office administration
Changing role of office professionals THE ADMINISTRATIVE ROLE, more than most others, has been profoundly affected by the information revolution, according to Canadian researcher Alice de Wolff. At a meeting of the Office
Worker’s Career Assistance Group of Toronto, Ms. de Wolff noted that office professionals work constantly with new information technologies. They bring the information economy to life and experience the impact of the information revolution on a daily basis. She told her audience about a four-year study of nine Toronto companies with as many as 6,000 employees. A team of researchers, including Ms. de
Wolff, interviewed approximately 650 managers and office workers to determine how the administrative profession has changed. They discovered that office work has changed in three ways.
1. Tasks that formed the core of administrative work are done in new ways, but are still required in most jobs.
2. Complex new tools that administrative professionals use to do these core tasks require office workers to develop technical knowledge and skills and to work constantly to keep their skills current.
3. Reorganization in many workplaces has added new tasks related to specific occupations or industries that require office workers to diversify.
Many office professionals are being asked to do things that fall outside of their traditional support role. For example, a receptionist in a publishing house may be asked to edit manuscripts.
These trends have led to changes in the jobs of office workers, including:
• Intensified workloads, with fewer people handling more tasks and a wider range of responsibilities.
• More complex administrative work with fewer entry-level positions.
• Training responsibilities handled by office staff, particularly in the areas of software and technology. • Fewer office workers with nine-to-five schedules, and many having temporary jobs and flexible schedules. How can administrative
Worker’s Career Assistance Group of Toronto, Ms. de Wolff noted that office professionals work constantly with new information technologies. They bring the information economy to life and experience the impact of the information revolution on a daily basis. She told her audience about a four-year study of nine Toronto companies with as many as 6,000 employees. A team of researchers, including Ms. de
Wolff, interviewed approximately 650 managers and office workers to determine how the administrative profession has changed. They discovered that office work has changed in three ways.
1. Tasks that formed the core of administrative work are done in new ways, but are still required in most jobs.
2. Complex new tools that administrative professionals use to do these core tasks require office workers to develop technical knowledge and skills and to work constantly to keep their skills current.
3. Reorganization in many workplaces has added new tasks related to specific occupations or industries that require office workers to diversify.
Many office professionals are being asked to do things that fall outside of their traditional support role. For example, a receptionist in a publishing house may be asked to edit manuscripts.
These trends have led to changes in the jobs of office workers, including:
• Intensified workloads, with fewer people handling more tasks and a wider range of responsibilities.
• More complex administrative work with fewer entry-level positions.
• Training responsibilities handled by office staff, particularly in the areas of software and technology. • Fewer office workers with nine-to-five schedules, and many having temporary jobs and flexible schedules. How can administrative