Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, April 24, 1994 TAG: 9404220130
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: F-4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BY SHERI VAZZANO KNIGHT-RIDDER NEWSPAPERS
DATELINE: DULUTH, MINN. LENGTH: Long
"Transferring a call" meant plugging the right wire into a switchboard.
"Faxing" wasn't in anybody's vocabulary. The mail carrier was the one who transmitted information.
After nearly 40 years as a secretary, Rapp said technological advancements - such as computers, copiers, voice mail and fax machines - have made her career more rewarding than ever before. She now has time to focus on more important tasks.
"I certainly have not mourned the loss of carbon paper," said Rapp, who now works for Manpower Temporary Services in Duluth.
Technology and social change have caused the rebirth of the traditional secretary. Today, secretaries are more likely to be the new "assistant" or "support staff" member. Slowly disappearing are traditional secretarial chores such as answering telephones and taking dictation. Making coffee and doing personal favors for the boss have become exceptions, not the rule.
Some secretaries are even being called on to fill in for middle managers phased out by corporate downsizing. Secretaries' pay, however, is not measuring up with the increased responsibilities, experts say.
Drafting budgets, writing department summaries and developing company manuals and spreadsheets are examples of the more important duties now regularly done by today's version of the secretary. And their bosses are now able to type their own documents on personal computers.
But technological advancement is a double-edged sword. While it is making secretaries' jobs easier, it's also reducing the need for them. Computer programs can do many office tasks without human help. Throw in the issue of corporate downsizing, and the result is fewer secretaries nationwide.
In addition to technology, social change also is making secretaries' jobs easier. Growing intolerance of sexism and the trend toward worker empowerment are helping secretaries play more significant roles in the corporate structure.
Also, changes in corporate philosophy may make the job more enjoyable. Mary Jo Kryger, who has worked as a secretary for Minnesota Power in Duluth for nearly 15 years, said the trend toward a team approach as opposed to the traditional boss-secretary relationship gives her a sense of ownership in her job and her company.
Maripat Blankenheim, of 9 to 5, the National Association of Working Women in Milwaukee, said more secretaries are starting their first jobs with two- and four-year college degrees. Most have had formal computer training.
"In many cases, secretaries have been called on to fill the positions of middle managers who have been let go due to downsizing," she said.
But despite the greater responsibilities and increase in education, secretaries aren't taking home significantly larger paychecks, Blankenheim said.
The average pay for secretaries nationwide is about $18,500 a year, Blankenheim said.
Cheryl Christensen, branch manager of Manpower Temporary Services in Duluth, said computer knowledge will soon be factored into secretaries' salaries. Now, 90 percent of secretarial positions her company fills require computer skills. The secretaries who fill those slots are paid nearly $2 an hour more than workers without those skills.
While computers are helping secretaries earn more money, they also are hurting them. Computer programs are doing many of the tasks once done by secretaries. The programs can search files for customers whose orders reach a certain level and send them flowers. They can automatically distribute monthly sales reports or check employees' calendars to plan department meetings.
Meanwhile, corporate downsizing has forced companies to function with fewer employees - including fewer secretaries. While the U.S. work force grew by 14 percent in the past decade, the number of secretaries, stenographers and typists dropped nearly 13 percent, to about 3.4 million, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
But the decline in the number of secretaries is mostly being seen on either coast, where the recession seems have taken its steepest toll, experts say.
\ HOW DO SECRETARIES VIEW THEIR BOSSES?\ IN OBSERVANCE OF PROFESSIONAL SECRETARIES WEEK, INDUSTRYWEEK MAGAZINE ASKED A NUMBER OF THEM TO CRITIQUE THEIR BOSSES. HERE ARE SOME OF THE COMMENTS.\ \ Jane, who has been a secretary for more than 35 years, says: "What has bothered me over the years is that when I had a difficult or incompetent boss, I couldn't fire him; but I've seen bosses fire difficult or incompetent secretaries. Will the day ever arrive when a secretary can fire her boss if he doesn't measure up to her standards?"
\ Linda contrasts two of the six plant managers she has worked for over a 20-year career: "Harry and Sam were fine men to work for. They were respectful, caring, sensitive and understanding. Harry knew his job and did it well. Sam, on the other hand, was . . . unable to make a decision. Eventually, he was removed. But as far as I was concerned, I enjoyed working for him as a person, not as a plant manager."
\ Lisa complained about one boss who would vigorously correct her smallest mistake. And there was the "great noncommunicator," who almost never spoke to his secretary, preferring instead to give her instructions on a small note pad. Several secretaries complained that it was extremely difficult to work for someone they didn't trust. "Dick oozed charm," Alice said, "but he lacked integrity and honesty and, therefore, made my job very difficult."
\ FACTS FOR SECRETARIES WEEK\ PROFESSIONAL SECRETARIES WEEK IS TODAY THROUGH APRIL 30. WEDNESDAY IS PROFESSIONAL SECRETARIES DAY, AN OBSERVANCE BEGUN IN 1952 TO DRAW ATTENTION TO THE OCCUPATION, WHICH AT THE TIME HAD A SHORTAGE OF SKILLED WORKERS.\ \ A professional secretary is defined as "an executive assistant who possesses a mastery of office skills, demonstrates the ability to assume responsibility without direct supervision, exercises initiative and judgement and makes decisions within the scope of assigned authority," according to Professional Secretaries International, a Kansas City, Mod. trade group.
\ There are 4,228,000 secretaries employed in the U.S. and the occupation adds about 386,000 new jobs, a growth rate of about 12 percent.
\ In Virginia, there are 484,794 people working at jobs classified as administrative support and clerical work; 20,968 in the Roanoke metropolitan area.
\ Employment in the secretarial field is growing at an average rate nationally and in Virginia with fastest growth among medical secretaries and the slowest for stenographers. In Virginia, slightly more people are completing training for secretarial jobs each year than the expected number of openings.
\ Average wages for secretaries are $17,004 a year nationally, $13,058 to $18,762 in Virginia and $20,488 in the Roanoke metropolitan area.\ \ Source: Virginia Employment Commission, U.S. Labor Department, Professional Secretaries International.
by CNB