Work Humor

Penguin presents the unabridged, downloadable audiobook edition of Peace Work, written and read by Spike Milligan. "I had not informed my parents of my return. I wanted it to be a lovely surprise; it was for me - they were away...." The seventh and last volume of Spike Milligan's memoirs sees our hero returning from war and Italy...but to what? Aside from shooting large, inaccurate guns at Germans, all he has done for five long years is blow a trumpet....

The year is 1995, and Gina leaves a failed relationship for a California Dream, only to find she can’t afford rent in the promised land. That’s OK, she’s not alone; the nonprofit social service agency that hires her into an entry level mental health job is dominated by a gang of sophomoric slackers, who literally spend 24/7 on the job; since they don’t get paid enough to pay rent, they simply don’t. It’s a makeshift commune of sorts, evolved of necessity. This fictional biography is a darkly comic, social services satire; the action has moved off the grounds of the State ...

Fame and fortune should be good enough for him. I swore never to return to Texas, but my boss insisted I go scout out the next big music talent. I’d argue, but then someone might find out I grew up in a place that was the definition of unsophisticated. Boo. So when I find myself in a backwood, honky-tonk bar, all I want to do is get out of there before someone recognizes me. Of course, my ex-fiancé had to saunter through the door, and right as he took the stage, he totally saw me tip out of my chair. I will never live that down. All I have to do is convince Tyson to take the offer he’d...

If you've ever worked in customer service (or any job, really), you know that everyone else—the customer, the boss, the company—is always right, and never the employee. Well, lucky for you, the "Angry Retail Guy" is more furious—and funnier—than ever in this hilariously unhinged guide to all the things we wish we could say out loud at work . . . without getting fired. In The Customer Is Always Wrong, you'll laugh (and maybe cry) at this rant-filled, illustrated attack on all the frustrating things that suck about work.

Comedy is king. From multimillion-dollar TV specials to sold-out stand-up shows and TikTok stardom, comedy has never been more popular, democratized, or influential. Comedians have become organizing forces across culture—as trusted as politicians and as fawned-over as celebrities—yet comedy as an art form has gone under-considered throughout its history, even as it has ascended as a cultural force.

Live through a raucous and stinky night in the life of a New York City garbage truck. What fun it is to keep the city clean, by eating a special recipe of alphabet soup!

Called “our finest black-humorist” by The Atlantic Monthly, Kurt Vonnegut was one of the most influential writers of the 20th century. Now his first and last works come together for the first time in print, in a collection aptly titled after his famous phrase, We Are What We Pretend To Be.

The second Plunge story ... all about the first time When Kathy took The Plunge! ... Hal was a minor figure in the tale Now it is his turn to be the centre of the action. The things we do for love!

When Dawn Fallon abandons her ambitions to be a professional musician and becomes a Civil Servant little does she realise she would be given a job as a VAT Control Officer - a job she struggles with on many levels, but with the help and support of her senior colleagues, she achieves a promotion, though finds the job no less difficult. The job brings her into contact with some bizarre situations and an interesting variety of business people. As she visits businesses to inspect their accounts for Value Added Tax purposes, researches whether sheep semen is taxable, grapples with solving why a ...

Gawky. Awkward. Amazonian. I’ve heard it all. That’s why I’m surprised when my domineering billionaire boss, Liam King, tells me I’m the perfect woman to pretend to be his girlfriend to soften his image to the media. I know I should say no. Not only is Liam an Alpha-hole, but I’ve also been trying to get him to fire me for months. Not give me this very weird ‘promotion.’ But life is short and when else am I going to get the opportunity to live the high life? That fat bonus he promises me if I pull this off only sweetens the deal. It’s just pretend; I could never really catch...

They’re destined to love each other from afar, until their worlds collide… Barista Camille has a secret: she’s got a crush. An all-encompassing crush on the glamorous older woman who comes into her coffee shop every single day at precisely seven thirty a.m. It’s crazy. Madison doesn’t even know she’s alive, but that doesn’t keep Camille from dreaming about her every night. Billionaire Madison has the weight of the world on her shoulders. The CEO of one of Seattle’s largest software firms doesn’t have time for dating, fun, or any type of a personal life. Too many people are...

Are you tired of being the bigger person? Do you yearn to master the fine art of passive-aggressive revenge? Look no further! The Art of Being Petty At Work is your hilarious (and toxic) guide to becoming the office prankster everyone secretly fears. From expertly timed “Per My Last Email” zingers to the masterful placement of 'Official' signs, this parody guide will teach you how to reach the level of petty most people can only ever aspire to achieve.

This short story collection by J. Reder White is an ecclectic patchwork of plots and characters and ideas, some worked out while waking and pondering, others slipped into his mind while sleeping. Some come from a dark place, but most sparkle in that darkness. If they amuse you, then they have done something good. If they make you think, then they have started to work their magic. If they touch you, well, then I have little to do with that, do I?

Eat your heart out, Nostradamus! There's a new soothsayer in town and his name is Scott Adams. The ruthless ridiculer of corporate idiocy, together with Dilbert, Dogbert, and the twits in management, turns his eagle eye on everything from new work-avoiding technology to sex with aliens. He predicts that (finally!) we'll learn to harness the most abundant resource in the universe: stupidity.

Plans are meant to be trashed. I pride myself on being in command of my life. Maybe it’s become slightly control freak-level, but I prefer predictability. So, when an unfortunate photo surfaces of me with Tad Fisher, the music industry’s favorite bad boy, it screws up my carefully calculated plans. I am not Tad’s girlfriend and the only thing crazier would be pretending that I am. Sometimes, drastic measures have to be taken to restore order. What does Tad get out of all of it? I’m the key to repairing his image. Dating a good girl might help sales of his sappy love songs, but not ...

Incomplete Works is a comedy about a young urban snob who is forced to attend a vocational college in Wyoming.

Join professional comedy writer Joel Morris on a hilarious journey into the hidden world of shared laughter, where he reveals the mechanisms that make jokes work and what comedy can teach us about ourselves. Offering astute analysis of everything from stand-up to slapstick and sitcom to spoof, Morris examines comedic patterns, rhythms, and dynamics to uncover the algorithms that secretly underpin comedy.

Epic Exits II: The Accidental Sequel Welcome to the ultimate guide to leaving your job in a blaze of surreal, side-splitting, and slightly unhinged glory. Whether you’re suffering from "Can You Just" fatigue, a boss who schedules meetings over lunch, or an IT Steve who was clearly destined for jousting greatness, this book is your passport to escaping corporate madness with style, flair, and possibly a papier-mâché cow head. Inside these pages, you’ll find: Masterful exit strategies (including sumo-wedgie philosophy, doughnut crime scenes, and the unstoppable power of a well-timed ...

We all use excuses for one reason or another. We use them to justify our own behavior and those of people we know and love. And sometimes for those we don’t. As humans, it’s just something we do. In his latest scholarly work, Anthony Ventrello presents excuses to get out of doing things from work, school, and even family weddings. With the help of pictures and personal experiences, Mr. Ventrello helps his readers learn that there is an excuse to get out of anything. Use at your own risk.

Some people think the workplace is no place for funny business. But the upside of humour for our careers is significant. A recent survey of more than 700 CEOs showed that 98 per cent prefer job candidates with a sense of humour and 84 per cent think that funny employees do better work. Psychologist Dr Jennifer Aaker and comedian Naomi Bagdonas' research has shown that humour makes us feel more competent and confident, strengthens relationships and boosts resilience during difficult times.