In December 2016, after juggling both a visual art practice and a secretarial day job in higher education, the tea and coffee-making facilities finally crashed onto the rocks in Narragonia and I became the Vice-Chancellor’s Fool – playing with my Pippa doll and making an HR horror picture show with my little people. It’s a real shame we’re not up for an equality award – we’ve polished quite a few..
‘Laughter would be bereaved if snobbery died’ – Peter Ustinov
..and all of us working in admin support, would be most upset. Let me bring some art school to the office and introduce you to the admin team currently working hard on Instagram:
PA Pippa
Our long-suffering vintage Palitoy admin dolly from the 1970’s is still stuck in her university admin career and works in the Future Excellence Engagement Section (FEES). She works for both Professor Sasha and the Vice-Chancellor at the University of Admin. Pippa can be found sipping her gin, making inspirational slide decks, deactivating robots, playing with her VR head-set, gazing at Robert Redford posters and mopping the floor.
Intern Billy Bratz Dolly
Our Millennial dolly endured a short sharp stint in Finance and has never fully recovered (see photo). Pippa took him under her wing and is very protective, especially when robots are around, but most awkwardly, he is now her line-manager.
Secretary Sindy
..is an old vintage Pedigree PA in the dreaded Humanoid Resources and Pippa’s best friend. We don’t want to stir up trouble (!) but there was a ‘dalliance’ in the summer. The question on everyone’s lips is, can she be trusted or has she now gone over to the dark side?
Diane and Maureen – HR Fembots
These gorgeous ladies are the enforcers who make sure all HR compulsory learning materials are completed on time and to everyone’s satisfaction – or there will be trouble. Creepy in a Shining kind of way, they stalk the corridors of the University and will not leave Pippa alone.
The Vice-Chancellor
Yup, he earns quite a bit and demands total transparency! He struts about the University in his shiny red boots and worships at the alter of the golden pension pot. He also rather likes those solid silver Prada paperclips – better pick them all up Pippa or no meal deal lunch for you…
The Robots
The University of Admin is increasingly populated by robots of all shapes and sizes, enforcing all sorts of rules and making everyone’s life rather uncomfortable – including insisting on robot-friendly toilets.
Professor Sasha
PA Pippa’s boss and a senior member of the University’s Equality Fanny Mark Team who does not know Pippa’s name or anything about her because Prof. Sasha spends all her time applying for special awards to celebrate progression in the workplace (her own) and organising campaigns against everyday sexist language!
There are plenty more characters and sticky situations. In fact, working in total invisibility has never been so crap fun.
Join me in the dark arts of admin (online HR courses, re-branding mission vision statements, insufferable HR posters and ‘behind the scenes’ videos) as we learn to laugh and skip about in our own happy world.
Dolly
Artistypist, Vice-Chancellor’s Fool and Poodlepods Senior Tutor
2018
