MAKING your boss a cup of coffee is one thing but buying his wife’s birthday present is a step too far, according to a Save Our Secretaries campaign.

The misuse of secretaries’ time amounts to a staggering £8.45 billion lost by UK businesses every year, according to a report by The Times Creme Executive Secretary & PA Event.

The rise of the PC and easy-to-use software such as Word and Excel has freed up secretaries from some of the more mundane admin tasks – instead it seems they are being tied up sorting out their boss’s personal life.

It surveyed just under 3,000 secretaries, 87 per cent of whom say they are regularly asked to carry out non-business chores for their boss, such as booking personal holidays. While over a quarter (35 per cent) reported being tasked to pick up dry cleaning or get their boss’s shoes re-heeled as part of their daily tasks.

When asked how many hours they “waste” doing personal favours for their boss, more than one third said they spend up to five hours every week outside of their normal secretarial duties.

This equates to 1,300 hours spent doing non-work related jobs every year, at an average of £10 per hour – that’s billions squandered by businesses who should really know better.

What’s more, errands are only the tip of the iceberg.

More than half of those quizzed said their boss had asked them to tell white lies on their behalf and even help them to cover-up their extra-marital affairs.

One in 10 admitted regularly lying to their boss’s other half about their whereabouts.

Now many secretaries and PAs are educated to degree level and have a high level of specialist industry knowledge, is this really the best use of their time?

Simon Mayle, from The Times Crème Show, was surprised by the results.

He said: “PAs and secretaries are often the unsung heroes and it’s vital to UK businesses that they are treated with the respect they deserve and that their value is realised now.

“They are very much part and parcel of the British workforce but could die out if this trend continues to rise.

“Many bosses are still wasting hours of secretaries’ time on menial tasks, so we’re asking them to come down to the show and support the campaign by singing a petition to ‘Save Our Secs’, to highlight the importance of secretaries in UK business and ultimately help businesses save moeny by using their time properly.”

Executive secretaries and PAs are advised to agree a set job description with their boss at the outset and to use their tact to point out that certain chores may not be the best use of their time.

Establishing that your skills could be more beneficial to the business in other ways is tricky but impress with bigger projects and point out that performing certain tasks will take you away from these.

PAs could also suggest their company makes use of a lifestyle concierge service for its executives – this may work out more cost-effective in the long run.