“9 To 5 Lifestyle”: 50 Of The Most Accurate Memes About Living That Corporate Dream That Might Hit Way Too Close To Home

We got in touch with the creator of 'Corporate Bish' who was kind enough to chat about their project and the importance of work memes to keep our sanity intact. Apparently, when she started the account in July of 2021, she worked a corporate finance job with hard deadlines, an understaffed team, a struggling management team, and 80-hour work weeks. "I had reached a point of frustration and complete burnout," she told Bored Panda.

The founder revealed that before 'Corporate Bish', she was not the biggest social media person. "I had an Instagram account that I barely used and, one day, I randomly came across memes that were work-related. This inspired me to create my own page where I could share my thoughts and, in a sense, vent about my experiences in the workplace. I felt as though I had so much to say, that I could turn it into content and take a shot at creating memes."

"I soon realized that I was not alone, that others were experiencing some of the same things that I was," she said. As a result, her efforts paid off, and the Instagram account began to grow, evolve, and amass 100k meme-loving followers within one year.

According to her, the main driver and inspiration behind the content is her personal journey with work and the path she continues to navigate. "I have since transitioned into a new job and my content has also followed this journey where I talk about my new role and responsibilities. One year ago, I created Corporate Bish based off of my own experiences and I plan to continue being the sole creator and operator."

When asked about the community, the creator told us it has evolved into a diverse group of people across the general workforce. The initial plan for the content, however, was related to the corporate world of finance. So the woman knew she had to make a few changes. "As my following grew, I realized that many worked in different fields from healthcare to retail and anyone in the workforce. This encouraged me to connect with a wider audience outside of just finance."

"It also helped me understand that my work experiences were not necessarily specific to my job or finance, but that they applied to everyone across the general workforce. In an effort to connect with many more, my content began to evolve and better relate to the workforce in general," she added.

If you've ever felt the dire effects of the grueling 9-to-5 grind, you know how therapeutic work memes can be. To the creator of this project, joking about the corporate world is an outlet and a means to escape the stresses and frustrations of work, even if just for a brief moment. "I’ve learned that there are several universal truths that every corporate worker can relate to, which is why corporate memes are so popular," she said. "After all, laughter is the best medicine even in the workplace."

"I believe that memes and jokes about the misery of work help workers find comfort in knowing that they are not alone and that there are others. The comment section also makes it possible for workers to share their experiences, thoughts, and even vent. While negativity is everywhere, I find that most of the comments are positive and a lot of them have even given me a good laugh. They have definitely eased up the stress in my day."

The creator stressed the importance of mental health, well-being, and work-life balance. "I stayed in a job way too long where each of these things were a constant struggle. I thought it was the norm, but it is not and should not be. Work will always be there and a job is just a job. Trust your instincts, if you're not in a good place, you’ll know when it is time to move on. The grass is sometimes greener on the other side, but you won’t know unless you try it," she advised.

Unfortunately, the pressures of our jobs can often leave a heavy burden on our shoulders. There are many frustrating factors associated with corporate life that leave workers feeling unmotivated, exhausted, and terribly stressed from their daily tasks. If we don’t pick up on these signals in time, they can have dire consequences on our state of mind, and can even lead to burnout.

In 2019, the World Health Organization classified workplace burnout as an occupational phenomenon. However, many employees glide through their careers without even realizing they are experiencing it. To learn more about this syndrome, we reached out to Carlo De Guzman, a burnout coach and CEO of The Work Vibe. He told Bored Panda that burnout can impact workers in every aspect of their lives: work, personal life, and health. He explained how exactly this chronic workplace stress affects all three in detail.

"Work: You can start decreasing your work productivity levels, attention to detail, confidence in yourself, or hurt your relationships with your management or colleagues due to the change in your behavior or attitude. Work becomes much more of a burden to your life, even for people who love their job but feel burnout," De Guzman explained.

When it comes to personal life, it takes a toll on our bonds with others. "Your relationships with family, friends, or romantic partner may also be affected because of your behavior/attitude change or your need to withdraw from them due to feelings of exhaustion or instability."

Lastly, burnout can have an alarming effect on your well-being. "All four pillars of your health (physical, mental, emotional, spiritual) can get impacted. Examples can include erratic sleeping, change in appetite, lack of energy, being cynical, aggressive, irritable, feeling emptiness, lost, unsure, or exhaustion," the coach added.

De Guzman pointed out that feeling exhausted from our jobs means we over-committed ourselves to tasks that are causing us stress for a prolonged period. "If you stick to that over-commitment, you will continue to feel burnout and dissatisfaction with your job, even if you love what you do," he warned.

When asked about the most common burnout symptoms, the coach explained that there are a variety of different signs. However, he mentioned these three key indications:

• Exhaustion — feeling tired and low in energy
• Cynicism — negativity and detachment from work or people
• Reduced professional efficacy — inability to cope, reduced productivity or morale

"The longer you don't take care of your symptoms, the more detrimental burnout will be to your health. The symptoms can become more major with severe illnesses, anxiety disorder, physical or mental collapse, or deep feelings of being lost and unsure," De Guzman said.

The burnout coach explained that one thing can tremendously help in finding relief from stress, and that’s finding humor in funny videos, memes, or other forms of content that can take away our thoughts from demanding situations. "There is comfort in knowing you're not the only one suffering from similar struggles. It's good to know that there are other working people going through something similar and can support you by laughing along with you or providing helpful advice if reasonable," he told us.

However, this is only a temporary solution. "Humor is only one helpful source for our health. It's not the only source," he said. If you want to improve your mental and emotional health, these are some of the helpful sources De Guzman suggested: "Rest, reflection exercises, self-compassion, doing more things aligning with your values, proper nutrition, body movement."

"Focus on what you value in life. The more we align our life to our values, the easier it is for us to become happier more frequently," he said. "If you overcommit to something along the way, have the self-awareness to re-balance yourself using: boundaries, time-management, prioritization, planning, or self-love. If your job doesn't align with your values, make progress towards aligning your career to something more meaningful for you," De Guzman concluded.