It brings a ray of sunshine
To my unhappy life,
To make him kneel before me,
And slowly twist the knife
Look at all those idiots
Ooh, look at all those boobs
An office full of morons
A factory full of fools
To my unhappy life,
To make him kneel before me,
And slowly twist the knife
Look at all those idiots
Ooh, look at all those boobs
An office full of morons
A factory full of fools
— "Look At All Those Idiots", Montgomery Burns, The Simpsons
Workin' 9 to 5, what a way to make a livin'
Barely gettin' by, it's all takin' and no givin'
They just use your mind and they never give you credit
It's enough to drive you crazy if you let it
9 to 5, for service and devotion
You would think that I would deserve a fair promotion
Want to move ahead but the boss won't seem to let me
I swear sometimes that man is out to get me
Barely gettin' by, it's all takin' and no givin'
They just use your mind and they never give you credit
It's enough to drive you crazy if you let it
9 to 5, for service and devotion
You would think that I would deserve a fair promotion
Want to move ahead but the boss won't seem to let me
I swear sometimes that man is out to get me
— Dolly Parton, "Nine To Five"
Morgan Edge: Right now, I have an assignment for you, Kent! I want you to take this portable television transmitter and cover the launching of the new mail-rocket!
Clark Kent: Sure... But why the TV? I'm a newspaper reporter!
Morgan Edge: You're my employee — and you'll do well to remember it! If I say you're working for my television station, you are! Clear?
Clark Kent: I get the message, Mr. Edge!
Clark Kent: Sure... But why the TV? I'm a newspaper reporter!
Morgan Edge: You're my employee — and you'll do well to remember it! If I say you're working for my television station, you are! Clear?
Clark Kent: I get the message, Mr. Edge!
I just forgot what's it like to be one of the little people. It's liberating because I have no empathy for your suffering.
— Pointy Haired Boss, Dilbert
Do I smell the revolting stench of self-esteem?!
— Mr. Marks, The Producers
(on intercom) That's an unauthorized break period, my friend. You don't work here anymore.
— Forster, Gremlins 2: The New Batch
Ferengi Rule of Acquisition #211: Employees are the rungs on the ladder of success; don't hesitate to step on them.
— Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, "Bar Association"
Buddy: (to Guy) What I am concerned with is detail. I asked you go get me a packet of Sweet-N'-Low. You bring me back Equal. That isn't what I asked for. That isn't what I wanted. That isn't what I needed and that shit isn't going to work around here.
[later]
Rex: Ah, relax. He always does that. That's his thing. Tomorrow he'll ask you for an Equal, you can't win. It's a lose-lose situation.
[later]
Rex: Ah, relax. He always does that. That's his thing. Tomorrow he'll ask you for an Equal, you can't win. It's a lose-lose situation.
Hah! I like your style! You make up your own rules, just like me. Bean counters said I couldn't fire a man for being in a wheelchair. Did it anyway! Ramps are expensive!
— Cave Johnson, Portal 2
Hello Peter, whats happening? Ummm, I'm gonna need you to go ahead come in tomorrow. So if you could be here around 9 that would be great, mmmk... oh oh! and I almost forgot ahh, I'm also gonna need you to go ahead and come in on Sunday too, kay. We ahh lost some people this week and ah, we sorta need to play catch up.
— Bill Lumbergh, Office Space
You didn't "let me down" Fink, or even Lou. We don't live or die by what you scribble. You let Ben Geisler down. He liked you, trusted you... and that's why he's gone, he's fired. That man had a heart as big as the all outdoors and you fucked him. He tried to convince me to fire you too, but that would be too easy. No, you're under contract and you're gonna stay that way. Anything you write will be the property of Capitol Pictures. And Capitol Pictures will not produce anything you write. Not until you grow up a little.
— Lipnik, Barton Fink
See that fax? Yeah? (hurls fax across the room) THAT is your career, and I think it might be fucked. But let's just check. (kicks the fax) Yeah, yeah, it's pretty fucked. Now, I hope you can play the spoons. Because, I mean, you're too old to go back to being a gentleman's fluffer, aren't you?
— Jamie McDonald, In the Loop
From now on, your LIFE is Mondo Burger. You can forget about your friends, and your family, because Kurt is now both your mother and your father.
— Kurt Bozwell, Good Burger
Well, Mettaton didn't tell me I HAD to work, I guess... But that's the thing! Sometimes he doesn't even call me until halfway into my shift! If I don't play it safe, he's going to yell at me.
Okay, maybe "yell" is the wrong term. It's more like he has this... CD album he plays... That's entirely full of songs about how bad I am at my job.
Okay, maybe "yell" is the wrong term. It's more like he has this... CD album he plays... That's entirely full of songs about how bad I am at my job.
After a while, anyone can notice that, with few exceptions, Pentex is basically an old boys club; men are bosses and women are secretaries. Likewise, there's little ethnic diversity. Moreover, supervisors subtly arrange the offices' physical spaces to discourage friendships. [..] Employees with families find no sympathy in this company; the job has to come first.
To Pentex management, employees are like ants: en masse, they're workers who must get the job done, and a few get squashed along the way. They're necessary, but insignificant. Unspoken threats and a few thin scraps here and there keep them motivated. But if someone's lost, it's not a problem: so many others are ready and willing to take his place.
— Werewolf: The Apocalypse - Book Of The Wyrm (2nd Ed)
Listen to me, li- listen. Oh stop crying, you are forty years old! It takes hours to die from a gutshot like that. Literally hours. It's a total drag. So I'll call you later, okay? Ciao-ciao. [hangs up] Ugh, new recruits. No stomach for fieldwork.
— Kirsten Geary, The Secret World
Clean up this mess, or you're fired!
— Benson, Regular Show
Mr. Hades is a mean old boss
With a silver whistle and a golden scale
An eye for an eye!
And he weighs the cost
A lie for a lie!
And your soul for sale
Sold!
To the king on the chromium throne
Thrown!
To the bottom of a Sing Sing cell
Where the little wheel squeals and the big wheel groans
And you better forget about your wishing well
With a silver whistle and a golden scale
An eye for an eye!
And he weighs the cost
A lie for a lie!
And your soul for sale
Sold!
To the king on the chromium throne
Thrown!
To the bottom of a Sing Sing cell
Where the little wheel squeals and the big wheel groans
And you better forget about your wishing well
Ah, so we have issues with the boss, eh? Well, who doesn't? Bosses make terrific tormentors. Tote that barge, lift that bail, rewrite that script, sort that mail. All it takes is one too many orders to make the cuckoo call.
— Joker, The Batman
Winslow: The Queen of England’s own fancy housekeeper couldn’t have even done no better than what I done, 'cause I tell you, I scrubbed this here place twice over-
Wake: And I say you did nothin' of the sort! And I say, you swab it again and you swab it proper-like this time, and you’ll be swabbin’ it ten times more after that. And if I tells you to pull up and apart every floorboard and clapboard of this here house and scour ‘em down with your bare, bleedin’ knuckles, you’ll do it! And if I tells you to yank out every single nail from every moulderin’ nail-hole and suck off every speck of rust 'til all them nails sparkle like a sperm whale’s pecker, and then carpenter the whole light station back together from scrap and then do it all over again, YOU'LL DO IT! And by God and by Golly, you’ll do it smilin', lad, cause you'll like it. You’ll like it 'cause I says you will! [Beat] Contradict me again and I'll dock your wages. You hear me, lad?
"You're cleaning this entire fucking mess up. Can you handle that? Or do I have to go find somebody else out in front of Home Depot?"
—Ian, Zombie Strippers!
"Remember, you're replaceable. Literally everyone but you can sweep a floor."
—Weiner House Manager, The Gambler
Doyle: This is personal, sir.
Cowley: Nothing is personal, Doyle. When you joined CI5, I made that perfectly clear. The department owns you—I own you! I can sell your body to Science if I want, while it's still alive!
— The Professionals, "The Female Factor"
Kaos: See, Glumshanks, somewhere inside your feeble mind is the secret location to the city of Arkus, and I'm going to help you find it. Let's begin, shall we?
[Kaos turns on the memory machine, and begins playing Glumshanks's memories]
Memory Kaos: You fool!
Memory Kaos: Idiot!
Memory Kaos: Moron!
Memory Kaos: Stupid!
Memory Kaos: Well done, Glumshanks!
Kaos: Eh? I don't remember that!
[Kaos turns on the memory machine, and begins playing Glumshanks's memories]
Memory Kaos: You fool!
Memory Kaos: Idiot!
Memory Kaos: Moron!
Memory Kaos: Stupid!
Memory Kaos: Well done, Glumshanks!
Kaos: Eh? I don't remember that!
Belle: You treat your workers with no respect!
SMG3: You guys don't earn it last I checked.
SMG3: You guys don't earn it last I checked.
You're only alive because we want you to be.
—Agent X, The Shapeshifting Detective
