How many times do we have an opportunity to tell someone
they are a fool and then laugh about it? We have one day a year for such
foolishness and that is April first, April fool’s Day. There are many stories
and thoughts about how this worldwide prank day came to be celebrated. Feeling
spring in the air is probably one of the best explanations for me.
There is however, a day of great importance in April, that everyone needs to be aware of, and no it’s not tax day, you already know about that one! It is a day with a history behind it. It started as National Secretary's Day in 1952. The concept was created by Harry F. Klemfuss of Young and Rubicam Advertising agency. He was in Public Relations and thought that Secretaries needed to be recognized for their great contribution to the many businesses, corporations and non-profit agencies where they worked. I remember one Secretaries Day speaking for a city Chamber of Commerce when women picketed outside saying the name should be changed. It was only a few years later that the day became National Assistants Day. They spoke up and things changed.
There is however, a day of great importance in April, that everyone needs to be aware of, and no it’s not tax day, you already know about that one! It is a day with a history behind it. It started as National Secretary's Day in 1952. The concept was created by Harry F. Klemfuss of Young and Rubicam Advertising agency. He was in Public Relations and thought that Secretaries needed to be recognized for their great contribution to the many businesses, corporations and non-profit agencies where they worked. I remember one Secretaries Day speaking for a city Chamber of Commerce when women picketed outside saying the name should be changed. It was only a few years later that the day became National Assistants Day. They spoke up and things changed.
However, many Assistants today find themselves doing the work of two people and many times taken advantage of, yelled at, bullied and stimulated to live in fear. As the Communication LifeStyle Expert™ I see Personal, Administrative and Executive Assistants who live in fear, have a LifeStyle of overwork, and underpay with thoughts of losing their job if they speak up. This of course affects their Health and therefore their LifeStyle.
That is why I was excited to stand with Bonnie Low-Kramen Speaker and Author of Be the Ultimate Assistant as she launched her Speak up Pledge campaign at the Today Show in Rockefeller Plaza on April 2. Bonnie, the Ultimate Speaker herself and Assistant to Olympia Dukakis and her husband Louis Zorich for 25 years wants to have 1 million of you sign her Speak up pledge for better communication in the workplace. Most Administrative Professionals are women and they need to Speak up and Speak out so things can change for them and the workplace. So please go to http://WWW.Speakupledge.com and sign a pledge to Speak Up especially if you are staff or in management. This will make for a better workplace everywhere.
Oh! And don’t forget National Assistants Day which has now evolved to Administrative Professionals Day April 22 and now recognized as Administrative Professionals Week also. April 19-25 2015. Please share this with friends and peers worldwide. Thanks Bonnie for this much needed awareness of changes to be made. Personally I feel that if all Administrative Assistants and Administrative Professionals in the United States took the same day off, all businesses would collapse and our country would be in ruins
The Communication LifeStyle Expert™
Keynote/Breakout Speaker and Authority on Body Language
Thank you Carolyn! Great post that has me thinking about where my communication is falling short.
ReplyDeleteGood info. Carolyn.
ReplyDelete