Secretary’s Day in Argentina: When It Is and What to Give

In Argentina, Secretary’s Day is on September 4. It’s one of the dates that drives the most deliveries to offices — and one of the ones most often handled badly.

The origin

The date commemorates September 4, 1942, when the Women’s Army Corps was created in the United States and engineer and psychologist Lillian Gilbreth was appointed to a key role. The Argentine Association of Secretaries adopted that date, and it has been celebrated here ever since.

Many companies now call it Assistant’s Day or administrative staff day, a name better suited to today’s teams. The date and the gesture are the same.

What to give

Gift	Why it works
Bouquet of seasonal flowers	The classic. Visible and professional in tone
Potted orchid	Lasts for months on the desk. Highly appreciated
Small indoor plant	Succulent, pothos or African violet. Takes up little space
Flowers + chocolates	The most requested combo for this date
Breakfast for the team	If there are several people, it works better than individual gifts

The five rules of a workplace gift

1. No red. Red roses at an office send the wrong message. White, yellow, orange, soft pink or mixed colors.
2. It has to fit on a desk. A huge arrangement is a problem, not a gift: someone has to carry it home on the bus.
3. No strong scents. In a shared space, an Oriental lily bothers half the office.
4. Sign it from the team or the company, not personally, unless that’s appropriate.
5. If several people share the same role, give to all of them. It’s the most common mistake and the costliest for the work atmosphere.

The card is half the gift

A bouquet with “Happy day” does the job. One with a card that names something specific gets kept:

• “Thank you for holding up everything nobody sees.”
• “For your patience and for always finding a solution. Happy day.”
• “Thank you for being the one who makes everything work.”

More examples in what to write on the card.

Logistics

It’s one of the busiest days of the year for office deliveries. It’s best to book ahead and schedule between 10 a.m. and noon, when the front desk is staffed and the whole office is in. The rest of the corporate approach is in corporate gifts with flowers.