“9 To 5 Lifestyle”: 50 Of The Most Accurate Memes About Living That Corporate Dream That Might Hit Way Too Close To Home
Interview With AuthorLet's face it, sometimes work can be a real drag. Even people lucky enough to enjoy what they do 8 hours a day, 5 days a week, get tired of punching away at the tasks at hand. Countless meetings, projects, deadlines, and commitments are plunged onto you by this corporate dread, asking you to get through it all with a smile, even if you’re miserable inside. But what if we break the tension, ease the stress, and bring some much-needed humor into the workplace?
Well, nothing turns the situation around as swiftly as work memes. Thankfully, there’s an entertaining corner on Instagram called 'Corporate Bish' that’s purely dedicated to this noble cause. With over 112k followers, the social media page shares the funniest and most painfully-accurate jokes that hit way too close to home for any poor desk-bound soul out there.
"Working that Corporate Dream", the creator writes in the description, and you can almost feel the shivers going down your spine. To show you that we’re all in this together, we have gathered some of the best posts from the account. So pull your chair closer and enjoy scrolling through this list! Keep reading to also find interviews with the creator of this project, as well as burnout coach Carlo De Guzman. Then be sure to upvote your favorite memes and share your own struggles with us in the comments.
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Im 5-7 years away from retirement. I want to stay in this position, supporting this workgroup until I retire. I don't want to move up, I don't want a career change, maybe a special project now & then, and I want to work with nice people. I want to retire from this company. Go select someone else to be in leadership. Leave me alone.
I feel this...I was made the lead of the work crew I'm on when my work partner of 10 years passed away last December. Never wanted to be in a leadership role, but since Im the senior person on the crew, I was kinda pushed into it. I dont want the headaches, I dont want to tell others what and how and when to do everything. I dont get paid anymore for doing it...but here I am.
Load More Replies...yeah that extra percent or 2 "merit" increase you have to bust your butt to get just ain't worth it
You extra work is far more likely to be exploited rather than rewarded.
Load More Replies...Every workplace benefits from those steady, reliable workers who just do what the job requires and don't burn themselves out gong the "extra mile". That's commendable.
Why though? Presuming you're working the same hours, and not referring to back breaking labor - why not be the best you can be? Why not help others with your experience? In everything you do, strive for excellence. You won't always achieve it, but that's ok. You won't always be compensated for it, that's ok too. A thing not done as well as possible wasn't worth doing at all.
Part of doing your job well is to be compensated for it. If you have 2 people doing the same job,one performing well and the other half-a$$ing it, yet they both get the same pay, raises, bonuses and benefits, what's the incentive to perform better? The good feels that come from knowing that you did something as good as you can do it is nice and all, but good feels won't pay the bills.
Load More Replies...Same goes for school. Unless you get extra credit or if that grade truly matters to you. Like in college right now it doesn't matter if i get a 97% pr 73% on an exam, at the end of the year it only says "passed" or "failed" Attendance also, if you learn more on your own and just waste time (and interrupt during) the class, it makes more sense to stay home/library whatever. Check with the professor thought (just in case they have a rule-80%attendence or you cant take an exam or something)
Once you’re known at this it’s impossible to step back. Any time you slightly ‘under’achieve (whilst probably still doing more than most), for whatever reason, it’s picked up on and scrutinised. Much easier to pick on one person than try and change the attitudes and working practices of many
I always become the go to person / the leader automatically and it's annoying 😑
Retail taught me this so hard: if you prove you are willing to take on extra work without extra reward, they WILL give you EVERYTHING while the laziest coworkers get by with the bare minimum. If they don't get called out for it, why should you?
Being the star employee gives you more work and more stress, speaking from experience after a while your work gets taken for granted and they expect more and more from you for the same pay...it's not worth it guys
Don’t kill yourself to make others who couldn’t care less about you look good. Military comes to mind.
This is how one achieves "life-work balance". And I put life first, always. When my son was in his teens, he couldn't understand why I didn't want a management position, until I explained to him what that would mean to our home life. He didn't truly get it until he was out of school & in the working world!
EXACTLY. For years I was proud for being the best employee: caring, looking up stuff, asking the questions, do everything right away, ...and what for? Money is the same right now and My menthal health is better after I stopped doing the extra...
I´ve been a quality analyst for 10 years in a big company, an interesting and meaningful work that I loved, but I decided resign and start my own small bussiness, but at that time, some coworkers start this toxic rumor that I left because they (the company) didn´t name me as chief and I felt some spite, come on!! why in the world I´d wish that hard and no pay enough position?!
The more you do and the better you do it, the more they give you to do.
I had an acquaintance who worked at the Navy Annex in Washington DC. His job involved moving a lot of paper across his desk each week. His boss was adamant that no one went home, especially on Friday, with anything still on (or in) the desk. Said supervisor would come in Saturday morning to check desks, including the drawers. If there was anything which might be called pending, you'd be called in, or if a drawer was locked you'd be called in. So, the workers took to using the interoffice mail system to clear the desk, the stuff would sit for the weekend on the huge carts which roamed the hallways, and be delivered back to the sender on Monday morning.
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.
Oh wow. This is a nichey but too-common-in-my-job emotion I wasn’t expecting to see in a meme. I love it. Representation.
Got asked to translate at my job just because they knew I knew the language (but definitely wasn’t supposed to be officially translating anything for legal and policy reasons), so I just said “will I get the $5-10K pay increase if I do so? Because if not then no, it’s not in my job description to do so.”
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.
I actually visited Paris this year, I got to see the Eiffel tower 204 times
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.
This is even better than the “I will be late due to who I am as a person” meme.
"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.
Paradoxically, the real trouble is when your gross salary is not even gross enough.
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.
Ahaha i cant write professionally for the life of me 'Hi, I'd like to inform you imma be 15 min late on tuesday. Hope that's ok bye'
I worked for some great people. I asked for vacation time and said, "Unless it wouldn't be a good time, then I could reschedule." The boss said, "There's never a good time. Go. Enjoy. We'll manage."
When that one coworker in a meeting won’t stop asking a single manager questions that could just be a meeting between the two of them but we all have to be a part of it for the next 10 mins (My personal pet peeve, but my office is not very efficient).
Note: this post originally had 98 images. It’s been shortened to the top 50 images based on user votes.
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