The COVID-19 pandemic has brought a global downturn in economic activity, with new social and economic conditions. For executive secretariat professionals, the pandemic has significantly contributed to change the way they operate, their tasks, activity, and importance in the organizations. The present investigation intends to understand the perception of the executive secretarial professionals of companies about the exercise of their profession, before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Results obtained show that there have been significant changes in the new conditions and requirements inherent to the exercise of the profession, in terms of their competencies and responsibilities, as well in the implementation of new forms of work.
TopIntroduction
The work of the executive secretariat professionals began in Portugal in the second half of the last century and, since then, it has undergone several transformations until today. The tasks of these professionals, which were initially considered as simple and routine, have undergone significant changes, largely due to the regulation of the profession and also due to the perception of the importance of the function by the organizational leaders. Several studies show the importance of the secretary/advisor in the performance of organizations, both as an element that supports decision-making and in promoting and managing the relationship between management and subordinates and between the organization and the outside (Maçaneiro & Kuhl, 2013; Sousa, Santos & Nogueira, 2016).
The changing profile of the profession has led secretarial professionals to develop new skills. Today it is required that you have a general and strategic view of the company, in addition to having to solve small daily problems. Thus, in addition to technical skills, these professionals must have behavioural skills, which are increasingly valued.
Currently, we are dealing with yet another global crisis, this time of a sanitary nature, called COVID19, with a negative impact on mortality rates, morbidity, and the ability to perform work duties for a period of time (sometimes, undetermined). The pandemic has also brought a global downturn in economic activity. As a consequence, the new health, social and economic conditions bring new work methods and ways to exercise of the profession.
For executive secretariat professionals, these organizational modifications can significantly contribute to a change in the way they operate. For this purpose, we must take into account that the main activities of these professionals, which traditionally were performed in physical companies, and individually, now cover a large number of employees, who work in more collaborative environments and, often, through digital platforms. These contemporary forms of work often provide executive secretarial professionals with the assistance of a large number of executives and entrepreneurs (Mesquita, Oliveira & Sequeira, 2019).
The growth of more flexible forms of work is characteristic of the 21st century, since widespread access to the internet and technological development make it possible to carry out work activities regardless of where the employee is located.
In this follow-up, it is possible to assess the evolution of the role of the secretarial professional in the organization, as well as the responsibility and tasks that are inherent to it. Accompanying these changes, the growing demand for personal and technical skills is also evident.
Thus, the present study proposal focuses on an investigation that aims to understand the perception of the executive secretarial professionals of companies about the exercise of their profession, before and during the COVID19 pandemic.
The starting question that guides the study is:
“What is the impact of the COVID19 pandemic on the secretarial function in organizations, with regard to the importance, tasks and skills of secretarial professionals?”
In order to answer the starting question, the following research objectives were defined:
- 1.
understand the secretarial professional's perception of the importance of their role within the organization;
- 2.
list the tasks that the secretarial professional assumes as his/her responsibility;
- 3.
determine which skills the secretarial professional identifies as determining for the exercise of his/her profession;
- 4.
compare the evolution of the function, in terms of importance, tasks and skills of the secretarial professional, in the period before and after the emergence of the pandemic.
In order to understand the most recent dynamics and to respond to the objectives of the investigation, we resorted to the application of a questionnaire survey to employees who work as secretaries in associated companies of the Business Association of the Leiria Region (hereinafter referred to as NERLEI), in Portugal. It is, therefore, an empirical study of a quantitative nature.