What you should and shouldn't ask your assistant to do

Assistant in "The Devil Wears Prada"

Let's talk about the taboos of what you should and shouldn't ask your assistant to do. There are unspoken and unwritten conventions surrounding this. After all, we're not in the 1960s anymore and assistants shouldn't be treated like you've seen in the TV show "Mad Men."

Executive Assistants vs. Personal Assistants

First and foremost, there are some serious differences between "the rules" when someone is a PA vs. an EA. When an assistant, for example, works in a corporate office, the job descriptions will be unique to that industry and company; but HR should approve the job description, and changes must be signed off in writing by all parties involved.

EXECUTIVE ASSISTANTS

• Manage calendars
• Book appointments related to the company
• May have office management duties
• Oversee other office assistants
• Create and edit PPTs for meetings
• Organize professional development
• And the list goes on...

PERSONAL ASSISTANTS

• Plan parties and events for the home
• Pack luggage for family trips
• Run errands: DMV, grocery shopping, etc.
• Walk (and sometimes wash) pets
• Housesitting while the family is away
• Picking the children up from school
• Possibly light cooking 
• And, yes, getting coffee for the boss

While it's true that a personal assistant could have some executive assistant crossover duties if s/he were working in the home office (or Family Office), one can see that the PA and EA duties can be night-and-day different. An executive working in a corporate office shouldn't be asking an EA to do any personal errands or get coffee. 

Assistant job descriptions should be very well-defined

An assistant's job description should be detailed and spell out the following:
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• Job scope with depth and breadth 
• Duties and responsibilities
• Number of hours to be worked each week
• Days to be worked each week
• Salary/hourly wage (when there is overtime)
• Holidays and vacation time
• Benefits package like health insurance, 401K, etc.

In the personal assistant realm, it's admittedly a little more difficult to be as detailed about everything a PA will be doing because it is an A-to-Z job, but that doesn't mean that the boss can keep the PA out to 2:00 am going to nightclubs and asking the assistant to get phone numbers from the ladies in the bar.

If there might be any duties like that (i.e. Lifestyle Management to a traveling billionaire), then it absolutely should be discussed during the interview process; and the compensation package should reflect "combat pay."