If you haven’t seen NBC’s “The Office” yet, and you’ve ever worked in an office, then you should definitely catch an episode. Its Nominations for two golden globes this year are not surprising, as the show just keeps you rolling. It’s one of my favorites and I think the appeal is not only in it’s humor, but that at least one of the characters on the show reminds each of us of someone we’ve worked with.

Angela from Accounting
I think I can probably generalize that everyone has unfortunately had the pleasure of working with someone like Angela. There have been too many to count for me.

The woman is tiresome. Her holier-than-thou complex is just down right rude, not to mention obnoxious. She is absolutely convinced that no one can do anything as well as she can – that everyone in the world but her is a moron. We could all do without the “If I were you” statements that continually spill out of the mouths of the Angelas in our office.

Inevitably, however, everyone puts up with Angela, doing nothing about her behavior. Despite the fact that we couldn’t help but feel relieved if the soda machine tragically fell over on her (or is that just me?).

Face it, when it comes to the Angelas in our office, we all just roll our eyes, mumble obscenities to ourselves and move on. We don’t say anything because the boss clearly sees something in them that keeps them around and we don’t want to risk losing our job by pointing out the elephant in the room. Say la vi.

Michael, The Manager
Incompetent is the word that comes to my mind. How the man obtained the position of manager, I’ll never understand. How did he kept a job at Dunder-Mifflin long enough to even be considered?

I have most definitely had managers like him, especially in the food service industry. You’d be surprised how many managers in a fast food restaurant stand around dumb-founded most of the time (well, maybe you wouldn’t).

I’ll have to give it to him though, he tries. Well, he doesn’t try to do the job, he tries to get everyone to like him. Granted, his attempts are often ridiculous, but the occasionally margarita party would probably bode well in any office.

Michael is genuinely concerned about what people think of him. He lacks the self-confidence that most stereotypical managers thrive on. He’s a rarity in that regard, at least in my experience.

Dwight, the…. Uh…
What does he do again? Besides brown-nose, that is. Much like the Angelas, we could all do without the suck-up Dwights of the business world. When was the last time we heard anything about Dwight’s actual job on the show? While he deems his position “Assistant Regional Manager,” Michael is often quick to correct him, noting that he is “assistant TO THE regional manager.”

The basic scenario is all too familiar – Dwight’s desire to be more than he is requires him to spend too much of his time at the bosses beck and call to get anything done. And guess who is stuck with picking up the slack, while the Dwights try and take all the credit? But we keep on doing the work, with the meager hope that someone will notice.

Pam, The Receptionist
Now she is the type of co-worker that everyone could get along with. The co-worker we all wish sat next to us. And she is a rare jewel. Pam is sweet, caring and even funny. When Michael is down, despite the fact that she often loathes him, she will help to pick him back up. She even covers him when he’s messed up (as usual).

If we all just strived to be like Pam, work would be much more bearable. The reality is, however, that there will always be someone you work with whose personality clashes with your own. That’s just how it is. The best way to cope is to watch “The Office” and find some laughter in the familiarity.

Related Readings:
• Entrepreneur.com: Is Your Office Like “The Office?”

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