Few flowers for staff appreciation day

Today is Administrative Professionals Day, and while office support staffers, assistants, clerks and receptionists should reap tokens of recognition, those flowers and special lunches might look skimpier than past years.

The unofficial workplace holiday that began as the high point of National Secretaries Week in 1952 is passing through another turbulent time as the sour economy prompts bosses to cut back on traditional signs of appreciation. Reflecting changing workplace roles, mostly occupied by women, it became Professional Secretaries Week in 1981 and then Administrative Professionals Week in 2000.

"Without a shadow of doubt, the economy is affecting this traditional day because flowers are luxury items that can be stricken from the budget very quickly," said Dale Hulbert, owner of Coddingtown Florist since 1991.

Hulbert said the stumbling economy prompted him to find a new angle -- promoting seasonal mixes of California-grown flowers and Sonoma County-bred roses as a special way to recognize co-workers.

Others, such as Raley's food stores, are offering a variety of differently priced bouquets along with deli trays and greeting cards aimed at that special "administrative assistant."

"We're trying to meet customer demand, and a lot of those people may not even be aware of the holiday," said Amy Johnston, Raley's communication specialist at the Sacramento headquarters. "We try to make it convenient to pick up flowers or a party tray for a luncheon."

Dave Weeks, owner for 47 years of Montgomery Village's Flowerland, said the unofficial holiday "pretty much fell off the map when the computer became common at work." Weeks said he doubts that Flowerland will be doing very many deliveries to businesses today.

"I would love to do that business, but there is not a market for it," Weeks said. "Mother's Day, Valentine's Day and Easter are now the big florist holidays."

A special week honoring secretaries was created by the Young & Rubicam advertising agency as part of a campaign for the National Secretaries Association. That group, now renamed International Association of Administrative Professionals and headquartered in Kansas City, still aims to encourage young people to take up careers in administrative office support.

Emily Hoffman, the association's communications specialist, said that small or group lunches and luncheon seminars centered on workplace themes are more common ways of recognizing office co-workers than are gifts of flowers or candy.

At Sonoma County government offices, where many of the 5,000 employees are office workers, human resources director Ann Goodrich said many supervisors are hosting "communal lunches" this week.

"Flowers are not part of it, and the taxpayers don't pay for any of it," Good-rich said.

Lisa Maldonado of the North Bay Labor Council said office workers aren't likely to shun signs of appreciation from supervisors. However, she added, "our motto would be raises, not roses."

You can reach Staff Writer Bleys W. Rose at 521-5431 or bleys.rose@ pressdemocrat.com.