WELCOME to my Work Crypt, where the only things scarier than the targets are the funny antics and bloopers that usually happen behind the cubicle walls.
In every company I've worked with, there’s a treasure trove of funny and light-hearted moments that make the daily grind a bit more bearable. From the prank wars of Meryl and Rodel vs. Franz to my unexpected bloopers, these stories are the lifeblood of workplace camaraderie.
Let's take a peek and listen to these anecdotes.
A few decades back, I was still with investments. One Saturday morning, I went inside a beauty shop. As I walked in, my male client threw me a question in a voice loud enough for a few customers to hear. “Mae, pila imong rate karon?” I felt my face burning but kept my composure and answered in a voice for others to hear. “Juan, money market rate or time deposit kay taas ug difference?” Those heads that turned all went back to what they were doing. I know what rate they were thinking.
An officemate who used to work at a call center shared that every time a call center agent goes home at night and passes by a dimly lit area, he gets offers from night crawlers. But when it’s him, no one bothers. It made him think, “Is it because I’m too dark they can’t see me, or something else?” His brutally gentle seatmate answered, “Too dark.”
Yes, there are brutal officemates. 71% of my team are millennials and Gen Zs, but they all have Gen X characters. You might think they easily get offended or might tell you that our joke is offensive. Nah, they'll be the first to throw the punch. They joke about each other's height and skin color.
Recently, we had a case of the missing lunch box. A lunch box with rice inside was missing. One of the male employees mistook it for his. The owner posted it in our group chat as missing. The culprit, no offense meant, returned it the following day with a note and free dessert.
The incident created a bit of a commotion. Everyone made jokes about it, which made Tuesday morning feel like Friday afternoon. One funny comment I liked from that incident was, “Ingon ana ra diay ang style, ha.” And I know it is not the dessert—it’s the note. You know what I mean.
On the same floor, we also have a Phantom Prankster. He loves to scare everyone with his loud voice. In other words, ga pangurat. No one is exempt from him. I don’t know if he does it to let off steam from stress or if he loves to scare people and gets a big laugh out of it. One of these days, I will interrogate him.
So, the next time you’re feeling the weight of work, remember: the Work Crypt is always full of laughter, and sometimes, that’s the best kind of productivity.
