But some secretaries grumble that their bosses, preferring privacy, do not let them read their e-mail, leaving them in the dark on important matters that other executives ask them about when their boss is traveling. Many secretaries complain that e-mail has meant less personal contact. Several years ago, when her boss sent a memo to the firm's 100 employees, Ms. Guzy would carry a copy to each desk. Now he just sends the memo by e-mail, saving her the 20 minutes it took to distribute it. But she admits to missing the schmoozing while walking from desk to desk.
Secretaries also grouse that e-mail means less contact with their bosses.
They take less dictation, and on matters like setting up meetings or giving phone messages, they often communicate through e-mail rather than face to face. Then there are the glitches and gremlins. Ellen Richards, a secretary for Lolly Togs, a children's apparel company, said executives in her office in Woodbridge, N.J., were baffled when a manager in the New York headquarters sent an e-mail message saying not to forget to meet him for dinner that night in Manhattan. Problem was the message was intended for managers in New York, not New Jersey. Elizabeth Tarpinian, a Wall Street secretary, tells the story of a friend who was peeved because her boss did not buy her flowers on National Secretaries Day.