I used to have office jobs just like this; it’s much worse today. The office jobs depicted in the movie are slower paced, just like office jobs used to be. In other words, despite the level of drudgery and manual toil, people generally had time to actually do their job. Not everything was optimized into oblivion, and that was a good thing. It gave people time to learn, gain mastery, investigate options, and be creative. It wasn’t perfect by any means, but it was a better time.

Now, besides an “always on” demand that many companies expect, if you have to work on site (in order to prop up the company’s real estate investment), forget about a cubicle. Cubicles got a bad rap, but they enabled each person to imbue their workspace with some of their own personality, and they provided a modicum of privacy. Now you only have an open floor plan with desks side by side, and more likely than not, the desks are hot (meaning you have to reserve them in advance). There are very few offices except for executives.

No one has time to do anything, and on a very much related note, many roles that used to be dedicated no longer exist. Instead, their job functions were piled on top of the job responsibilities of people who already had too much on their plates to begin with.

Frankly, in many ways Office Space is nostalgic for me these days. The only two things I have over it are that I work remotely (pros and cons) and I don’t have to wear a pressed shirt and tie anymore.