This office ritual has got to go

No images? Click here

This email was sent

April 27, 2022 8:45am EDT

Is this your brand on Milled? Claim it.

Matte tone:

Happy Administrative Professionals Day! ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

APRIL 27, 2022

Talking Points

Time to Cancel This Weird Corporate Holiday

In case you didn’t have it marked in your calendar (it’s ok, we didn’t either), today is Administrative Professionals Day, the one day a year when administrative support staff get flowers and taken out to lunch. Originally called Secretary’s Day, this demeaning (and slightly sexist) corporate holiday has been around since 1952, and it’s about time that we stop celebrating it.

Why, you ask? There is nothing wrong with showing appreciation for the hardworking people who answer calls, schedule meetings, prepare documents and a million other important tasks. After all, the holiday was originally intended to stress how important it was for them to be paid fairly and make sure they’re giving sufficient training and development opportunities, as reported by Slate, but the message got lost in translation in the last 70 years.

Let these support staffers explain:

“When it comes to under-appreciation and lack of advancement in the workplace, flowers and chocolate are worse than nothing because they are insulting. I want better pay. I want promotion opportunities. I am not going to participate in some charade where I pretend to feel appreciated one day every year by the organization that doesn’t respect my work the rest of the time.”
“Our manager thinks it’s a great day for her to take us all to lunch to show how much we’re appreciated. It’s hollow. We don’t get raises, evaluations, or cost of living increases, and we lost paid holidays and have fewer sick days now. Our paychecks go down almost every year because insurance goes up. So no, this stupid lunch I’m being forced to enjoy on Wednesday does NOTHING for morale. It just makes me mad I have to give up my 30 minutes of unpaid free time to participate.”

And what’s even worse? Some companies take every single woman in the office out to lunch or treat them with flowers… which just shows how the holiday is deeply entrenched in outdated gender norms.

“All the women would arrive to work to find a lovely single red rose (in a vase, of course, tied with a pretty pink or red ribbon) on her desk. And, I do mean ALL the women. From the Controller all the way to the actual Admin Assistant, regardless of what the woman’s actual role was.”

So, administrative work = women’s work? Maybe instead of wasting money on meaningless flowers and artisanal cupcakes, companies would pay their administrative employees a competitive salary and actually show appreciation for keeping the office’s day-to-day running smoothly? One day of celebration is simply not enough.

Snacks

🏢 Working in an office is just not the vibe for Gen Z.

🧺 The Wing’s controversial co-founder, Audrey Gelman, has a new business venture.

🙌 This serum will fade stubborn spots and acne scars in just 4 weeks *and* strengthen your skin’s precious barrier—it’s practically skincare magic in a bottle. Use the code GIRLBOSS10 for 10% off.*

🐦 Twitter’s sex workers really hope Elon Musk will leave them alone.

💼 Liza Miller from Younger knows this struggle all too well.

🧘‍♀️ Even when you’re doing your best—practicing gratitude, setting boundaries—it still doesn’t feel like it’s enough. Maybe this will help?*

👏 Take it from Lilly Singh—success has nothing to do with how busy you are.

*This link is sponsored

THE STUFF WE LOVE

Staff Picks

Mini Shoulder Bag in Black Croc, Hyer Goods, $195

The Time-Saving Tool

Not-so-fun fact: We spend more time coordinating our schedules than actually working. Let that sink in… Imagine all of the other things you could accomplish in a day if you didn’t have endless back-to-back meetings? Notion, the all-in-one workspace, cuts the number of meetings in half by allowing you to create a customized workflow for your team. No more urgent “wait, what’s the context of this?” Slack messages from the marketing department—everything from project updates to due dates and important documents all live in one place.*

*This link is sponsored

Try Now

Prim Botanicals The Debauchery Detox Coffee and Charcoal Body Scrub, Girlboss Goods, $25

The Charcoal and Coffee Body Scrub

Uh, you mean aside from the name? Okay, let’s see, the mix of Hawaiian charcoal and Philippine Barako coffee that come together for a seriously refreshing exfoliating experience. But the scrub isn’t all about the, well, scrubbing. The hydrating Amazonian oils like andiroba and pracaxi treat and tone the skin, help reduce the appearance of stretch marks and target eczema and psoriasis. Sorry sugar scrubs, we’ve moved on.

Shop Now

Hugget, Bearaby, starting at $29

The Stress-Relieving Pillow

These knotted pillows—available in three sizes—not only look like they came straight from our Pinterest boards, but they’re designed to soothe your senses. They’re sustainably hand-crafted from Melofoam, a plant-based foam, and 100% organic cotton. The smallest, palm-sized pillow doubles as a stress ball, the medium one is perfect for hugging and squeezing away tension and the largest pillow might just kick your childhood teddy bear out of bed.

Shop Now

Job Board

JOB OF THE DAY

Business Strategy & Operations,
Notion

The mission of the Business Strategy & Operations team is to bring data insight, operational capability and business expertise to drive the growth of Notion. We partner with the executive team to define Notion's business strategy, drive cross-functional projects and unlock new growth opportunities. Our team provides strategic perspectives and analytical horsepower to solve critical business strategy, optimization and operations problems across the organization.

APPLY IF YOU HAVE: 3+ years of experience in highly strategic, operational, and analytical environments e.g. business operations, investment banking, strategy consulting, private equity or venture capital. The ability to solve complex business problems, think from first principles, and build scalable processes. Experience in efficient insight generation, quickly arriving at a conclusion and logical next steps. A proven track record of building strong collaborative relationships with people from a variety of backgrounds and disciplines.