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Comment by horns4lyfe | Hacker News Reader

I could not agree more. I'm pretty early in my software career after a few years as a military officer, and if that job taught me one thing, it's that NOTHING at work is as important as you think it is. Looking back on those times, even in a job where lives are sometimes on the line, I can't believe how seriously I took some things and how much more fun I could have had. It's a disappointing lesson to have to learn in hindsight.

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Highly recommend to watch the clip from the movie Office Space (only 54 sec long) [1]

The guy with the moustache is a blue collar worker and the other one is white collar worker (actually in Tech/IT)

[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4lmW2tZP2kU

That’s gotta be one of my favourite movies of all time. This and the printer killing scene are hilarious.

Amusing that so much of that movie is still relatable 20 years later to a whole new generation of workers. Except maybe the scene where he kicks down the cubicle, if I need to be in an office give me a cubicle or something lol

Yes. I'm genuinely surprised how timeless this is.

You watch it today, in 2020, and it's shocking that it was made 20 years ago. This tells me that Judge and the other writers managed to latch on to some very timeless things.

Not sure what they are, but they nailed it.

They latched onto the meaninglessness that is office work, combined with the obvious passive aggression and lack of respect that big companies have for their employees

It's fascinating how good Mike Judge is at 'nailing' a variety of experiences.

Office Space is pitch-perfect, but then he went and created Silicon Valley and King of the Hill too. I can't personally confirm that King of the Hill is accurate, but I've heard it is. Silicon Valley just nails it though, and it is far more specific than the Office Space type stuff.

i still remember the time (early in my career) i was summoned to jury duty and tried to register an "undue hardship" with the judge because i had a project deadline coming up.

i genuinely thought it was that important, but looking back it was really not a big deal at all (and the judge knew it) :)

One level of enlightenment is when you understand things can be done later at your convenience.

Another level of enlightenment is when you understand somethings don't have to be done at all.

thank you, that's a great and pithy comment

It's not like spending your time on jury duty is in any way better than spending it on work (or pretty much everything, for that matter).

You don't think doing your part to guarantee your fellow citizens get their (in the US at least) constitutionally guaranteed right to a jury trial is "worth it"?

According to this thread: no, it's not nearly as important as your own time. They can always get someone else to fill in.

If only there was a way to do that without being treated with a general low-grade contempt.

Remember those late night ironing and polishing things. The few the brave. Ahh the best of times.

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