US Secretary Positions Plummet 63%
Impact of Office Automation and Staff Reductions
With the advancement of information technology (IT) such as artificial intelligence (AI), the job environment is changing. In particular, in the United States, secretary positions that assist corporate executives are disappearing due to office automation.
On the 12th (local time), the American daily The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported, "As many tasks become automated, secretary positions have become rare." Secretaries have traditionally been responsible for managing executives' schedules and preparing reports.
However, secretary positions are disappearing recently due to layoffs and office automation driven by IT development. For example, executives easily schedule appointments through the scheduling service "Calendly" without the help of secretaries, and write messages using the conversational AI "ChatGPT."
Additionally, budget constraints due to recent recession concerns have led executives to use remote assistants or even not have secretaries at all.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, as of 2021, the number of secretaries and administrative assistants supporting executives was 508,000, a 63% decrease compared to 2000.
Jerry Maginnis, senior advisor at the consulting firm Sentry Business Consulting, said, "Nowadays, it is very rare to have dedicated administrative support staff."
He added, "Younger professionals are more skilled with technology than previous generations and can solve problems on their own without others' help," and "they prefer to handle routine tasks themselves even after being promoted."
Some executives perceive having a secretary as sharing their personal information and therefore prefer to handle routine tasks alone.
Also, among startup CEOs, it is often reported that they do not hire secretaries to demonstrate that they are managing humbly and efficiently.
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