The group itself seems to be quite an orderly place, the chaos that it fosters notwithstanding. The rules include demands that members stay in character (as oblivious office workers) and stay on topic when they post. It’s easy to understand why these rules are important, as the group has nearly 200,000 members and gets thousands of posts a month.

More interesting is why the group exists in the first place. More than just a roleplay exercise, it seems like a place where people cope in some way with the frustrations of their office lives. What is it about office life that has made so many people dread it and create works of film, art and literature to address it?

A survey by Monster.com reported that 26% of the workers they surveyed about office life would rather get a painful root canal than work in their office. Workers resent commute and parking costs as well as the time they spend.

The problem isn’t just a modern one - the movie Office Space was made in 1999 and the American version of The Office wrapped up in 2013. But the lockdowns of recent years have had their own special impact on our perceptions of office life. Many people have realized that their work can remain unchanged or even improve when they do it from home. That same Monster survey indicated that 38% of the workers surveyed claimed they would consider leaving their job if it mandated working from the office even a single day per week.

Working for home has shown some workers that offices can reduce the quality of their work. Large offices can be distracting, they can lack privacy, and can introduce a potentially unwanted social dimension to work. Meanwhile, we can enjoy all of our preferential comforters at home.