correctly of course) and all deadlines are met, that's all that matters. I couldn't tell you how many total hours I put in on any given day. If it's really busy I might eat lunch at my desk. Another day I might go out with friends and take a 2-hour lunch. Or go to a doctor's appointment. Or take the afternoon off to go shopping. We don't track hours except for certain categories: Billable, PTO, Holiday, Training, and Exams (it's an actuarial office and we have a lot of students taking actuarial exams). Other than that, no one keeps track of our coming and going. In the 11 years I've worked here, no one's abused the privilege.
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Anonymous on
3/4/2010 4:28:40 PM
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I have been an Admin Assistant/EA for about 24 years. At my present job I am exempt. We work 37.50 hours per week. When I need to work during lunch due to workload or stay late or come in earlier, my boss allows me to use that as comp time (I do not get paid for it) to use for doctor's appointments, etc. On occasion, I will work late due to a project deadline, but that is a rare occasion. However, I can't use the comp time to take time off if work is slow (which rarely happens). Our company is pretty generous with time off for family occurrences, etc.
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Anonymous on
1/6/2010 10:19:19 AM
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Diana,
Like all the posts before me the answer varies for different companites. I am exempt and have worked two places where I had specific hours and had to be there for those hours pretty much regardless of the circumstances. If I took time for an appointment it had to be made up some how. In all cases, since I am exempt, if the job took longer than an eight hour day, I stayed to finish it.
I now work for a wonderful boss who lets me do just what you are asking about; if I come in early, I can leave early. My schedule is baased on an eight hour day and unless there is a need to stay longer I can go after eight. Some days I come in early AND take a short lunch then go home early.
One respondent mentioned getting this kind of agreement in writing; I don't have that but in my case am not concerned that it will come back on me. Good luck.
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S3 on
11/19/2009 6:38:41 AM
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This is really tough to answer. I am not sure if you can consider any one situation the norm. I have been an EA for over 15 years and have yet to document the times I have stayed late or come in early or even didn't take a lunch. My boss is very busy during the hours of 2 - 7 pm. There are some days that I am here until 7 pm and still go into work the next day on regular time. I think it all depends on you as a person and how your boss feels about the exchange. I am pretty sure if I told my boss that I would be in late because I was in the office until 7 pm she would not mind. As long as, there is nothing critical or important due the next morning.
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Tanya Williams on
11/18/2009 9:53:19 AM
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I work for the federal government. An EA's work schedule is synched with the Executive being Assisted. Our standard is 80 hours of work per pay period (2 weeks) and any time above that is overtime or comp time, anything less is leave. 1/2 hour unpaid lunch per day but two paid 15 minute breaks as well to offset it or build a 1 hour lunch period. If you are working through lunch, something is wrong. No leaving early unless the boss blesses it (fine line here as any absence in the gov't is a form of leave; there is a 59 minute "exception" that is the exception and not the rule.) Some execs have compressed schedules (9 or 10 hour days with one or two scheduled days off during the pay period) which means EA's might as well but usually not (somebody has to hold down the fort).
Hope this helps.
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Anonymous on
11/18/2009 9:08:23 AM
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I have been an EA for a number of years to high level people in law firms. I am exempt. I have typically always worked long hours, mostly ate lunch at my desk (rarely a lunch hour), and no, I have never had flexibility to leave early. I am expected to be a professional, and pretty much work the same hours as my principal. I also have a Blackberry, and respond 24/7. Weekends tend to be light, but there is work nonetheless. I have only been in law firms, so I don't know if it is different in another industry.
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Anonymous on
11/18/2009 8:47:00 AM
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In most large organizations there are standard pay grades and titles for all position groups. Executive Assistant, Executive Secretary, Administrative Assistant are all titles that are commonly used for secretarial support to executives. Your title change may simply be an organizational initiative within your organization. All secretarial support persons report to specific departments or executives and that is generally reflected in each specific job description and can be listed as such on your resume. Any future employers seeking employment verification can seek that specific information at that time. Even executives in organizations who carry titles such as Vice President are usually Vice Presidents of a specific function which is generally defined in each job description and again addressed in their respective resumes. I would not be terribly concerned with this issue. If you are curious you may want to contact Human Resources to see if such an organizational initiative precipitated this change. Years ago in my organization secretarial support positions at the executive level were all organized under the title of Executive Secretary rather than Administrative Assistant. The Human Resources Department knew all about the project they were working on, but we secretarial support folks had no idea until we were asked to come get a new I.D. badge. Although the communication was lacking on this particular project, the pay grade and range remained the same. It just cleaned up all the extraneous titles under one pay grade.
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Anonymous on
11/18/2009 8:43:20 AM
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Salaried employees are expected to work some sort of set hours for the efficient running of the company. My established hours are 8:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. and I work those every day. Most days I work longer. It all depends on the need and project. By the same token, if I have to leave early or come in late for a doctor's appointment or a previously approved personal reason, I am still paid my full salary for that day. The use of paid time off must be used when taking off a full day. Comp time is not recognized. When you are salaried, you are paid to get the job done.
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Anonymous on
11/18/2009 8:06:29 AM
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It DEFINITELY depends on your boss. I have to work through lunch several times a month for meetings. My old boss had an understanding of that and if my child had an activity at school or I had an appointment that would take an hour or two he would allow me to go since I work through all those lunches. New boss doesn't follow that philosophy. I asked to leave 30 minutes early one day and was asked when I would make up the time. I commented that I had worked through 3 lunches in the past 2 weeks and was told that the meetings were part of my job and I should not expect to be compensated for doing my job. So, in my current situation I do not get any of my time back.
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Anonymous on
11/18/2009 7:58:02 AM
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I have been with my current company 11+ years and work for the three top executives. Two are the Owners and one an EVP. There are more days than not that I work more than 8+ hours. In my opionion it goes with the position. However, if I need to leave early or go to the doctor I don't have to record the time. So I guess you could say I am pretty free to come and go as I please but I do not take advantage of it. I have the pleasure of working for three very wonderful men, who are very appreciative of the time I put in. I also believe that when working extra hours, it is noticed by upper level management. I recall a time when I was very sick and was specifically told to stay home until I was well and not to record any time off because I had more than earned enough comp time to cover the leave. I was out about a week and a half. They also come to realize who they can depend on and who they can't. That has definitely been taken into consideration for me when it comes to raise and bonus time.
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Hard Working EA on
11/18/2009 7:57:45 AM
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I am an EA who supports 4 execs. I work in a software company that provides software to the Federal Government. Because we are contractors the majority of our employees have billable hours. I am salaried, but since I'm in the executive area, I do not have billable hours. I need to work enough time in any 2 week period to equal either 80,88 or 90 hours depending on the number of days in that particular pay period. If I go to the doctor's, we can code it sick time and not use vacation time or makeup time. For any hours worked over the amount for that particular pay period, I keep a chart. When I feel I want to use a portion of those hours, I have a discussion with my supervisor and we agree on a code. I can come in anytime between 8:30am and 9am. I usually eat lunch at my desk, but that all depends on what is going on with the execs schedules and my workload. In general this is a very flexible company and I adjust my schedule when and where needed.
Hope this helps.
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Valerie Butler on
11/18/2009 7:46:39 AM
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Please make sure that you and your manager have an agreement regarding your flexibility at work. If you work a 9-10 hours on a single day and chooses to go home early the next day have this in writing and speak with your manager before. Also if you are hourly and work through lunch you should be paid for working your lunch hour. Again, speak with your manager. They can get in trouble with the law if you are not paid for time worked. I have worked in HR for 5 years and these are some of the rules if you are an hourly employee. Hope this helps.
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Charmaine Bather on
11/18/2009 7:38:23 AM
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It really depends on what I have going on that week. At times I do have some flexibility to work through lunch or longer one day and take an hour off another. It is required to happen in the same week though.
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Dee Dee Heffernan on
11/18/2009 7:36:34 AM
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I think it depends on your manager. I have a very flexible schedule. I can work longer hours to take a half day or whole day off without taking vacation. I can use my 2 breaks and take an hour and a half lunch if I need it. I don't have to make up dental or doctor appointmentes, unless I feel I was gone too long (it is up to me). I've been working with my company for 24 years and have worked through the layers of administrative. I've been an Executive Assistant for the last 7 years. My former manager would not let me be as flexible, but this manager does not care as long as my work is done. I even have the option to work from home a day a week if I choose. I just take my work with me. This comes in handy during our winters. I carry work home with me every night so that if the roads are horrible the next day, I can stay home and work. I have a laptop. But, keep in mind, my manager is totally electronic, no paper in his office. He is out of the office a lot and we communicate 85% of the time online or by phone. I make sure I don't take advantage and when I need to let someone know what is going on with my schedule, I make sure one of his direct reports knows what is going on so there is some accountability. Good luck with this.
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Audrey Adams on
11/17/2009 11:16:01 AM
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