We managed to get in touch with the creator of Corporate Humor who was kind to have a little chat with us. The founder told Bored Panda they started this account at the beginning of the pandemic. "I was starting to get burnt out and needed a way to vent. I always thought humor and sarcasm was a good way to relieve some of the stress, so I started making my first memes," they said.
Initially, they believed it’d be just friends and family who might find them funny "but more and more people found it relatable! I’m still amazed that the following grew to 20K+." They revealed that some devoted fans send DMs with their own ideas or personal experiences and then the founder creates jokes based on them.
"I try to build relationships with my followers. I’ve set up polls to learn more about their experiences," they said and added that it’s always nice to hear from them. "When I get messages like 'wow I just went through this' or 'thank you for making us laugh!', it makes my day." At times, the account has also served as a means to help followers get connected with one another for job opportunities.
However, the curator of the account told us that sometimes it’s quite difficult to manage the page. "Creating memes, posting consistently, making sure I respond can take up a lot of time. But I enjoy doing it, so it’s worth it," they added.
When it comes to the community, most people following the account are between the ages of 25 and 34. "And it’s a pretty close split between male and female. My followers mainly reside in NY, Boston, and Chicago but there are some in different parts of the world (like London and Singapore)."
"It’s amazing how far this account has reached," the creator told us. And it seems that fans of the page are really active as well, "but I always try to make my posts/stories engaging so there’s constant engagement!"
Whether you work in the tiniest cubicle or an airy open-plan office, there are a lot of frustrating factors associated with corporate life. When they leave you with zero energy and motivation, the only place of refuge seems to be those amusing memes that help you maintain at least some level of sanity.
Joshua Klapow, Ph.D., psychologist and creator of MentalDrive, told Bored Panda that every single one of us needs comic relief. “Laughter is the polar opposite of the stress, distress, frustration, and fatigue we can often feel as we work our jobs day in and day out. An intermittent dose of humor that results in a mood shift, even temporarily, can reset us emotionally and give us more emotional strength to carry on in our work,” he explained.
Although office life is not as physically challenging as some other professions out there, we’re well aware it can affect our state of mind. Sometimes, the overwhelming amount of work, petty politics, and fights over who gets to climb the corporate ladder can quickly lead to higher levels of stress, anxiety, and even burnout. Sadly, many people in traditional corporate roles glide through life without even realizing they experience it.
Klapow explained that burnout is a condition that is officially recognized by the World Health Organization as an occupational hazard. He listed some of the most important symptoms of burnout people should be on the lookout for:
- Fatigue related to work
- Emotional disengagement and/or apathy for the job
- Dissatisfaction with the work environment despite any changes or positive modifications
- Difficulty concentrating at work, diminished productivity and efficiency, greater frequency of mistakes
- A general dislike for the present work with no optimistic view of changes in the future
Moreover, some companies seem to be on a mission to create toxic work environments for their workers. The psychologist mentioned that once people recognize their workplace could be labeled as one, they need to do what they can to resolve these harmful situations.
“That being said, if it is a larger toxic culture, or a work structure that is inappropriate or unhealthy for you psychologically, then it is crucial that you begin to look, if possible, at other work options. Working in a psychologically toxic environment doesn’t get better, it will make you psychologically worse,” Klapow said.
So if you find yourself experiencing the signs of burnout (general dissatisfaction, fatigue, apathy, no positive outlook about change or the future), Klapow suggested it’s time to take action. First, you could consider a job or career change. “The change may be within the same organization — it may be a different job position or different job duties.”
Also, you could “spend some time thinking and writing down what would make a job feel more engaging and healthier. You can’t move to your ideal job if you don’t know what it is.” Lastly, Klapow stressed it’s important to pace yourself, step back if possible, and take some PTO.
“Ultimately, this is about earning money and living emotionally healthy. If you are earning money but burning yourself out psychologically then the money earned is having negative consequences on you and those around you.”
Luckily, memes about corporate life have a way of helping workers unwind from the daily stress. The creator of MentalDrive told us that these jokes mainly serve two purposes. “They often connect us in a humorous way to the not so humorous situations we may find ourselves in at work. They are a way of both acknowledging the difficulties we may be having at work and pointing out the absurdity of them in a funny way.”
He added that they can “validate our frustrations and irritations but at the same time put them into perspective by lowering the negative emotional intensity. In this way, they can at times help us to communicate our frustrations or desire for change at work.”
