This browser game simulates workplace tedium and soul-crushing, endless memos

Clock in, never leave

Over here in the United States, most of us have off from work on Independence Day. It’s a National Holiday, after all, where people gather to grill meat, drink beer, and remember Bill Pullman’s iconic speech about kicking alien ass. It’s a lazy, relaxing day; a few hours where most people can escape the doldrums of a working life.

It’s ironic then that I spent a notable percentage of my morning playing Pippin Barr’s It Is As If You Were Doing Work. The browser-based game is a low-fi send up to the often soul-crushing nature of inter-office memos and the tedious nature of endless typing.

You’ll spend most of your time in It Is As If You Were Doing Work grinding out emails with specific character limits, adjusting calendars, and toiling away in hopes of earning a promotion. Every once in a while, all that hard work nets you a short break, where players can goof off on the outdated Windows desktop and play some Brickbreaker. The work never ends though, because there’s always another assignment to be completed or a promotion just out of reach.