I’ll be honest – it’s been a while since I have worked outside of my home.
After my twins were born, I was fortunate to grow my side hustle as a writer and blogger into a full-time income.
But, once upon a time, I did work out in the world.
In fact, for most of my twenties, I worked with children with autism helping them learn how to play and communicate.
I also worked in the school system as a special educational teacher.
Both of these jobs were highly rewarding, but it wasn’t easy.
It was demanding, taxing and often made me stressed.
I remember how I and my co-workers always looked for ways – like funny memos – to laugh to help lessen the stress and uplift our work atmosphere.
Whether you work in an office setting, at home, or in any type of environment, you can always find ways to make people smile by using funny memos.
You can use these when you send out of office emails, if you need to announce something, or if you just want to be silly and relay information in a way that is passive aggressive.
Whatever the reason, I have some great funny memo ideas for you!
Why Is It Important To Have Humor At Work?
While you don’t have to be a stand-up comedian to get a good laugh at work, well-placed and tasteful humor can enhance the environment and lighten the mood.
Not only will people enjoy working with you and find you more approachable but you can help bust work-related stress and put others at ease during tough days.
Humor at work also humanizes people and puts both employees and employers on common ground since we all like a good laugh!
Plus, studies have shown that humor lends to creativity and helps people play with new ideas.
And with the boost in morale it provides and the upbeat atmosphere it creates, it will help with productivity as well.
Of course, there is a time and a place for workplace humor such as funny memos.
For instance, you certainly don’t want to send a client a passive-aggressive response when you are on vacation!
You also have to take into account other people’s sense of humor.
While one co-worker may find your silly accusation of ruining your vacation funny, another may take it seriously and personally.
But even if you do work in a super-serious work environment, there’s nothing wrong with injecting some humor to brighten everyone’s day.
If you’re not sure how far you can take it, test the waters with some innocent and lighthearted jokes.
Out of Office Emails
Whether you are on vacation, it’s the holidays, or you’re taking a quick break from work, these hilarious out of office messages are the perfect way to let co-workers know you are not available!
Just remember that although you are looking for a chuckle, you should also include pertinent information such as when you will be returning and who they should contact instead.
1. Missing Persons Milk Carton
Use this meme generator to create your own missing person milk carton. You can always add, “If found contact someone other than me.”
2. “I’ll get back to you once I return to civilization.”
Taking a trip away?
Let your coworkers know when you’ll be back to civilization and able to answer their questions.
3. “The bad news is that I’m out of the office. The good news is that I’m out of the office.”
It’s a win-lose but, ultimately, you’re the winner!
4. Vacation Relaxation Graph
While you don’t have to go into detail about your vacation, this funny graph is a great way to emphasize how stressful a vacation can be at times.
5. “It’s me, the Email Autoresponder.”
You can use a little “the person you are trying to reach” text by writing your out of office email as your autoresponder!
For example, your email could say something like: “Hello, this is the Autoresponder! The person you are trying to reach is currently out of the office, so you’ll have to deal with me instead.”
6. Emojis
What is the best "out of the office" email response you've gotten? My in below. pic.twitter.com/7N9rVRmDVR
— Ben Stapley (@benstapley) July 31, 2017
Why write anything?
Lay out the situation with some emojis!
7. “Thank you for emailing but I am currently nursing a bottle of Nyquil.”
When you’re taking a sick day from work, especially as a mom, the last thing you want to do is deal with work emails.
Let your coworkers know you are under the weather with a funny message.
8. “I’m on vacation hoping that I win the lottery and never have to return.”
I mean, who doesn’t wish for this at times?
Just make sure your coworkers and bosses are good-humored enough to know that you are joking.
9. “404: This Person Could Not Be Found.”
If you have a techy job, you can always send out an out of office message as if an error has occurred because you are unavailable.
10. “I am currently not available until dd/mm/yyyy. Enjoy the peace and quiet.”
Sometimes the most funny out of office messages are the ones where you take a jab at yourself.
11. “I am away until mm/dd/yyyy. Please be patient and your email will be deleted in the order it was received.”
I love this one because it starts out as a serious memo and your coworkers may have to read it twice to get the humor!
12. False Hopes
.@HubSpot's 15 Funny Out of Office Messages made our day 😄 #vCommunity what are the best #OOO replies you've ever read? https://t.co/pMa9yXOs4d pic.twitter.com/ZAXWTrPD5r
— Runecast (@Runecast) July 26, 2019
Just attach this to your email!
Funny Memos When You’re Working From Home
Just because you don’t technically work in an office doesn’t mean you can’t take advantage of funny memos!
Check out these out of office messages as well as funny signs you can post on your home office door:
13. “I’ll get back to you when I return from my trip to the fridge.”
For those quick breaks where you need to let someone know you’re taking off for a bit, why not be honest about it?
14. “Alexa, play ‘Margaritaville’ by Jimmy Buffet.”
To announce your vacation, send this witty little note! You can use any vacation-related song such as:
- Some Beach by Blake Shelton
- School’s Out by Alice Cooper
- Vacation by the Go-Gos
15. “Mom is in a meeting.”
Not sure how to keep your kiddos out of your hair as a work-at-home mom?
Just answer the questions they are going to ask anyway!
16. “I’m in here. You’re out there. Let’s keep it that way for a little while longer.”
Here’s another funny memo you can use to let your family know you are busy working at home!
17. “I am not out of the office but I am ignoring your emails.”
When you work in an office, it’s easy to see which co-workers are busy and which ones are not. At home, there’s really no other way to let others know you are swamped than by sending some funny messages.
Passive-Aggressive Funny Memos
When you search for funny memos, chances are you’ll come across some that are a bit more passive-aggressive than others.
Being passive-aggressive usually involves saying something in a friendly tone when you are really trying to be “mean” or stern – and most of the time it is harmless and humorous.
18. How to Annoy a Passively Aggressive Person
Before we look at funny memos that are passive-aggressive, let’s talk about how you can annoy a passively aggressive person!
Basically, all you have to do is exactly what the memo asks you not to do in a way that is subtle.
19. “I am out of the office. However, feel free to tweet me using the hashtag #IMINTERRUPTING[NAMES]VACATION.”
Can you spot the passive-aggressive tone here? The hashtag says it all!
20. “Thank you so much for the email. I love it already!”
If you’re being bothered over the Christmas holidays, treat unwanted emails like a Christmas gift.
21. “I am already disturbed. Please come in.”
If you’re already annoyed, what’s one more annoyance?
22. “No, I did not watch {popular show} last night. Please do not discuss it around my desk.”
This one may be a bit specific but we certainly don’t want our days ruined by unsolicited spoilers!
23. “Number of days since someone has sung ‘We Don’t Talk About Bruno’ in this office.”
Seriously, can anyone get that song out of their head yet? Or are we still singing “Let It Go?”
Funny Post-It Notes to Keep On Your Desk
To add some humor to your place of work, you don’t have to blatantly post funny notices around the office or come up with witty out of office messages.
Instead, you can simply keep some funny post-its on hand!
24. Honest Acronyms
Check out this collection of stickies for making notes and being honest.
You’ll always have a post-it for every OMG, FYI, and WTF moment!
25. Deal With This Post-Its
Need someone at work to get something done?
These funny sticky memos get right to the point in a hilarious way.
26. Funny Stickman Memos
Sometimes it’s not a funny message on a stickie note that will make someone laugh.
These funny post-its are just, well, funny!
27. WFT Post-Its
If you have a job where you find yourself constantly asking, “What the-” (well, you get it), you can use these post-its to answer that question!
28. Sloth To-Do Notepad
These funny post-its are just plain cute!
They are a legit great way to create a to-do list for yourself or other employees but with an appreciated sloth-ish flair!
Funny Quotes to Put On Your Office Wall
Whether you work from home or at an actual office, you should put some funny quotes on your wall to help lighten the mood!
Here are some of my favorites:
29. “One e-mail is worth a thousand meetings.”
How many meetings have you sat through that could have easily been covered in an email? If it’s quite a few, this sign is for you!
30. “Hard work never killed anybody, but why take a chance?”
This funny quote comes from Edgar Bergen who was an American actor, comedian, and radio performer.
While I know we all do our best as working moms, there’s nothing wrong with wanting to take it slow from time to time.
31. “My keyboard must be broken. I keep hitting the escape key yet here I am.”
I think this would the perfect funny quote for work-at-home moms who use their computers all day! I know there are days (especially warm and sunny ones) where I wish my escape could help me get away.
32. Anything from ‘The Office’
Seriously, just pick a Dwight Schrute quote for your office wall and it will instantly be hilarious!
33. “I don’t always work but when I do I make sure the boss is around.”
If you have a good relationship with your boss, this is one of those funny quotes you can definitely get away with.
Want to poke fun at yourself? Put this up in your home office!
Funny Working Mom Memes to Send to Your Coworkers
Working moms are a special breed so if you work with other moms, I know they will appreciate the humor of these memes:
34. I Work From Home
Look familiar? While you may be starting a little earlier than noon when you have kids, this is the general flavor of those who work flexible jobs at home.
35. Full-Time Side Gig
Any mom co-worker is going to understand and appreciate this meme. Balancing work and mom life can definitely be challenging.
36. “Ok”
Just attach this image in an email to a mom co-worker. That is all.
37. Stress-Eating
It really does seem like an endless cycle, doesn’t it?
Make your co-workers’ day by sending them this funny meme!
Make ‘Em Laugh – At Work!
I hope you enjoyed these funny memos! Keeping things light and humorous in the workplace is highly beneficial – just don’t forget to read the room.
Now it’s your turn – What’s the funniest note you have ever seen at work? Drop in the comments or leave some funny quotes about being a working mom.
And don’t forget to pin!
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