What’s so great about The Office?

There’s something simply brilliant about NBC’s The Office.  After an eight-hour grind, dealing with the turmoils of corporate America, who would have thought prime-time popularity would fall into the hands of the one show that throws us right back into our cubicles?  And for some reason, nobody seems to mind. 

The power of The Office is its ability to say what we’re all thinking.  The original British version put audiences in stitches.  It was only a matter of time before American TV capitalized on a sitcom that most of the adult world can thoroughly relate to.   

Recently, CNN ran an article (originally posted on CareerBuilder.com) entitled What we can learn from The Office:   

“The show is a cautionary tale serving up weekly reminders of how not to behave in a professional setting.”   

Well put, we certainly don’t want a horde of Dwights running loose in the big machine.  But as an avid viewer of the hit show, I find a peculiar comfort in the fact that when the show ends, I can profess that I’ve learned absolutely nothing. 

For me, The Office is not about learning to joke with care, avoiding brown-nosing or steering clear of “the gossip grapevine.”  It’s about identifying the oddities (and stupidities) of the typical nine to five and exploiting them.  Think about all the eccentric “characters” involved in your office world.  The Office has them all.       

So if you’ve never watched the show, catch up with some reruns this summer.  Or better yet, rent the DVDs.  If you do watch the show, keep watching…it’s a fantastic way to ease your corporate angst.  Just try not to learn too much while you’re watching it.  It takes away all the fun.