Ah, another exciting day in the corporate world! I’m sure you live for waking up at 7 a.m., drinking mediocre office coffee and engaging in small talk with colleagues whose names you don’t know. And lucky for you, you get to do it all again tomorrow! If you’re a cog in the corporate machine, you know all too well what it’s like to spend your days sitting at a desk and reading cringey posts on LinkedIn. And if you’re interested in checking out some hilarious memes about this experience, you’ve come to the right place! Below, you’ll find some of our favorite posts from the Surfing Corporate Instagram account. So enjoy scrolling through them while pretending to work, and keep reading to find conversations with the creator of Surfing Corporate, Aileen Merciel, and Ellen Venkrbcova, Marketing Manager at Femme Palette! More info: Website | Podcast “The original idea began in 2017 after I had just undergone a life-threatening surgery due to intense work-related stress,” the creator shared. “I was forced to press pause and ask myself some hard questions: ‘Why did I allow work to jeopardize my physical and mental health? Why didn’t I set boundaries? Why hadn’t I been able to handle the stress better?’” “My way to process this was writing about it through a humorous lens, my go-to coping mechanism,” Aileen explained. “I started jotting down some of my ‘corporate wisdom’ tidbits here and there, then I started diving deeper into broader topics about corporate life and writing personal stories of my most embarrassing moments at work.” “Social media was not my thing, and I didn’t have the faintest idea of how to build a brand or community, but since I had already invested so much time in the Surfing Corporate idea, I decided to give it a try,” the creator continued. “I never expected the Instagram account to take off like it eventually did, or the subsequent podcast I co-host with Glenda Pacanins (my former colleague), which was nominated for a 2024 Ambie Award!” “You’re in a constant competition, and that leads to people being guarded at all times, in offense mode, and taking themselves way too seriously. In many corporate settings, politics and optics are more important than the work itself, which is exhausting for people like me who don’t have a ‘Succession’ or ‘Game of Thrones’ mentality,” Aileen added. “I’ve also been part of companies driven by personal agendas, which is very hard to navigate,” the creator added. “Of course, there are always going to be coworkers and bosses you don’t vibe with, or politics you don’t agree with. Learning to navigate tricky, uncomfortable situations and challenging personalities is a skill you can apply to all types of scenarios, not just work.” Next, Aileen recommends making sure you find your tribe. “For me, that was people with a sense of humor who didn’t take themselves too seriously. I would seek opportunities to make a random weird observation or a joke just to see who would smile back, who would give me a judgmental side glance, and who didn’t get it at all,” she explained. “Finding your tribe is essential for building support and camaraderie at work, and I’ve made incredible friends this way.” “Corporate life can be soul-crushing, so it’s up to you to decide how you’re going to face hard times or handle challenging people. You can choose to escalate something with an insult, or de-escalate it with a joke. Getting a group of people to laugh during a tense work meeting is a great high for me,” the creator shared. And if you’d like to hear more wise words about navigating the corporate world, be sure to check out Surfing Corporate’s blog! “As women, we can feel apprehensive in these areas for fear of being labeled as ‘pushy’ or ‘aggressive,’ but if you want to grow in a corporation, you can’t afford to blend with the crowd. Find your strengths and put them forward confidently,” she noted. “One thing I’d advise though is always tapping into your emotional intelligence and being empathetic,” the expert added. “An inappropriate joke can be hurtful, embarrassing, and ultimately even damaging to team dynamics.” And if you’d like to hear more wise words about career growth from Femme Palette, be sure to visit their website, LinkedIn or Instagram! Follow Bored Panda on Google News! Follow us on Flipboard.com/@boredpanda! Please use high-res photos without watermarks Ooops! Your image is too large, maximum file size is 8 MB.
