Bored Panda was incredibly curious to find out why Chloe and Peter decided to branch off from 'Thirty AF' and create a separate Instagram page, 'Employed AF,' mainly for work memes. "We have always posted a variety of different topics on @iamthirtyaf and it has been fun to see which topics really strike a chord with our followers and inspire conversations in the comments. Over the years, we have found that posts related to the workplace always spark engaging and relevant conversations," they told us during an interview via email.

"You know when you develop a close friendship with a coworker who you bond with over venting about work, a process that not only makes you a new friend but can also be in a lot of ways pretty therapeutic? Social media has kind of taken that experience and broadened it, we can vent about what goes on at work with strangers on the internet and learn that our experiences are actually commonplace," they said that this can range from small things like everyone rolling their eyes over the coworker who heats up their leftover fish in the break room microwave (everyone knows someone like that). Or it can be about calling out jobs that don't list the salary in the job description.

"It has also created a sort of networking space where people can share ideas, problem-solve and give advice, give interview tips... you name it!"

Chloe and Peter both founded AF Media in 2009 when they graduated from college at the height of the recession. "It was a very sudden and unexpected wakeup call that the professional world we were entering (with our 6 figure + student loan debt!) was very different than what we thought/had been told it would be. We couldn't find jobs anywhere!" the duo opened up to Bored Panda.

At one point, they even had to take their degree off their resume to apply for a job at a local movie theater that was paying $6.75 an hour at the time... and they were rejected.

"Similar experiences were shared by so many millennials, and together we have had to figure out how to navigate our careers differently than generations have before us all the while hearing the 'no one wants to work these days' and 'millennials can't buy houses because they drink too many lattes and eat avocados on toast' narratives from the same generation that told us that going into extreme debt to get a bachelor's degree was what it would take to have a prosperous career. This, like the shared experience of venting about microwaved fish, is a topic that millennials are able to bond over and share their own experiences with."

Chloe and Peter, who curate 'Employed AF,' noted that we all see how the world of work continually changes around us. "We aren't finding one job and sticking with it until retirement like many of our parents have done, whether by choice/job hopping to improve salary and benefits or because of nonstop layoffs that are rampant in seemingly every company!" In short, more and more people aren't willing to work 40-hour weeks at companies that don't even pay them enough to cover their basic expenses. Substandard wages in this economy?! No, thank you. 

"We're pushing back on what had previously been considered norms in the workplace like saying no to unpaid overtime and working weekends, we're advocating for our needs, we're unapologetically using our vacation days and sick leave, and we're calling out our employers for unethical workplace practices. People have a lot to say on these topics, and we've loved hosting a platform for these conversations," the page founders said.

"Employed AF is growing faster than any other account we run—it was previously our 30AF backup account and on Jan 1 of this year we had around 3,000 followers when we switched it over to Employed AF. Three months later, we have 116K (and growing!) super engaged followers who we love connecting with every day."

A recent survey by Deloitte found that a whopping 77% of respondents have experienced burnout at their current job. Bored Panda wanted to get the 'Employed AF' team's take on how to address burnout, establish work-life balance, and to find some fun in the 9-to-5 grind.

They opened up to Bored Panda that burnout is a very real issue that they've faced themselves. Some days, even answering a single email felt "like an insurmountable task" that'd be put off, even if it might only take 5 minutes to do.

"The pandemic, the switch to WFH, non-stop Zoom meetings and reorg after reorg along with the existential crisis of having to log your Q2 goals whilst the world crumbled around us was a mind-f to say the least." Some ways to get over burnout include realizing that working during working hours is enough, and that employees don't owe their boss their time and energy when they're off the clock.

For instance, some workers might feel pressured to sign up for projects outside their job description in order to try and impress one of their company's big-wigs. However, they probably won't notice all of that effort. What's more, even answering emails on a Saturday might not save your skin if there's a reorganization in the works or a massive lay-off planned.

Moreover, it's vital to protect your mental health. One trap that many employees fall into is saying 'yes' to everything at work. However, they might soon find themselves "completely stretched to capacity." It's completely fine to say 'no' sometimes when you're at your limits. Meanwhile, if you plan to work overtime, ensure that you're paid. At the same time, consider using some of that time to build something for yourself.

"The workplace of 2023 is unpredictable and time and energy are as valuable as ever, give that time to yourself and up-skill, build a business, network... do something that benefits you and not a big company that doesn't recognize the contributions you're putting in beyond your assigned tasks/will make up for the fact that we aren't getting bonuses this year with free pizza in the break room on a random Tuesday."

The ‘Employed AF’ Instagram page is managed by the team running the massively popular ‘Thirty AF’ social media project. Created back in December 2019, ‘Employed AF’ currently has 116k followers. Meanwhile, the ‘Thirty AF’ account has amassed a whopping 2.3 million adoring fans since mid-2018.

The entire project and all of its Instagram pages are dedicated to hilarious internet content that brightens people’s day. If you have a sudden impulse to forward a meme to all of your pals like we do, then clearly, they know how to curate content well.

A while ago, Bored Panda had gotten in touch with the founders of the ‘Thirty AF’ page and the 'AF Media' brand, Chloe and Peter, who know each other incredibly well. They have been good friends since their freshman year at Emerson College in Boston, Massachusetts.

When they graduated in 2009, they lived in different states and countries. However, they constantly kept in touch with each other by sending each other memes and videos. Due to how similar their sense of humor was, they eventually decided to share it with a wider public. Namely—the world.

“In 2018, we decided to start Thirty AF as a fun way to share these jokes with a wider group of friends. We never really thought it would ever grow into anything more than a fun hobby, but eventually, it really started picking up and we decided to put more of our focus into figuring out what our brand was and finding creative new ways to engage our quickly growing following through reposted content and regular features that we created ourselves,” the project creators previously told Bored Panda.

“We both have backgrounds in marketing and media, and found that our combined skills helped us create something that stood out from other meme accounts and build a fun and engaged community of 30-somethings,” they shared with us during an earlier interview.

However, online popularity is a double-edged sword. It’s absolutely wonderful to get praise and attention from strangers. Though it can mean that you find very little time for anything but curating your social media page. There’s a lot of pressure that comes from having to entertain everyone.

So, as the years went by, Chloe and Peter changed their approach to how they manage the brand. 

“Much of the content that we post is submitted by creators. We love meeting creators and comedians who are new to Instagram and helping drive traffic to their pages; we have networked with a ton of incredibly talented creators over the years and share their content a lot,” they explained.

“We keep a close eye on meme trends and will often share roundups of the funniest memes and tweets related to trending topics. We're also part of a lot of online groups, particularly for millennials and different nostalgia groups, and a lot of content comes from there. We also create a lot of original content mostly for our stories and TikTok," Chloe and Peter said.

During another, more recent interview, the duo behind ‘Thirty AF’ shared a bit of their wisdom about standing out on social media. There are so many great content creators out there that it can be a bit difficult to have your voice heard at times.

"Pay attention to what resonates with your following and post more of it! Over the years, we have very much let our followers influence our content. When we first started out, '90s/nostalgia wasn't a huge focus. We'd post a nostalgic meme from time to time and began to notice that the comments became a space where people really bonded and had funny and positive interactions with strangers on the internet (shocking... I know!)," the delightful duo told Bored Panda.

"We started to focus on that more and, in addition to the content we posted in the feed, we created story series around nostalgic themes and launched our global treasure hunt for Nostalgia Grabs (free packs of nostalgic treasures hidden all over the world!). We absolutely post content that isn't tied to nostalgia as well, but letting our following influence our themes definitely plays a big part in growing a page on IG!"

Meanwhile, they find new ways to constantly keep their followers engaged, from organizing photo contests to asking for suggestions for songs and movies. What’s more, followers really enjoy being credited and being in the spotlight for a bit, say, when they’re tagged in stories, mentioned for their contributions, and have their comments replied to. It makes people feel valued.

"We put a lot of effort into writing engaging captions, pinning funny comments, and replying to people in the comment threads. Simply posting a meme and bailing isn't a way to connect with people. By hanging around, engaging, and personalizing, you show that you're present and give a human connection to a page. We've put a lot of effort into keeping things consistent through regular features and making story content feel unique to our brand," the ‘Thirty AF’ team said.

"Don't try to take credit for content that you didn't create. Crediting and helping drive traffic to creators' pages is not only the right thing to do, it also is helpful in growing your own page! People appreciate the tags, follow, and share your original content, too. Over the years, we've actually become good friends with a lot of the creators we've connected with through IG, we just went to one of their weddings!"

Which of these memes did you enjoy the most, dear Pandas? Were there any that you forwarded to your colleagues (or even your boss) while you were at work? What keeps you motivated and focused on the silver lining when the going gets tough? Share your thoughts in the comments! We'd love to hear from you.