25 Relatable Work Memes for Weary Workers Who Would Quit Tomorrow If They Had No More Bills to Pay

Whoever came up with the 40 hour work week should be dragged into the town square and bludgeoned by vegetables by the angry townsfolk. We simply can't take it anymore! As functioning members of feudal society, it's tough not to get completely burnt out on spending 70% of your life working, recovering from a long day, or thinking about your job. Frankly, most weary workers have a foot halfway out the door and would be thrilled to quiet quit in lieu of another day of suffering. Alas, all we have are our meager paychecks to warm the wood-burning stove and fill our bellies, so as long as the bills keep coming in the mail, we'll keep setting at 7AM alarm to get up in time for our 9-5 grind. 

So for those of you who spend 30 minutes every morning on the company toilet, scrolling memes to get some (paid) alone time to yourself, here's a relatable collection of work memes that won't cost you a dime.

'We weren't even talking loud': Passenger confronts loud-talking Karen on a flight, becomes target of her wrath

It has been said that "Hell is other people"—take a trip to any public place where your own enjoyment hinges on a stranger's ability to follow simple social etiquette, and you'll confirm this to be true… Go to the movies, and there will be someone talking through the entire thing, interjecting their own totally unnecessary commentary; sit in traffic and watch people drive up a side lane to cut the queue; go to a comedy show, and listen to drunken audience members shout and heckle from the back of the auditorium—spoiling the show for the rest of us. For some reason, we as a collective people are just completely unable to have nice things due to the entitled behavior of the few.

Another example is people who refuse to follow in-flight etiquette with other passengers sprawling their limbs into other's space, resting their feet on the seat in front, or, as in this instance, loudly talking through the entire flight, loud enough that someone multiple rows away can hear through earplugs. 

What do we do in these situations? Do we stay quiet and silently suffer the audacity of these people?..  That's what most of us would do—polite to a fault. But there are those among us who choose to take the situation head-on and confront the behavior. Worth noting that if you decide to go the latter route here, there is a chance that you may end up being the entitled jerk if you lash out and make a stand while not fully understanding the situation. After all—we're all the heroes of our own stories, and any entitled person making an audacious demand is likely relatively certain that they're on the right side of things.

This guy shared his frustration dealing with a Karen passenger loudly having a conversation with her companion for the entire duration of their flight. After attempting to drown out the droning conversation with earplugs, he finally turned around and asked if they could keep it down. The pair immediately launched into accusations, playing the victim and saying that the guy was the one who was being rude. 

The guy then took to this popular internet community to see whether or not he was in the wrong for the chain of events. 

Read on to see his account of events and their responses below. Next, see this passenger who was made to apologize to a Karen passenger who was playing music out of the speaker of her phone during a flight.

'The CEO was immediately fuming': COO shows up to work in a prom dress after CEO mocks her fashion choices

Petty doesn't even begin to describe this CEO. She seems like the kind of boss who sucks the air out of a room when she walks in; everyone walks on eggshells around her, and she refuses to give credit where it's due. That kind of boss is hard to work for — even if you're also in the c-suite. 

Some bosses really dislike giving any kind of positive feedback or encouragement. Instead, they can only point out the negative. In the story that u/aikdxz shared to r/MaliciousCompliance, they write that this "insane CEO" of a health nonprofit was a gossip who was constantly wielding her power over employees. The OP shared the call that started this three-part malicious compliance saga. It all started on a group call, where the CEO thought it was appropriate to go on a tirade about the way the COO, Louise, decided to dress for work. Instead of letting the boss's harsh words get to her, Louise thought of a clever and hilarious outfit to wear the next day.

Maybe some higher-ups think they will only be respected if they're feared, but in reality, that's almost never the case. Instead, it just results in employees who aren't loyal, and who can't wait to find a job they like more. 

Up next, check out another workplace malicious compliance story. 

'[They] gave him a gift card for 30+ years of loyalty': Fast food employee celebrates retirement; gets 'rewarded' by corporate with a pathetic gift card

Back in the day, when mythical pensions existed and companies took care of their employees, workers would typically stay at their job and work for their company for decades, oftentimes riding out their first entry-level position all the way to retirement. Nowadays, celebrating a 2 year anniversary with a company is a huge accomplishment and most employees just don't have the same kind of loyalty anymore. In this case, however, one part-time employee for a fast food restaurant had just celebrated over 30 years with the same company before deciding to retire, becoming one of the few diligently faithful workers left on this Earth. However, his devotion was rewarded with insult.

OP is the longtime neighbor and good friend of this hardworking employee and recently went to his retirement party to celebrate this accomplishment. Knowing that his neighbor rarely missed a shift and had loyally served his company for decades, he asked a relative if the company had done anything special to congratulate and thank the retiree, but he was shocked when he heard their reply.

Scroll for the full story on how OP was baffled at the pathetic 'gift' that the corporation bestowed on their loyal subject and the Internet backlash that ensued when he shared this unfair reality online. For more tales about employees that are under-appreciated and underpaid, check out this article about a man who was fired for catching a cold then begged to return to his post after two years of the company being unable to fill his position. 

‘My coworker already sees me as his girlfriend’: Woman deals with a colleague who’s moving too fast

Getting into a relationship requires a two-person conversation. If one person is already assuming the two of you are together before you've even had a say in the matter, the relationship simply isn't legit. One woman took to Reddit to explain her situation with a coworker who's already starting to act like they're a couple – even though they've never had a conversation to define their relationship. Although she admits that she's attracted to him, she's been told by other coworkers that she's too good-looking for him! 

After only knowing her for a couple of weeks, he started divulging tons of personal details about his life to her. He also started posting negative subtweets about her for the world to see. In the tweets, he referred to her supposed disloyalty. One of his tweets even said, "Playing with people's feelings is bad." Now, she's wondering what will happen if she chooses to pursue a relationship with this guy. Redditors have a lot to say about the whole mess. 

'They had to close the part [of the company] I was working in': Worker quits when boss tries to coerce them into coming back early from sick leave

Getting injured at work—while terribly unfortunate—is basically a "Get Out of Jail Free" card, which ensures your workplace isn't going to cross you or try any funny business any time soon… or at least it should be. Any employer in their right mind knows that if an employee gets injured in the workplace, they should stay well clear and follow the advice of medical professionals and let the L&I claim play out. Even after the employee returns, they know they'll likely be safe from anything action that could be taken as retaliation. Doing otherwise opens the employer up to a hefty lawsuit they would do better to avoid. 

For this reason, it's rare for any decent employer to demand an injured employee return to work—though not unheard of.

This worker shared their unfortunate story of being injured in the workplace, explaining the circumstances that led to the incident and telling how events played out afterward. Essentially the work group was not able to function properly in the worker's absence owing to the incompetence of their remaining coworkers on their under-resourced team. Rather than addressing the other obvious issues contributing to the situation, the boss decided to, instead, demand the worker's early return implying their constructive dismissal should they choose not. The employee, instead, made the decision to quit on the spot, forcing the company to cease manufacturing the part they were responsible for after they were unable to replace them.

Read on for the worker's account of events below. Next, see this worker who considered ghosting their employer after the employer "temporarily" related their job—with it seemingly becoming permanent.