by Brianna Crandall — May 2, 2016 — Staples Business Advantage, the business-to-business (B2B) brand of office supply retail giant Staples, celebrated Administrative Professional’s Day on April 27 on its Blog by publishing a lighthearted look at some of the crazy tasks admin professionals have been asked to do by their bosses.
Blog readers and advocates voted to rank the weirdest among the list of unconventional (and sometimes unreasonable) tasks that admin professionals had submitted in response to Staples’ request for feedback.
Here is Staples Business Advantage’s “Top 10 Crazy Things Admins Have Been Asked to Do,” with the worst thing last:
#10 – “I had to buy furniture for my boss’s mother’s birthday.”
#9 – “My boss asked me to go to his home every day at lunch and turn on his garden hose to water his garden while he was gone!”
#8 – “I filled out a claim for my boss’s mother-in-law’s insurance policy!”
#7 – “I had to prepare a resume and job application for my boss’s husband.”
#6 – “I had to find a doctor for one of the execs, and I had to visit the hospital to get updates and relay back to the family.”
#5 – “I was asked to pick up a rental car and meet my boss at the airport with it — then he expected me to take a cab home, all on a Saturday afternoon!”
#4 – “I had to order my own award and go pick it up.”
#3 – “I ran into my boss at a bar while I was with some friends. He told me that if we didn’t sing karaoke for them, I’d get fired. He videotaped it and showed everyone at work the next day!”
#2 – “My boss asked me to go to his home to spread wood chips in his yard. He has acres of land!”
#1 – “I had to hand-deliver $15,000 in cash in a seedy neighborhood to finalize a real estate transaction. I was scared, but I made it through!”
Craziness aside, as Staples Business Advantage reminds, “Professional admins have a significant impact on an organization’s bottom line, from creating a well-stocked breakroom designed to help employees relax and collaborate, to keeping the office on-budget and initiating office wellness plans to keep employees healthy. Today – and everyday – we should thank them for keeping our offices humming behind the scenes.”
See the survey infographic online, and visit the Staples Business Advantage Blog for more tips on office productivity, breakroom management, facilities management, workplace safety and more.
