These shows and films do more than fill time. They serve as a mirror and a map. They reflect the brokenness of the modern corporate structure while offering a map for how to survive it (usually by finding allies in accounting and laughing at the boss).
This user-generated content has forced scripted media to become louder, stranger, and more specific to compete. Of course, not all work entertainment is healthy. Critics point to a dangerous trend: The glamorization of burnout.
This article explores the evolution, psychology, and massive cultural impact of work entertainment, breaking down why we can’t stop watching shows about the very thing we spend most of our lives trying to escape. From Glorification to Grit In the mid-20th century, work entertainment looked very different. Shows like Mad Men (set in the 1960s) romanticized advertising, presenting it as a whiskey-soaked, chain-smoking playground for geniuses. Prior to that, films like How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying portrayed the office as a whimsical ladder of trickery and luck.