From Office Space to The Office, workplaces have been fertile ground for humor and memes. From comical characters to unreasonable customers and delusional bosses, every employee has tales of woe and hilarity from their job.
The “Official Work Memes” Facebook page gathers just that, memes and other funny images devoted to the comical and sometimes painfully relatable reality of the workplace. To learn some more practical advice about jobs, we also reached out to career coach and entrepreneur Mehar Sindhu Batra who helpfully answered some of our questions. So be sure to upvote your favorites and comment your work stories after you scroll through.
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My colleagues tell me I’m very patient and approachable which at least doesn’t make me worry they can secretly read my mind! Internally I am VERY impatient with a low tolerance for büllshit. Because of my line of work, I’ve learned to temper that externally very well but less so in the privacy of my own mind.
Many of these memes are likely to be painfully relatable, so we wanted to learn some tips to avoid an uncomfortable workplace and job. Misfortune is a lot less funny when it’s your misfortune, so best be prepared. We reached out to career coach and entrepreneur Mehar Sindhu Batra and she was kind enough to give some useful advice. First, we wanted to see if one could nip a bad job in the bud, so we asked about red flags on job descriptions like keywords and phrases to look out for.
“Firstly, vague descriptions: The lack of clarity when it comes to the job description is truly worrisome. If a company is hiring a professional, be it for any job role, I’d expect a clear description so I am aware of what it is that’s expected of me as a prospective employee. Also, no mention of employee benefits. If they are unclear about this too- then it is apparent that there are fewer to no benefits for employees. This should be another cue to decide if this job is worth staying in.”
She also identified the notorious phrase “we are like family,” as something to be highly wary of. “In my personal experience, this phrase translates to lack of or complete absence thereof of workplace boundaries. It will only spill over to your personal or free time, leading to a lack of work-life balance. My advice - you deserve a healthy workplace with healthy boundaries.” As many unfortunately are aware, not all families are equal and many can be terribly unhealthy for a person's mental health. Nevertheless, some companies exploit this overused phrase, to the detriment of their workforce.
They were killing my marines, so yeah I said: Waste the m***********s!! Best quote ever.. DJ Gizmo made a great housetrack with that sample on Mach 2.. love that!
We also wanted to know about signs a person should consider quitting a specific job. Mehar gave some helpful indicators to look out for. “I have a simple bullet list that will help you think whether you should consider changing your job or not. Nothing challenges you professionally. There’s nothing more that you could learn at your job. You don’t feel appreciated for the efforts you put in. You don’t get paid enough.” All in all, economic changes, personal growth, and new management all play a factor in shifting how well a workplace might suit a specific person.
Lastly, she left us with some parting advice for people considering a career change, but dealing with anxiety over it. “I understand that change might seem scary and very uncertain at times. But you ought to be valued for what you can bring to the table. Of course, I am not asking you to leave your job/career without a proper strategic plan, however, the sole motive was to make you think if you really require a career change - if so, then it is okay to feel that way while planning a proper way to transition into a new career.”
I once put in two weeks notice at a job after two years of working my tail off, because my direct supervisor slapped me in the face with a stack of mail (it was a toxic environment and that was my last straw). And instead of letting me ride out my resignation, she figured out a way to get me fired 3 days in by telling the senior partners that I was a horrible employee. After the seniors had been praising my work for two years, they still took her side. I hope she ended up having the life she deserves.
And a wizard is never late, nor is he/she/they early. He/she/they arrive(s) precisely when he/she/they mean(s) to.
“Too many people are stuck at their jobs and they don’t even realize that. It’s sad how common “adjusting” at the workplace is. Of course, busy and stressful days are to be expected; but lack of appreciation, no credit, disrespect, and misconduct are not to be tolerated or normalized at the workplace. Please know your worth! Let’s get valued, and appreciated at the workplace while making sure we have adapted to remain relevant to the changing times.” Mehar Sindhu Batra is an accomplished career coach, mentor, and CEO, so if you want to learn more tips from her, you can find her on YouTube and LinkedIn.
Work memes can even have spillover effects on the real world. Jennifer Aniston’s famous quitting scene in ‘Office Space’ ended up actually causing TGI Fridays to remove certain wardrobe requirements from their servers. Similarly, the famous red stapler actually caused Swingline to issue a real stapler in the shape and color depicted in the movie. Memes are becoming the popular culture of our time, so there will no doubt be more cases of things coming through the meme-to-reality pipeline.
Then i see my cats cuddled up in bed with me and realize I need to feed (and spoil) them somehow.
My favorite thing about being single and childfree. All the naps, no interruptions.
Note: this post originally had 108 images. It’s been shortened to the top 30 images based on user votes.
