Top Remote Working Meme

The absolute best remote working meme right now

If you are looking for the single most relatable image to share in your Slack channel today, it is the "This Meeting Could Have Been An Email" meme. Usually featuring a tired-looking person, a skeleton sitting at a desk, or just bold text on a coffee mug.

Why? Because it captures the universal pain of modern digital work. We have all sat there for 45 minutes listening to a manager drone on about something that took three sentences to explain. It is the gold standard.

But honestly, picking just one is hard because the internet moves so fast. The "best" meme depends on exactly what kind of day you're having. Is it a "my internet is down" day? Or a "I haven't showered in three days" day? Let's break down the top contenders that define our home office lives.

The Hall of Fame: Classics that never get old

You can't talk about WFH memes without paying respect to the legends. These are the ones that actually made the news. Even my mom knows about these.

1. The "I am not a cat" Lawyer

If you haven't seen this, stop reading and go look it up on YouTube. Seriously. A Texas lawyer joined a Zoom court hearing but couldn't figure out how to turn off a kitten face filter. His shaky voice saying, "I'm here live, I'm not a cat," is the peak of human comedy.

According to Wikipedia and pretty much every news outlet, this happened in early 2021 and it still hits hard. It represents our collective struggle with technology. We are all that cat. Trying to be professional while technology makes us look ridiculous.

2. The BBC Dad

Okay, this was actually pre-pandemic (2017 I think?), but it became the prophecy for our lives. Professor Robert Kelly was doing a serious interview on live TV about South Korea, and his toddler struts in wearing a bright yellow sweater. Then the baby rolls in. Then the mom slides in like a ninja to drag them out.

It’s perfect. It shows the collision of "Professional You" and "Parent You." We used to try and hide our kids and pets. Now, if a cat doesn't walk across the keyboard during a meeting, did the meeting even happen?

3. The "Skeleton at the Desk"

You’ve seen this one. It's a Halloween skeleton propped up in front of a laptop. caption usually reads: "Waiting for a reply to the Slack message I sent 30 seconds ago." or "Me waiting for the host to start the meeting."

It hits home because time feels different when you're alone. Five minutes of silence in an office feels normal. Five minutes of silence on Zoom feels like an eternity.

The "Camera Off" vs. "Camera On" struggle

This is a huge genre of memes right now. It's the battle between looking like a human being and looking like a swamp creature.

There is a popular meme format showing two pictures side-by-side.
Left side (Camera On): Full makeup, hair done, nice blouse, smiling.
Right side (Camera Off): Messy bun, oversized hoodie with stain, eating a whole bag of chips, staring blankly at the screen.

I feel this one in my soul. There’s something exhausting about "performing" engagement on video. When the camera is off, you can finally relax your face. There’s actually some science to this-Stanford researchers called it "Zoom Fatigue." It's real. Being stared at by a grid of faces causes cognitive overload. That’s why we love these memes so much; they validate that we aren't lazy, we're just overstimulated.

The "Mullet" Outfit (Business up top, party down below)

We have all done it. You wear a nice button-down shirt or a blazer, but underneath the desk, you are wearing Spongebob pajama pants or gym shorts. Maybe you aren't even wearing shoes.

The memes about standing up during a meeting and forgetting you aren't wearing real pants are the stuff of nightmares. But they're funny because they highlight the absurdity of our situation. We are dressing up for a computer screen.

There is a great variation of this meme where someone asks, "Why are you dressed so nice?" and the response is "I have a video call in 5 minutes." Then the next panel is them immediately changing back into pajamas the second the call ends. It’s the modern version of taking your bra off after work, but you do it at 10:30 AM on a Tuesday.

The "Return to Office" (RTO) Panic

Lately, the memes have shifted. Now that companies are trying to force people back to the commute, the humor has gotten a bit more aggressive. And rightfully so.

The villain: "Corporate Culture."
The hero: My couch.

One of the top memes in this category features a picture of a sad office cubicle with grey walls and fluorescent lights. The caption says: "They said come back for the culture. This is the culture."

It cuts through the corporate speak. We know "collaboration" just means "getting interrupted every 15 minutes by Dave." These memes are a way for workers to push back. They are saying, "We know we are more productive at home, stop lying to us."

There is another good one using the Anakin Skywalker / Padme template from Star Wars.
Boss: "We're going back to the office."
Worker: "For a raise, right?"
Boss: (stares silently)
Worker: "For a raise... right?"

Why do we love these memes so much?

Look, working from home is great, but it can be lonely. When you're in an office and something stupid happens, you can look at your neighbor and roll your eyes. You bond over the shared annoyance.

When you work remote, you don't have that neighbor. You are alone in your room. Memes fill that void. They are the digital eye-roll. When you share a meme about how annoying Teams notifications are, you are basically saying to your friends, "Hey, are you suffering through this too?" And they like it to say, "Yes, I am."

It creates a sense of community without needing to be in the same building. Plus, humor is a defense mechanism. If we didn't laugh about the fact that we spend 8 hours a day staring into a light box, we might cry.

Top Sources to find fresh WFH memes

If you want to be the funny person in your Slack group chat, you need to know where to look. You can't just Google "funny pictures." That's how you end up with Minion memes from 2013. Don't do that.

• Instagram Accounts: Look for accounts like @corporatenatalie or @loewhaley. They do video skits that are painfully accurate. Laura Whaley specifically does these "How do you professionally say..." videos that are gold.
• Reddit: The subreddits r/workfromhome and r/antiwork (though that one can get intense) are full of fresh content. Also r/ProgrammerHumor if you work in tech.
• TikTok: The algorithm is scary good. Once you watch one video about "acting busy on Slack," your whole feed will be people making jokes about moving their mouse so their status stays green.

The "Mouse Mover" Phenomenon

Speaking of keeping your status green, this is a huge meme sub-genre. The anxiety of the little green dot on Slack or Teams turning to yellow (away).

There are memes of people tying their computer mouse to an oscillating fan. Or putting it on top of a Roomba. It’s funny, but it’s also kind of sad? It shows how much we are micromanaged. The meme is basically saying: "I am doing my work, but I am terrified my boss thinks I'm doing laundry."

(Spoiler: We are definitely doing laundry. But we are also working.)

How to make your own

You don't need to be a graphic designer. The best memes are usually low quality and made in five seconds.

Use a site like Imgflip. Just find a template that matches your mood.
Feeling angry? Use the "Woman Yelling at a Cat" template.
Feeling conflicted? Use the "Sweating Superhero with Two Buttons" template.
Feeling ignored? Use the "Skeleton Waiting" template.

Just add text about your specific job. The more specific, the funnier it is. "When the client asks for the logo in a Word doc" is funny to designers. "When the ticket has no reproduction steps" is funny to developers.

The Evolution of the "Can You Hear Me?" Meme

In 2020, the top meme was just "You're on mute." It was on t-shirts, mugs, everything.

In 2024, it has evolved. Now the meme is more about the awkward silence after you ask a question.
You: "Does anyone have any questions?"
The Team: *Silence*
You: "Okay... I'll give you 5 minutes of your time back."

That phrase "give you time back" is a meme in itself. It’s corporate speak for "this meeting was useless so let's end it early." We all say it. We all hate it. But we keep doing it.

Final thoughts on the digital culture

Remote working memes are historical documents. Seriously. Fifty years from now, historians can look at these images and understand exactly what the workforce went through in the 2020s. They show the shift from office dominance to digital flexibility.

They show our anxiety, our joy at not commuting, and our collective hatred of Zoom icebreakers. So keep sharing them. Send that meme to your work bestie. It’s the modern version of a water cooler chat, and honestly, it’s probably healthier than gossip.

Just make sure you don't accidentally screen share the meme while your boss is in the meeting. That happened to a friend of mine. It was awkward. But hey, at least they knew he was at his desk.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the most famous remote work meme?

Most people agree it's the "I'm not a cat" lawyer video or the "This meeting could have been an email" image. Those two have been seen by millions and capture the vibe perfectly.

Are these memes safe to share at work?

Generally, yes! But use your judgment. If your boss has zero sense of humor, maybe don't send the one about napping during work hours. Stick to the "too many emails" jokes-everyone agrees on those.

What does "camera off" meme mean?

It refers to the difference between how we present ourselves when people can see us versus how we act when we are hidden. It celebrates the freedom of being messy and comfortable while still getting work done.

Where did the "This meeting could have been an email" phrase come from?

It’s been around for a long time, way before the pandemic. It started appearing on coffee mugs and e-cards in the early 2010s as internet culture started criticizing inefficient corporate management. It just exploded in popularity when all our interaction became meetings in 2020.

Why are Zoom memes so popular?

Because it's a shared experience. We all use the same software, hear the same notification sounds, and deal with the same glitches. It’s a universal language for office workers now.