the many worlds of administration

Just because someone works in an admin capacity in an office near you doesn’t mean that they will have the same experiences we’ve had. On the surface, the administrative world might appear fairly cookie-cutter: phones, filing and philandering. Okay, maybe not the philandering (depending on the office you attend, of course). We just wanted to use the word. Philandering. It’s phonetically pleasing. Just say it.

But it’s true, the admin thing – not all offices are created equally, and the heartsof offices in all areas don’t necessarily follow the same drum beat. We’ve had the opportunity to work in offices small and large, near and far – urban and rural. And yes, we’ve encountered differences between them that are as vast as the Grand Canyon. From different office cultures to different office clothing, the administrative world is as varied as can be.

We at The Vacant Desk have a few days to fill before we start bemoaning about our pixie-gift-fate, regaling you with tales of unpalatable discount store presents and covert attempts at hiding our identity from those we are the pixie-gifter for. So, in order to give you a wee bit of information on the collective We of office administration are, we thought we’d talk a bit about the differences in the admin world.

We’ll lump people together, make broad assumptions and give generalizations. We’ll sweep the stage with one brush. Somewhere along the way we may offend or inspire you. All outcomes are yours – you own them, not us. We take no responsibility for the discomfort or disappointment that may ensue.

Stay. Read. Be entertained, offended, titillated or whatever else suits your fancy. But, above all else, be warned. It ain’t always pretty – it’s a facade. It’s what we’re paid to do, after all: make things look and sound pretty. And we’re pretty good at it.


~ Paige