Coworker Memes is an X labeling trend where users tag movies, videos, wallpapers, and even facial expressions as content a stereotypical office coworker would enjoy. The format surfaced en masse in 2023 and rolled into early 2024, spawning variants like coworker core, coworker face, and coworker phone wallpaper.
Origin
The earliest widely referenced post came from X user @danCLYNE on January 10, 2020, who captioned an image of a man being hypnotized with "Me being forced to watch a YouTube video a coworker thinks is funny," picking up over 2,800 likes across the following four years[1]. The joke sat quietly for years before newer waves of coworker-themed tweets pushed the idea into a full format in 2023[3].
- Platform: Twitter / X (viral spread)
- Creator: @danCLYNE
- Date: 2020
Overview
Coworker Memes, sometimes called Coworker Core or The Type of Video Your Coworker Shows You, is an X labeling trend where posters tag content their coworker would supposedly enjoy, treating coworker as a stand-in for lame or normie taste[3]. Common variants include coworker movies, coworker phone wallpaper, coworker face, and coworker videos, each targeting a different flavor of secondhand cringe[5].
The format usually pairs a caption like "the type of video your coworker shows you" with a screenshot or short clip of something the poster finds corny enough that they would have to fake laugh at it[4]. By late 2023, coworker was working as a derogatory slang word on X, used similarly to normie[3].
How It Spread
The trend broke into mass X circulation on February 13, 2023, when @yesitsmyaccount posted a clip of a coworker showing him a Family Guy scene with the caption "Hanging out with my favorite coworker," clearing 49,000 likes within a year[2]. Momentum built through the fall, with @libralaur quoting an "It's the Way You Act" video on October 8, 2023 and writing "This the type of video ur coworker shows u and u gotta fake laugh with them," picking up over 11,000 likes[4]. On December 26, 2023, @niketotebag quoted a Whatever Podcast clip with "this is the type of video your 36 year old coworker shows you in the break room," gaining over 19,000 likes[6].
The format's biggest single post came from @prizedpony on December 30, 2023, who quoted a picture of skeleton artwork with paint pouring from the skulls and captioned it "Average coworker phone wallpaper," collecting over 102,000 likes in two months[5]. The screenshot jumped platforms when Instagram account @dopecontent.inc2 reposted it on January 3, 2024, adding roughly 21,200 more likes[3].
In early February 2024, @buggirl29 stretched the joke to appearance with a "chronic case of coworker face" tweet about Ned's Declassified stars Devon Werkheiser and Lindsey Shaw, hitting roughly 96,000 likes in three days[7]. Two days later, on February 3, 2024, @haterperson6714 quoted a "Historic paintings given expressions" video with just the caption "coworker core," gaining over 32,000 likes in a single day and locking in the shorthand[8].
How to Use
Posts typically take a piece of media the writer finds cringe or dated and quote-tweet it with a coworker label. Common conventions include coworker movies, coworker phone wallpaper, coworker face, and the catch-all coworker core, each functioning as shorthand for taste the poster wants to distance themselves from[8].
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Coworker Memes The Type Of Video Your Coworker Shows You?
It is an X labeling format that tags content as something a stereotypically dorky office coworker would enjoy, used to mock normie or cringe taste[3].
Where did Coworker Memes The Type Of Video Your Coworker Shows You come from?
The earliest known viral post was a January 10, 2020 tweet by @danCLYNE about being forced to watch a YouTube video a coworker thinks is funny, though the format took off on X in 2023[1].
What does Coworker Memes The Type Of Video Your Coworker Shows You mean?
Calling something coworker implies it is corny or the kind of media a 36 year old office worker would share in the break room, as in @niketotebag's viral Whatever Podcast quote tweet[6].
How do you use Coworker Memes The Type Of Video Your Coworker Shows You?
Quote-tweet a video, image, or wallpaper you find cringe and label it with a tag like coworker phone wallpaper, coworker core, or coworker face[5].
Is Coworker Memes The Type Of Video Your Coworker Shows You still popular?
The trend's largest tweets landed between late 2023 and early 2024, with @prizedpony's coworker phone wallpaper post from December 2023 pulling over 102,000 likes[5].
