Let’s Roast.
A job post can tell you everything, if you know what to look for. This week’s “EA + Office Manager” role looks exciting on the surface, but the bullets quietly describe an always-on human buffer for leadership chaos.
If you’re a job seeker, this is how you spot burnout-by-design. If you’re hiring, this is how you accidentally repel the very operators you need.
Follow along with the full job ad here :
The Bigger Picture
How do you design “support” roles to create leverage without turning one person into the system’s shock absorber? This episode reframes the roast as a role-design problem: decision rights, workload boundaries, and operational clarity are what protect people (and performance).
At a Glance: The Job Profile
Job Title: Executive Assistant and Office Manager
Report-to Title: President
Company Size: 258
Industry: Travel Arrangements
What do they do?: Polar expedition travel company
Head Office Location: Seattle, Washington
Job Location: Toronto, ON, Canada
Geographical Operating Area: US & Canada
Job Type: Full-Time
For the Job Seekers
Did you come across a job ad like this? These questions might help you shed some light on what working there is really like:
What does a normal week look like—how much is exec support vs. office ops, by hours?
“Flexible hybrid” for this role: what’s actually remote, what’s strictly on-site, and how many days?
Who else supports the exec team (other EAs, facilities, people ops), and what’s the coverage plan when I’m away?
What are the real after-hours expectations (events, travel coordination, “urgent” calendar changes)?
What’s the sick-day policy, and is illness/caregiving time separate from vacation?
What tools/processes already exist (expense workflow, travel booking, office vendor SOPs), and what’s currently broken?
What authority do I have to say “no,” prioritize, and reset expectations with six leaders?
Why is the role open—replacement, backfill, or newly combined scope?
For the Job-Seeker Seekers
Are you writing a job ad for a similar role? Consider these hidden issues that might impact the success of your recruitment campaign:
Role design risk: Combining EA + office manager + light HR/facilities creates an always-on “human patch” role. Outcome: burnout, churn, constant re-hiring. Fix: Split the role or cap scope (e.g., dedicated EA for president + facilities/admin support elsewhere) with explicit prioritization rules.
Leadership dependency: Six execs expecting full-service calendar + admin support can signal poor self-management. Outcome: bottlenecks, resentment, low trust. Fix: Set norms: execs own their calendars except for travel/priority blocks; implement self-serve scheduling tools and office hours.
Credibility gap: “Flexible hybrid” conflicts with on-site duties (visitors, events, supplies, access cards). Outcome: offer rejections, early attrition. Fix: Define the on-site baseline (e.g., 4 days in office) and what “flex” actually means (hours, not location).
Compliance exposure: Health & safety committee ownership without clear qualifications. Outcome: regulatory risk, incidents mishandled. Fix: Assign H&S to trained personnel or provide funded certification/training and documented escalation paths.
Compensation opacity: No salary range + salary expectations request reads as price-shopping. Outcome: weaker candidate pool, longer time-to-fill. Fix: Post a range and state how bonus is calculated; align pay to dual-scope reality.
Culture signalling: “Discretion/confidentiality” repeated + menial tasks listed explicitly can read as old-school, gender-coded expectations. Outcome: reputational drag, mis-hires. Fix: Rewrite responsibilities in outcome terms, remove servile language, and describe leadership behaviours/values with concrete examples.
The Verdict
Paul Austin-Menear: 3 / 10
The person who signs up for this will be a metaphorical punching bag. They’ll be moving mountains and simultaneously be treated like dirt by the “old boys” in the corner offices. The grunty noises about inclusion, respect, and mission-driven culture smell like virtue-signalling at best. If that’s what you’re all about, at least own it.
Jennifer Houle: 3 / 10
Was it two roles and they decided to kind of save some money and combine it into one? All sorts of things about this smell like low pay, chronic extra hours, and little if no meaningful appreciation for the hard work.
Roast the Post is a passion project of Jen Houle and Paul Austin-Menear. The show helps job-seekers and employers get dud job ads out of their lives. We use tips to help pay for our production costs, and donate anything raised beyond our costs to charity.
