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work humor

His face is all of us after that first summer job paycheck.

Call it a rite of passage, a baptism by fire, or simply a necessary evil, but a terrible summer job is pretty much a staple of young adulthood. Those concert tickets aren’t gonna pay for themselves, after all. Some summer jobs are heinous by the sheer amount of manual labor involved. Others are just plain weird. I remember one year working as a “live strolling table.” Yep, just walking around attached to an elaborately dressed table offering hors d'oeuvres and champagne. A human-furniture hybrid. How do you put that on a resume?

No matter the role, there is one thing all summer jobs have in common: they teach us humility in one way or another … especially once we see that first paycheck. There’s simply no way to prepare for seeing two weeks worth of hard work equate to a (usually) paltry sum. Hopefully that experience alone makes generous tippers of us all.

Back in 2022, during one of his once popular "hashtag" bits, Jimmy Fallon asked people to share their own “funny, weird, or embarrassing story about a bad summer job” as part of his iconic #hashtags challenge.

Here are 15 that might make your own summer job memory feel a little less dreadful:

“I planted trees for the US Forest Service one summer in HS. Our foreman would go through our lunches, eat our cookies and chips, and take bites out of our sandwiches. We were all about 15 so too afraid to tell.” – @dumpster_diva

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“One summer I worked at Taco Bell during lunch and Furr’s cafeteria during dinner. People would see me at both and ask if I was twins.”– @kerrikgray

“As a young comedian I was hired to MC an event for a furniture store. The owner paid me 5 bucks for every time I would fake trip and fall on my way to the mic. He said he was a 3 stooges fan.” – @Brentfo4242

“I applied for a job while in high school at a toy store. I called back days after the interview asking if they had any news for me. They told me I got the job, and they forgot to tell me. They had me scheduled for that day and was told ‘you’re late.’” – @RockerSam91

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“In high school, I worked at an insurance agency...let’s just say the bus ride to and from work was the best part of the job.” – @SharonZurcher

“In high school I worked at a bounce house company. My first day working was an elementary school field day and the huge inflatable slide starting deflating and collapsing with kids at the top…angry parents staring at me like I had an answer for this at 16 years old.” – @calamari_carly

“In middle school my friend and I got paid to fill, lick and seal about 500 envelopes with documents for a lawyer - a penny per envelope. 3 hours later, we asked for 2 cans of soda from his cooler. He said sure, and took $2 each from our pay. We made a dollar.” – @CameronFontana

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“I worked at a dog kennel. A guy brought in 2 dogs to stay a month. He told me to give a pill every morning to dog #1. So, I did for the month. When he returned, I brought out dog #1 and he said, ‘Hi, dog #2!’ My face turned so red. Oh, well. The dog survived.” – @TheTomeWebster

“I babysat identical twin boys where one constantly screamed and got into mischief but potty trained early while the other was quiet, well behaved but always blowing out diapers. They never did anything ‘identical’. I'm shocked that I still wanted kids after that!” @overbaughs

“Worked at Crumbl in high school. One coworker had the exact same shifts as me, and she was a theater kid. Like MAJOR theater kid, was cracked out 24/7, randomly performing theater at work. I am not proud to say I memorized 10 Shakespeare monologues because of her.” – @itstherealmeboo

summer jobs, jimmy fallon, summer jobs near me, job, late night, funny, bad jobs, work humormedia2.giphy.com

“I held human hearts with a white cotton glove during open heart surgeries, so they didn’t ‘slip’.…No pressure! That’s why l am now a planetary medium and asteroid deflector. Much less stress.” – @rosamalvaceae

“I worked for a local sweet corn farm. I had to sort the corn into boxes for their stands around the state or local grocery stores. It came off the truck onto a conveyor belt by the 1000s. I literally saw thousands of corn cobs in my dreams at night.” – @jdianemiller

“In high school my mom got me a job working with the city to clean an island in the local lake that ducks lived on. Everyday I had to fight a duck, and everyday I needed a bandaid after getting bit by a duck. It was a nightmare and I still hate ducks 30 years later.” – @KingSergioS

summer jobs, jimmy fallon, summer jobs near me, job, late night, funny, bad jobs, work humormedia0.giphy.com

“Hired at an amusement park for the summer, taking summer college classes at the same time…Show up for my 1st day to a supervisor who says ‘Oh, the girl who didn’t show up!’ Proceeds to show me the previous week’s schedule where I had 40 hours during my class time. He rolls his eyes when I explain and gives me every crappy task he can find.......I left after the 2nd day, never picked up my check, but kept my employee ID & got in for free all summer!” – @trixiebelle47

While certain summer jobs, like the ones above, sound like a total nightmare, there have been studies that indicate they may lead to better school outcomes, similar to other out-of-school activities such as sports and clubs. That said, Business Insider also reported that low-wage, entry-level positions are the first to be compromised by the rise of artificial intelligence. So unfortunately, not as heart holding gigs will be available.

This article originally appeared three years ago.

Two totally different approaches to a standard work day.

A video posted to TikTok by lifestyle content creator Hunter shows both men and women entering the office for work—and there’s one stark difference between the two that has people chuckling.

The clip begins with four women, all of whom enter with at least two bags, plus multiple beverage cups. Honestly, it’s a marvel any of them manage to swipe their key card and open the door with hands that full.

Then their male co-workers enter, and it’s a completely different story.


All three of the male employees enter with absolutely nothing in their hands. No bags. Not bottles. No coffee cups. Zip. Nadda.

"I will never understand how guys can show up with nothing in their hands," Hunter wrote in her video’s caption.

@hd33333 I will never understand how guys can show up with nothing in their hands😂 #work #officelife #fyp #foryoupage❤️❤️ #fypage #showinguptoworklike #guysvsgirls ♬ Funny - Gold-Tiger

Look, there are a few obvious factors at play here.

Women are far more likely to spruce up their appearance during bathroom breaks, hence the need for a bag that carries makeup. Plus, they need a bag for any time-of-the-month needs. If they have a workout scheduled later, they probably are taking a gym bag rather than wearing workout clothes all day.

And let’s not get started on how their regular women’s clothes likely offer no pockets to tuck away any of these items. So all in all, it makes sense that they would need to carry more stuff. You could even pose a theory about it relating to a natural inclination to gather and forage, but maybe that’s a stretch.

Psychology musings aside, viewers found themselves relating to the video, and chimed in with their own views on packing for the office.

One woman quipped, “I work from home, and this is still how I arrive,” while others stood by their pack-for-everything stance.

“Ladies are moving in for the day. We have needs and we don’t really know what they will be so we plan for all things,” another added.

We are prepared and it’s why we live longer,” a third said.

Several women also justified the need for multiple beverages throughout the day. One wrote, “People make fun of me but I need a caffeinated drink, a hydration drink and a fun drink! What’s so hard to understand?" referring to the popular “three drink theory” that supposedly helps with productivity.

Meanwhile, men shared a much simpler point of view.

"Phone. Wallet. Keys. Done," one commented.

Another joked, “I don’t bring this much stuff on vacation.”

Sometimes it's fun to have a good laugh at all the quirks that make us different. And I think we can all agree that regardless of gender differences, we're all just trying to make a work day as smooth and stress-free as possible.

Kelly Landry judges your email sign-off.

Even if you never gave much thought to your email sign-off, Kelly Landry, it says a lot about you. In a recent viral TikTok video, the comedic writer explained why she believes they can reveal a lot about someone’s position at work and their personality.

“As a creative and not someone who is sat in an office, I don’t really do a set signature. I noticed that depending on who I was writing to or how I wanted to come across, I would sign my email differently,” she told Southwest News Service. “I found it interesting: if I want to send a business email and want to come across as professional, it can be ‘yours sincerely’ or ‘the best.'”


She critiques 5 sign-offs in her video, entitled: Which email personality are you?

@kellylandrylive

Which email personality are you? #email #anxiety #comedy #emailetiquette #millennial #basic #quiz #officelife #personalitytest #cheers #fyp #kardashians #greenjuice #work

Best — "You're classy and probably in a position of authority."

Sincerely — It’s what you write when you don't know the person you're emailing. You're also probably selling something or writing a "boring a** cover letter."

Thanks — "You're chill, but you're probably a people-pleaser. Especially if you add that exclamation point."

Cheers! — "You definitely spent some time abroad and it's become your entire personality. You also want to make sure you come off light and breezy, even when your email is not."

- (dash) — "You're probably going through life in a constant state of crippling anxiety."

So, what is Landry’s favorite email sign-off?

“I love ‘with gratitude’ — they are my hippies,” she told Southwest News Service. “They are burning sage, they might go on an ayahuasca retreat next year. Not to be confused with ‘have blessing’ or 'have a blessed day,’ which is very mainstream religious.”