Distract yourself with the 20 funniest back-to-work memes ... before you get back to work
Working hard or hardly working?
Work is a place where, well, we get work done! Some days, it’s easier to get up in the morning, while other days, you just want to bury yourself under the covers and hope a miracle occurs (or lightning strikes). Those hours that you’re putting into your job can be a lot, so it’s nice to take time for yourself and just relax—even if it’s on your lunch break. That’s where back-to-work memes come in. The best memes let you laugh away the stress and worry … at least for a little bit.
Carving out time for a laughter break may seem silly, but it’s a great way to reduce tension and reset your mind before tackling the next task. And no matter how heavy your workload is, you’ll definitely relate to these back-to-work memes. (Don’t worry, remote workers can get in on the fun with work-from-home memes too.)
So put on an away message, then scroll down for 20 totally relatable back-to-work memes. After that? Get back to work!
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Monday blues
The Monday scaries are a real thing and pretty much universal. Some Monday memes to the rescue?
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Caffeine craze
Move over, teacups. We need a supersized serving of coffee before we can even think about doing work!
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Drowning in emails
Those funny out-of-office messages won’t save you from the ocean of emails waiting for you when you get back from a weeklong vacation!
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Forced to return
We’ll go back to work after vacation … kicking and screaming!
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The dreaded comeback
After years of working from home, the return-to-office email hits like a punch to the gut. Did you get one? You’re going to need more work memes to sooth you.
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PJs > everything else
If we have to return to the office, we should at least get to keep the work-from-home dress code. Raise your hand if you’d like to change the definition of business casual, especially on casual Fridays.
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Tick-tock
Nothing moves slower than the clock you’ve been staring at your entire shift. Truly one of the most relatable back-to-work memes!
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Work life 24-7
Guilty as charged when it comes to checking work messages and emails on days off. Be cautious, though, as this is a sign of being a workaholic. This get-back-to-work meme may be good for a laugh, but it’s also a reminder that you shouldn’t get back to work if your vacation isn’t over.
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You snooze, you … feel pretty great
Back to work? How about back to sleep … for another two hours? Alas, after hitting snooze a couple of times, mental math creeps in to see if we can spare just a few more minutes of sleep before the morning rush begins. Talk about one of the more relatable back-to-work memes here!
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Welcome back
You know you’ve had a good vacation when it takes a full 30 minutes to get back into the work groove.
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Breaking news
Sure, you have tons of work to catch up on, but let’s be real: Priority No. 1 is chatting with your best friends in the office and finding out what happened to Carol in sales.
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Zoom ready?
Simply roll out of bed, open your laptop and join the meeting—no preparation, make-up, formal clothes or excuses to get out of work needed.
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Ready, set, disassociate!
Your body may be back at work, but your brain has activated vacation mode. Just don’t let your boss find you scrolling summer memes on the job!
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Running on E
Simply existing with nothing to keep us going.
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Serving time
Luckily, we get out for good behavior every night.
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Did someone say “siesta”?
By our reasoning, you can’t feel sleepy if you’re already asleep. Sound logic.
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Intrusive thoughts
Here’s how to have a great day every day when you’re off: Forget the office exists. And if all else fails, laugh your way through more back-to-work memes.
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Bittersweet goodbyes
A little added day here and there can really make a difference—although it only makes coming back to work harder. But keep some work jokes in your arsenal, and you may have something to look forward to.
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Ultimate combo: work and kids
They’re your greatest joy, but everyone could use some quiet work time now and then! See, getting back to work isn’t all bad.
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Three-day weekend
Did you forget about Labor Day or some other holiday? Good news: Your weekend is one day longer! Do something exciting with your freebie day.
And with that, we’ve reached the end of our back-to-work memes. It’s our sad (but necessary) signal to get back to work!
Why trust us
Reader’s Digest has been telling jokes for more than 100 years, curated and reviewed over the last 20 years by Senior Features Editor Andy Simmons, a humor editor formerly of National Lampoon and the author of Now That’s Funny. We’ve earned prestigious ASME awards for our humor—including comical quips, pranks, puns, cartoons, one-liners, knock-knock jokes, riddles, memes, tweets and stories in laugh-out-loud magazine columns such as “Life in These United States,” “All in a Day’s Work,” “Laughter, the Best Medicine” and “Humor in Uniform,” as well as online collections such as short jokes, dad jokes and bad jokes so bad, they’re great. You can find a century of humor in our 2022 compendium, Reader’s Digest: Laughter, the Best Medicine. Read more about our team, our contributors and our editorial policies.
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