#53 Watching Office Space and Reminiscing About the Good Ol’ Days

It’s pretty ridiculous just how timeless Office Space is, given that it’s been ten years since it was released and everything is pretty much the same in the working world, especially with Jennifer Aniston being just as annoying. Cringe worthy bosses, obnoxious coworkers, and downsizing consultants that make you wanna die. Those are the themes people love to hate, and the reason why any one who has ever worked in an office finds the movie hilarious.

With unemployment rates getting higher each month as jobs are getting cut every day there are more and more dejected office workers like Peter Gibbons getting their dream of “doing nothing.” Unfortunately, part of doing nothing involves watching Office Space, which is constantly rerun on TV, and actually missing some of the elements that made hating work so fun. The camaraderie that one builds with fellow coworkers is something special that doesn’t quite extend beyond the cubicles or the happy hour rant sessions. Having an office  printer that jammed constantly is better than having to go to Kinkos and pay five cents a copy because ink cartridges for the crappy free printer at home are not in this month’s budget. Not having to own up to clogging the work toilet, and gossiping with coworkers about who probably did it, is a far cry from having to go out and buy a plunger before the significant other gets home. 

Back in the day when somebody quit, every one would go out for drinks in envious celebration. Now, whenever someone from the old job is laid off, everyone cashes in their unemployment checks to buy a round for the former coworker - on the government. Rather than let the freshly laid off get down about losing their job, why not help them celebrate by destroying what they hated most about the company? In some cases, it might make sense to bring a piñata with the boss man’s face on it. Or, why not show up like a creep to the gathering with an old printer and a baseball bat? If it’s been years since they’ve seen Office Space, they might not immediately get the reference. But once you crank up “Damn it feels good to be a gangsta” there’s no stopping the downsized employees from beating the robot life out of the printer in a last act of office aggression, especially when they realize it’s company property.

Tags: missing having a job, office space, on the government, unemployment check