Problem with Secretary at work... advice please!?

Hi,





I need some advice regarding a work matter. I started a job at a very high profile bank working as Executive Assistant to a senior manager 4 months ago.





There was a secretary who was looking after my boss until I started and she was brilliant to me. She helped me settle into the job, showed me round and gave me information I needed when I was in a fix.





Then a few weeks ago my trains were on strike and my boss said I could work from home on my laptop. I did this and she had a real go at me for not telling her I was doing this. She also made me feel bad as she had to miss a lunch she had planned with friends to pick up some visitors from reception for a meeting as I was not there.





When I returned to work I bought her a huge bunch of flowers and a card to apologise as she had helped me out and missed her lunch. Things were fine for a while until I was off sick for two days with a stomach bug last week. Although I was ill I still did work at home. I left her a message telling her what was happening and received no reply. When I got back to work she didn't ask me how I was and hasn't really spoken to me since. She avoids my calls and emails.





I sent her a long email yesterday night explaining how I felt and that I wasn't sure why she was treating me this way - I have had no reply.





Any advice is welcome please!!Problem with Secretary at work... advice please!?
It sounds to me as if this person is acting rather immature. You have done what you can by explaining to her that this situation was unavoidable. Likewise, I am sure that you have expressed to her your understanding of what she has had to do in your absence, as well as your gratitude and apology for any inconvenience.





At this point, considering all of the above, the proverbial ball is in her court. The next move is hers. Hopefully, she will come to see that treating you poorly is uncalled for at best and immature, at worst. You should obviously do all that you can to ensure that she isn't faced with repeat circumstances in the near future, but other than that, you can do no more than you already have. Of course, you could always just degrade yourself by kissing up to her, but not only is that course of action not necessary, it is also a bad precedent and will likely lead to you being taken advantage of.





Anyway, stop worrying about this lady. This situation is not your fault. All will be well, if it is meant to be. If not, rest well knowing that you have done all that can be expected of you.





I hope this is at least some help to you. Have a wonderful day!!Problem with Secretary at work... advice please!?
Ignore her.
.
I'm the author of the job search book ';Think Like an Interviewer: Your Job Hunting Guide to Success.'; And I had worked in banking for many years. So let me answer your question.





Since I don't know you or your boss, it's very hard to say exactly what's going on here. For example, maybe she didn't actually say you could work at home all the time. Maybe she was saying that you could do some stuff at home, but still needed to come into the branch.





In other words, she may have been allowing you to come in later or not as often because of the strike. For instance, coming in at 11 instead of 8. Or working at home on Mondays and Wednesdays, but coming in on the other days.





But she may not have been allowing you to stay home the entire time--every day. So it could have been a huge miscommunication! Banking is one of those fields where telecommuting all the time would be extremely tough and rare!





Meetings will happen where you need to be there taking notes, distributing stuff, etc. Customers can walk-in and need to be tended to. Problems can arise that need your in-person attention. So it's a job where in-person contact is necessary.





Now it appears as though this miscommuniction really angered your boss. Then you got sick and had to stay home, which angered her further. Now she's at the point where she's really not in a mood to deal with you at all.





Whether or not she'll calm down eventually and things will return to normal I cannot say. It's possible that she'll blow off her steam and then go back to the way things were before. On the other hand, she may not. And if that's the case, she'll continue to be angry and may even let you go.





My suggestion is to go and speak to somebody in human resources about your situation. Let them know what happened and what you felt the arrangement was. And how you feel you are now being unfairly punished for something you were told was ok in the first place.





Also let them know how you tried to smooth things over with your boss. This will show what a nice person you are and that you were trying to apologize.





It's quite possible that human resources will step in and do something about the situation. Especially if they feel that she's in the wrong here. Or if she has a history of treating people in this manner. For all you know, she's pulled nonsense like this before and you're here latest victim.





Or human resources may say it was a misunderstanding on both parts--yours and hers. And suggest you both let it slide for now and just be more specific next time.





A good suggestion for the future is to get any telecommuting arrangement in writing. That way, there's no confusion whatsoever. And there's a paper trail in case something happens along the way.
Dear friend pinkappl,


Do your work with devotion till you are with the company.





Continue to be good friends without hurting each other in your lifetime on the earth.