Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, February 19, 1995 TAG: 9502170009
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: F-2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: CAROL KLEIMAN CHICAGO TRIBUNE
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
That is especially true in female-dominated professions, and, in particular, for secretaries, one of the most important jobs in any company.
To find out more about the status of secretaries, the American Management Association, based in New York, decided to poll them in person. The spot they chose was the association's recent conference in San Francisco for executive secretaries and administrative assistants.
The survey was conducted by Technometrica Inc., a research firm in Emerson, N.J.
One of the results: 36 percent of 896 secretaries interviewed reported that their salaries still are tied to their supervisor's rank or progress.
This means that, despite the work a secretary performs, the amount of money in her paycheck is not based on what she knows or what she does but on her boss' title.
Almost as disturbing was the finding that shows almost two-thirds of the secretaries still do personal tasks for their bosses.
No one faults secretaries for saying "yes" when asked to buy birthday or anniversary presents, run errands or get coffee. Because the power balance is tilted toward the supervisor, most secretaries believe they have no choice but to comply. Only the most determined refuse, firmly explaining that personal errands are not part of their job descriptions.
What is shocking is that the survey shows that more than 60 percent of their bosses still think it's OK to ask a secretary to use her invaluable skills in such a mindless way - despite the importance to the bottom line of how she spends her time.
``In many companies, the secretary is where the buck stops,'' said Andrea Iadanza, association conference director.
Iadanza adds that 51 percent report they spend at least one hour a week correcting other people's mistakes. She does not say whether anyone thanks them for their efforts.
Even some of the good news is mixed with bad. Although in 1994 the nation's 3.6 million secretaries earned an average of less than $20,000 a year, 31 percent of the secretaries in the association's study earned more than $36,000 and 74 percent got a raise last year.
But the raises were not large, according to the report: More than half were less than 5 percent of salary, and only 7 percent got 10 percent or more. Of the 40 percent who got raises of at least 5 percent, only 35 percent expected to get that much this year.
Longevity only pays off for a minority of secretaries: 27 percent of those in the same job for 10 years or more earn $40,000 a year.
Though education is generally an important variable in salary classification, support staff are often excluded from that yardstick.
Secretaries in the survey were well educated: 78 percent have at least some college. Of that number, 18 percent have two-year degrees and 11 percent four-year degrees.
Although salary increases are small, there is a widespread increase in secretarial responsibilities, as computer use transforms jobs and downsizing wreaks its havoc.
Secretaries say that's the reason they are now getting the training they've always wanted in order to advance: 47 percent of the secretaries now spend at least 20 hours a year in training programs.
The training, they report, is geared toward learning to do the work previously performed by supervisors and lower-level managers - although many of the secretaries already did the work, without formal training or proper compensation.
The survey indicates that progress is slow when it comes to the professional status of secretaries, while things are moving faster in corporate response to family responsibilities.
Among those surveyed, child care was listed as the most important ``social'' issue. Forty-five percent of those responding are mothers; 10 percent are raising their children alone.
One-third of the secretaries say their companies offer some help with child care, a fairly high percentage. Yet, 29 percent said child care has ``the highest priority'' among benefits they do not receive.
That priority is held across professions: According to a study by the Families and Work Institute, reported in Working Mother magazine, 46 percent of the 3,000 women surveyed accepted their current jobs because of the employer's family-friendly policies.
Among employed women, concern about child care is widespread - regardless of the rank of their bosses.
by CNB