There's a specific kind of person who still quotes The Office at work, and if you're reading this, there's a decent chance it's you. The show spent nine seasons inside a paper company in Scranton, Pennsylvania, and somehow made a beige office park feel like home. Part of the reason is that everyone has worked with these people. Plenty of fans have rewatched it five or six times, and every rewatch reveals another running joke hiding in the background. The boss who wants to be loved. The coworker who takes the rules way too seriously. The one who keeps making faces at the camera, or at you, across the room. So which of them sits at your desk?
The Big Personalities Up Front
Michael Scott types want to be everyone's best friend and favorite boss at the same time. Michael threw party after party, wrote a screenplay starring himself as a secret agent and once declared bankruptcy by shouting it across the office. He also kept a mug that said World's Best Boss, which he bought for himself. If you're a Michael, you're warm, a bit needy and much better at sales than people think. You also care about your team more than you can say without making it weird.
Dwight Schrute types run on rules and beets. Dwight was assistant to the regional manager, a volunteer sheriff's deputy and the owner of a beet farm with a bed and breakfast attached. Dwight types are loyal, intense and wildly hardworking. They believe in preparation. They also believe there's a right way to do everything, and it happens to be their way.
The Ones Sharing Looks Across the Room
Jim Halpert types are laid back and quietly clever. Jim spent years putting Dwight's stapler in gelatin and pulling off pranks with the patience of a heist planner. Jim types are funny, easygoing and great at reading a room, though they can coast when something doesn't excite them.
Pam Beesly types are the creative hearts of the office. Pam started out at reception, sketching in her downtime, and slowly found the courage to want more: art school, a new role and a different kind of life. Pam types are kind, observant and braver than they give themselves credit for.
Accounting Deserves Its Own Category
Angela Martin types have standards, and you don't meet them. Angela ran the party planning committee with an iron fist, owned more cats than anyone could count and judged everyone's outfits in silence. Angela types are organized, principled and private, with a soft side they only show to very few people, and to the cats.
Kevin Malone types are joy in human form. Kevin spilled his famous chili across the office carpet, played drums in a cover band and had a gift for finding the shortest way to say anything. Kevin types are relaxed, funny and impossible to stay mad at. They might not be the fastest with a spreadsheet, but they're great at making a long day feel shorter. They're also, somehow, excellent poker players, which surprises everyone who sits down at the table with them.
Fair Warning About the Questions
You'll be asked about your desk, your lunch, how you'd sit through a dull meeting and what you'd bring to the office holiday party. Some answers will sound like things you'd never say out loud at work. Pick them anyway. Your manager isn't watching, and the camera crew packed up years ago. Nobody from HR is reading this either, not even Toby.
