Office humor
Encyclopedia
Office Humor generally refers to sarcastic, funny, and or witty comments, commentary or depictions of and about common white-collar
office working environments. The modern offices' environment has been a source of comedy ever since the rise of white-collar jobs. The term, however, was coined in the 1990s when office humor became particularly prevalent and started being the sole focus of some comedic work. It is now represented in comic strips (Dilbert
, Help Desk (webcomic)
, Sosiaalisesti rajoittuneet
), movies (Office Space
), and TV series (The Peter Principle
, The Office
). Office humor comes in many forms. No matter the format, medium or genre, it usually pokes fun at the boss, the customer, or co-workers. Office humor must be directed at the aforementioned targets, the office itself, or circumstances that only someone involved with the office, or offices in general can relate to. Simply being funny at work does not constitute office humor.
White-collar worker
The term white-collar worker refers to a person who performs professional, managerial, or administrative work, in contrast with a blue-collar worker, whose job requires manual labor...
office working environments. The modern offices' environment has been a source of comedy ever since the rise of white-collar jobs. The term, however, was coined in the 1990s when office humor became particularly prevalent and started being the sole focus of some comedic work. It is now represented in comic strips (Dilbert
Dilbert
Dilbert is an American comic strip written and drawn by Scott Adams. First published on April 16, 1989, Dilbert is known for its satirical office humor about a white-collar, micromanaged office featuring the engineer Dilbert as the title character...
, Help Desk (webcomic)
Help Desk (webcomic)
Help Desk is a webcomic by Christopher B. Wright which debuted on March 31, 1996, making it one of the older webcomics on the Internet. The comic is a satirical and cynical view of computer software companies and operating systems in general, and of the antics of Microsoft, Apple Computer, OS/2,...
, Sosiaalisesti rajoittuneet
Sosiaalisesti rajoittuneet
Sosiaalisesti rajoittuneet is a Finnish webcomic written by Ossi Mäntylahti and Pekka Piira and drawn by Jukka Piira.The comic is about a fictional software company and IT industry in general...
), movies (Office Space
Office Space
Office Space is a 1999 American comedy film satirizing work life in a typical 1990s software company. Written and directed by Mike Judge, it focuses on a handful of individuals fed up with their jobs portrayed by Ron Livingston, Jennifer Aniston, Gary Cole, David Herman, Ajay Naidu, and Diedrich...
), and TV series (The Peter Principle
The Peter Principle (TV series)
The Peter Principle is a BBC television show about a branch of the fictional County and Provincial Bank, which ran from 1995 to 2000. It is now a part of the PBS program lineup at some PBS stations, which call it The Boss...
, The Office
The Office
The Office is a popular mockumentary/situation comedy TV show that was first made in the UK and has now been re-made in many other countries, with overall viewership in the hundreds of millions worldwide. The original version of The Office was created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant. It...
). Office humor comes in many forms. No matter the format, medium or genre, it usually pokes fun at the boss, the customer, or co-workers. Office humor must be directed at the aforementioned targets, the office itself, or circumstances that only someone involved with the office, or offices in general can relate to. Simply being funny at work does not constitute office humor.