by Alex A. Kecskes
Administrative jobs vary widely with two principle ways of payment--by the hour or annual salary.
If you enter the administrative ranks at the bottom, you may be paid on an hourly basis—but not always. Getting an hourly rate has the advantage of being paid exactly for the hours you put in. This can be particularly beneficial if you are asked to work overtime as many firms pay time-and-a-half for over 40 hours--or double time on Sundays. Lately, especially in these hard economic times, some employers have exploited workers by classifying them as salaried by giving them titles like Assistant Manager and working them 16 hours a day. If your primary duties are non-managerial, then you should insist on being on the "hourly clock." The down side to hourly pay is that if you don't complete a full week's work, you won't get a full week's pay.
Generally, mid-level and above administrative jobs will be paid an annual salary. Many firms prefer this method of paying their staff, since it avoids the cumbersome bookkeeping of daily or weekly timesheets and overtime processing. Employers also like the flexibility of being able to work employees overtime or on weekends without worrying about extra pay. Employees benefit because they know exactly how big their weekly or twice monthly paycheck will be, allowing them to plan ahead financially.
If you're applying for an entry level administrative job and considering which method of pay is best for you, researchers from the University of Toronto and Stanford University have found that individuals paid by the hour tended to be happier than salaried employees. The Stanford/Toronto Study was published in Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin.
I've worked both hourly and salaried jobs, and while the pay was lower for hourly work, I never felt used when the boss said come in on Saturday. The film Office Space has a particularly humorous example of salaried exploitation as a worker tries to sneak out of the office on Friday to avoid being tagged for weekend work.
For more information on administrative jobs, check out:
http://www.administrativejobsblog.com/
Alex A. Kecskes has written hundreds of published articles on health/fitness, "green" issues, TV/film entertainment, restaurant reviews and many other topics. As a former Andy/Belding/One Show ad agency copywriter, he also writes web content, ads, brochures, sales letters, mailers and scripts for national B2B and B2C clients.
Administrative jobs vary widely with two principle ways of payment--by the hour or annual salary.
If you enter the administrative ranks at the bottom, you may be paid on an hourly basis—but not always. Getting an hourly rate has the advantage of being paid exactly for the hours you put in. This can be particularly beneficial if you are asked to work overtime as many firms pay time-and-a-half for over 40 hours--or double time on Sundays. Lately, especially in these hard economic times, some employers have exploited workers by classifying them as salaried by giving them titles like Assistant Manager and working them 16 hours a day. If your primary duties are non-managerial, then you should insist on being on the "hourly clock." The down side to hourly pay is that if you don't complete a full week's work, you won't get a full week's pay.
Generally, mid-level and above administrative jobs will be paid an annual salary. Many firms prefer this method of paying their staff, since it avoids the cumbersome bookkeeping of daily or weekly timesheets and overtime processing. Employers also like the flexibility of being able to work employees overtime or on weekends without worrying about extra pay. Employees benefit because they know exactly how big their weekly or twice monthly paycheck will be, allowing them to plan ahead financially.
If you're applying for an entry level administrative job and considering which method of pay is best for you, researchers from the University of Toronto and Stanford University have found that individuals paid by the hour tended to be happier than salaried employees. The Stanford/Toronto Study was published in Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin.
I've worked both hourly and salaried jobs, and while the pay was lower for hourly work, I never felt used when the boss said come in on Saturday. The film Office Space has a particularly humorous example of salaried exploitation as a worker tries to sneak out of the office on Friday to avoid being tagged for weekend work.
For more information on administrative jobs, check out:
http://www.administrativejobsblog.com/
Alex A. Kecskes has written hundreds of published articles on health/fitness, "green" issues, TV/film entertainment, restaurant reviews and many other topics. As a former Andy/Belding/One Show ad agency copywriter, he also writes web content, ads, brochures, sales letters, mailers and scripts for national B2B and B2C clients.
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