Forget 'Take a letter Miss Jones' – today you are more likely to be found sorting out your boss's love life than the in-tray, according to the results of the survey we ran on behalf of Yell.com, in which so many of you participated.

The findings suggest that not only is today's PA the boss's right hand man or woman, you also act as a combination of nanny, relationship counsellor and personal shopper combined. The research revealed that:

• More than one in three (37%) PAs have shopped for gifts or flowers for the boss's partner
• Almost 40% regularly pick up groceries
• One in five (18%) pick up the kids on the school run
• One in ten have lied about their boss's whereabouts
• 6% have bought 'items of a personal nature - including those purchased in a chemist and beginning with a C' on behalf of their boss

Nine out of ten personal assistants deal with their boss's personal whims and requests on a daily basis, while 85% of you said you lose up to an hour of each working day dealing with personal tasks. The most common requests include sorting out the boss's leisure activities (51%), booking restaurants for non work-related occasions (45%) and making hairdresser, doctor or dentist appointments (41%).

Some more embarrassing requests you cited in the survey include:

• Body and Soul
• Collecting a urine sample bottle from the doctor
• Cutting toenails
• Changing a surgical dressing in an 'intimate area'
• Booking a wax treatment at a beauty salon
• Driving one boss to the hospital for a vasectomy
• Taking inside leg measurements
• Dumping a partner
• Researching speed dating events

• Animal antics
• Calling the boss's wife to remind her to feed the neighbour's cat
• Helping the boss bury a daughter's hamster
• Freighting a guinea pig to the United States
• Buying new shoes because the boss had stepped in dog mess
• Getting a pet neutered

• And are these in your official job description?
• Doing a head stand
• Drying the boss's swimming trunks and cleaning his running shoes
• Cleaning cigarette ash from a car
• Telling a colleague her underwear was too visible for the office environment
• Standing in the company car park to 'reserve' a space

From the regular feedback that you give us, DeskDemon knows that even though your role has changed significantly over the years to include many project management and operational tasks which were performed previously by your managers, you are still regularly expected to go beyond the call of duty. It's fascinating to see just how much the UK's bosses still lean on their PAs and secretaries to manage every aspect of their lives!

Many thanks to all of you who participated and finally, congratulations to Caroline Gestwick from Brighton Festival in Sussex who won first prize in the Yell.com free prize draw - a fabulous weekend for two in Prague complete with spending money. Runners up Nicole Moore, Interflora in Lincolnshire; Clare Poynton, Royal & Sun Alliance in W. Sussex; Frances Needs, SEA in Wales; Collette Theron, Shell in London and Ann Menzies, Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh each won £100 M&S Vouchers, courtesy of Yell.com. Well done everyone.