News & Events
Administrative Professionals
April 01, 2008
The History of Administrative Professionals Day
According to Wikipedia, National Secretaries Week (the predecessor of Administrative Professionals week) was created in 1952. Working with the marketing firm of Young & Rubican, the International Association of Administrative Professionals wanted to encourage people to consider careers in the secretarial and administrative support fields by promoting the value and importance of administrative jobs. In 1981 the name was changed to Professional Secretaries Week and in 200 it was again changed to Administrative Professionals Week. The name changes reflected the changes in responsibilities and the expanding wide range of job titles taking place in the administrative support field.
No matter what you choose to call it, it is an opportunity to show your administrative staff how much you appreciate their hard work and dedication. You may think that a good salary, pleasant office environment and generous benefits are what employees want from a job. These are important of course, but when asked what they wanted, many responded that they wanted respect, to be appreciated and to know that the organization valued their contribution. A sincere "thank you" will go a long way.
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Happy April Fools Day!
The origins of April Fools Day is not clear but it is believed to have come about due to the introduction of the Gregorian calendar. New Years Day (actually it was New Years week) was celebrated from March 25 - April 1 until the calendar was introduced in the late 1500's. As you can imagine, communication at that time was slow and some people did not know of the change until several years later. Others refused to acknowledge the change and continued to celebrate New Years Day on April 1. These individuals were considered "fools" and became the subjects of practical jokes. Most of these jokes consisted of sending the subject on a "fool's errand" such as inviting them to a non existent party. Today, April Fools Day practical jokes may still send people on a fool's errand, but the journey is shorter, like making them look down at a supposedly untied shoe.
Not good at thinking up practical jokes, the internet is full of ideas. There is even a site that lists the 100 best April Fool's hoaxes ever. My favorite from that list is the "Swiss Spaghetti Harvest". In 1957, a respected BBC news show announced that, thanks to a very mild winter and the elimination of the spaghetti weevil, there would be a bumper spaghetti crop that year. The show included footage of people picking strands of spaghetti from trees. Huge numbers of viewers called the station wanting to know how they could grow their own spaghetti trees. They were told to "place a sprig of spaghetti in a tin of tomato sauce and hope for the best". Now there is a great April Fool's joke.
When playing a practical joke, remember, the object is to be funny, not cruel.
April Dates to Remember
- 1st April Fool's Day
- 1st National Fun at Work Day
- 7th No Housework Day
- 10th ASPCA (American Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) Day
- 12th Licorice Day
- 15th Pay Your Taxes Day
- 16th Wear Your Pajamas to Work Day
- 19th Passover
- 22nd Jelly Bean Day
- 23rd Administrative Professionals Day
- 28th Bulldogs are Beautiful Day
