Administrative Assistant's Update

JANUARY 2016 2 Administrative Assistant's Update is published once a month by Thomson Reuters Canada Ltd. Director, Carswell Media: Karen Lorimer Publisher: John Hobel Editor: George Pearson george@adminupdate.ca Associate Editor: Jennifer Lewington jennifer@adminupdate.ca EDITORIAL OFFICE (519) 271-6000 Administrative Assistant's Update Thomson Reuters Canada Ltd. 1 Corporate Plaza, 2075 Kennedy Road Toronto, ON M1T 3V4 CUSTOMER SERVICE (416) 609-3800 (800) 387-5164 FAX (416) 298-5082 (877) 750-9041 carswell.customerrelations@ thomsonreuters.com Contents copyright. All rights reserved. © 2016 Thomson Reuters Canada Ltd. Contents may not be reproduced without written permission. Brief extracts may be made with due acknowledgement. Annual subscription: $189. Publications Mail Registration No. 40065782 GST# 897176350 UPDATE Administrative Assistant's E D I TO R ' S N OT E George Pearson Work-life balance a job for women – and men The merits and acceptability of striving for work-life balance seem to vary with the gender of the person seeking balance. Last fall the New York Times ("Paul Ryan and Joe Biden: Unlikely Alliance of Working Fathers") noted that U.S. Vice-President Joe Biden and U.S. Congressman Paul Ryan found it "remarkable" that both men very publicly talked about their need to preserve their family time. Said the Times: "Whether or not you believe them, it is significant that they chose to cite family obligations publicly – particularly because they are career-driven, and because they are men. It can hurt men's careers in the short term. But in the long term, if more prominent men talk about family, it could reduce the stigma significantly." The Times noted that it's often taboo, not to mention career inhibiting, for the upwardly mobile to talk about meeting family obligations, then added: "In some ways, Mr. Ryan and Mr. Biden have an easier time talking about family because they are men (and highly successful men). When women mention family, research shows, they tend to be immediately discounted as being uncommitted to their work, and penalized in pay and promotions. When men talk about having children, they are generally rewarded, with higher pay and better jobs." Research also shows that if men ask for accommodations, then they may be subject to penalty – treated like mothers, in other words. U.K columnist Gaby Hinsliff, writing in The Guardian, ("Boys need to learn about juggling work and family too") pointed out that standard career advice dispensed to boys (roughly, swing for the fences) is not inhibited by the inconvenient truth dispensed to girls (trying to combine a career with motherhood is problematic). Suggesting that fatherhood may present obligations that could conflict with career aspirations isn't in the cards. But Hinsliff, who resigned as political editor of the Observer six years ago to spend more time with her son when he was two, said she wants her son "to know that he should follow whatever career he likes regardless of its compatibility with fatherhood, but never assume it's for life." Boys also "need to know that not doing your share domestically kills even the strongest relationships; and that leaving your female colleagues to fight all the workplace battles about flexibility is frankly cowardly." Work-life balance is a goal worth striving for, but it's not women's work alone. Some strategies for developing tact One quality that distinguishes high- performing admins is tact. In recent blog, the MindTools. com editorial team defines tact as "the ability to tell the truth in a way that considers other people's feelings and reactions." MindTools suggests some strate- gies for communicating with tact – not easy to do, especially if one tends to act impulsively: • Be aware of the environment (are others around within earshot?) and think before you speak. Try to see things from others' per- spective. • Find an appropriate time, again considering the other person's situation. • Choose words carefully. Be honest, assertive, concise. Get to the point. The more you say, the more you may regret it later. • Body language is important. Make eye contact, don't cross arms or legs, don't point. • Keep emotions under control. Think about what in the past has caused you to communicate without tact.

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