Administrative Assistant's Update

JANUARY 2019 P R O F E S S I O N A L D E V E L O P M E N T F O R C A N A D A ' S O F F I C E S U P P O R T S T A F F Administrative Assistant's UPDATE UPDATE PM #40065782 INSIDE A positive workplace � � � � � � � 2 7 tips to help you influence your exec and others A governance role? � � � � � � � � � 3 Build on your EA skills and curiosity to become a pro Promoting diversity � � � � � � � � 5 The nitty gritty of how to find common ground Creating documentation� � � � � 6 Create detailed explanatory docs with Microsoft Recorder Is your workplace ready for Gen Z? Generation Z, now comprising 13 to 23-year-olds, is about to hit the workforce. Employers who want to hire the cream of the crop need to think like these social media-savvy recruits, according to a Randstad Canada blog post. Among the recommendations, employers should: • adopt a mobile-friendly policy for employees; • be socially conscious to demon - strate shared values with employ- ees; • design a workspace with well-lit and colourful surroundings and a relaxed dress code; • embrace social media to commu- nicate corporate values; • provide a "stellar" candidate experience. Continued on page 4 By Jennifer Lewington AAU Associate Editor Workplace bullies are no fun to be around, inflicting damage in various forms: snide remarks; intimidating behaviour; harassment; imposition of unachievable job demands; and, in the worst cases, unwanted sexual advances. For admin professionals, typically influential but lacking formal power, co-existing with the workplace bully (who might also be the boss) can be an emotionally draining experience that erodes on-the-job productivity. But workplace respect advocates say administrative and executive as - sistants don't have to suffer in silence – or fear. "You are not powerless," says Paul Pelletier, a Vancouver-based consul- tant and author of newly published The Workplace Bully- ing Handbook. "You may feel it but you are not." He encourages victims of workplace bullies to adopt strategies for success. First, find ways to work together, not alone. Take time to document the bad behaviour. Orga- nize as a group to report the accumu- lated incidents to human resources (or appropriate managers) given their difficulty in responding to a single complaint about possibly hearsay incidents. "Hopelessness and vulnerability are what kill people," says Pelletier, who says the power imbalance be- tween a bullying boss and the admin professional changes when a response plan is put in place. "Everything shifts. It is not: 'I have no power,'" he says. A collaborative approach, he adds, "changes your perspective and that can be game-changing just to manage and cope with stress." Even with the global rise of the "Me Too" movement against sexual harassment and assault in recent years, fueled by high-profile scandals, workplace bullying remains an all-too- common phenomenon. Last fall, a national poll of 1,875 adults over the age of 16 by Forum Research Inc., found that 55 per cent of respondents said they or a co-work - Paul Pelletier Mobilize colleagues: You are not alone Neutralizing the bully Credit: Ron and Joe (Shutterstock)

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