I love my posse and it ain’t no joke!
—Disco Dave
—Disco Dave
The most undervalued and overworked people in business are support staffers: IT workers, secretaries, administrative assistants, executive assistants, receptionists, and mailroomers. In over 12 years, everywhere I went the support staff was the backbone of the company. But more often than not, they were treated like the tailbone.
Again, I didn’t grow up around CEOs or execs; support staffers were my first exposure to the corporate world so I never looked down on those jobs. But once I got into business I saw lots of folks do just that.
I watched execs consistently dump work on secretaries at the last minute while yelling at them over every little thing. I saw assistants insult support staffers just because a presentation went bad. I watched people tee off on mailroom workers and receptionists just because. I saw IT folks get yelled at because execs couldn’t follow basic computer instructions. I saw folks fresh out of school roll into companies treating secretaries and mailroomers like crap and get away with it. It’s like they saw support staffers as office furniture, only easier to replace.
On the whole, support staffers were my favorite people wherever I worked. From “Joyce,” “Connie,” and “Tommy” to “Cindy,” “Alex,” and “Odie” they’re the ones I miss most. We’d hang out in the mailroom. Goof off at lunch. Hit the bars, etc. We didn’t always have stuff in common, but we got along. They had perspective. Work was just a job to them. Plus they were smart—they knew how things ran and how to get things done. Speaking of which:
On a slightly selfish tip: support staffers are incredible sources of insider info. Secretaries know all the gossip: Who’s doing who… Who’s on drugs… Who’s on thin ice… Mailroom folks see everyone’s mail before they do. And whenever someone gets fired or laid off, some type of support staffer is in on it.
I’m not much of a gambler, but for my money the smartest person at any company is that one old secretary who’s been there for like 15 years. She’s probably got enough dirt to raise 8 kinds of hell, but she’s smart enough to keep quiet and stay above it all. She just does her job, goes home and keeps her benefits.
And let’s not forget IT. (Fred?! Fred?! Fred?!) Ever seen a company when the servers crash? Or when its ISP/office email system goes down? There’s nothing like watching adults panic because “the ‘thingy’ just froze again.” In between catastrophes, it’s the IT folks who’re debugging viruses from the spam they warned you 25 times not to open. They’re upgrading networks and firewalls, and of course recovering the crucial files you deleted because you didn’t pay attention when they showed you how to back stuff up. Plus they’re monitoring emails so the execs know who’s downloading porn and trashing the company online. And when the pink-slips start flying, it’s IT that shuts down your computer while you’re getting your walking papers.
So whether you’re an exec or an entry-level type, recognize the truth: Support staffers run things. You’d be stuck with notepads, pencils, rotary phones, typewriters, and getting about half as much work done with out ‘em. Peace and blessings to support staffers everywhere. Without you, we’d all be charities.
Again, I didn’t grow up around CEOs or execs; support staffers were my first exposure to the corporate world so I never looked down on those jobs. But once I got into business I saw lots of folks do just that.
I watched execs consistently dump work on secretaries at the last minute while yelling at them over every little thing. I saw assistants insult support staffers just because a presentation went bad. I watched people tee off on mailroom workers and receptionists just because. I saw IT folks get yelled at because execs couldn’t follow basic computer instructions. I saw folks fresh out of school roll into companies treating secretaries and mailroomers like crap and get away with it. It’s like they saw support staffers as office furniture, only easier to replace.
On a slightly selfish tip: support staffers are incredible sources of insider info. Secretaries know all the gossip: Who’s doing who… Who’s on drugs… Who’s on thin ice… Mailroom folks see everyone’s mail before they do. And whenever someone gets fired or laid off, some type of support staffer is in on it.
I’m not much of a gambler, but for my money the smartest person at any company is that one old secretary who’s been there for like 15 years. She’s probably got enough dirt to raise 8 kinds of hell, but she’s smart enough to keep quiet and stay above it all. She just does her job, goes home and keeps her benefits.
And let’s not forget IT. (Fred?! Fred?! Fred?!) Ever seen a company when the servers crash? Or when its ISP/office email system goes down? There’s nothing like watching adults panic because “the ‘thingy’ just froze again.” In between catastrophes, it’s the IT folks who’re debugging viruses from the spam they warned you 25 times not to open. They’re upgrading networks and firewalls, and of course recovering the crucial files you deleted because you didn’t pay attention when they showed you how to back stuff up. Plus they’re monitoring emails so the execs know who’s downloading porn and trashing the company online. And when the pink-slips start flying, it’s IT that shuts down your computer while you’re getting your walking papers.
So whether you’re an exec or an entry-level type, recognize the truth: Support staffers run things. You’d be stuck with notepads, pencils, rotary phones, typewriters, and getting about half as much work done with out ‘em. Peace and blessings to support staffers everywhere. Without you, we’d all be charities.
Worse comes to worse my peoples come first.
—Dilated Peoples
—Dilated Peoples
