‘Come on’: Aussie creator claims office workers ‘don’t do anything’

A popular Australian creator has sparked a major online debate after sharing a “controversial opinion” about people who work in offices.

A popular Australian creator has sparked an online debate after claiming that those who work in office jobs “don’t do anything”, with a surprising number of people agreeing with him.

Anthony Voulgaris, who boasts over 548,000 followers on TikTok, recently took to the platform to share his “controversial opinion”.

“I truly believe that office workers, at least 90 per cent of them, they don’t do f***ing anything. They do jack s**t,” he said.

“Look, maybe they send an email or two. Do you know what I mean, they do like a little bit of work, but not very much.”

In addition to this, Mr Voulgaris estimated that about 80 per cent of those workers also believe their job is hard.

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The creator then clarified that his comments weren’t coming “from a place of judgement”, but rather from a place of “respect”.

“Good on you. That’s the way to do life,” he said.

“My friend just sent me a message saying, ‘Sorry I haven’t responded over the holidays, it’s been hectic, but I am back at work now so I’ve got time to respond’. Come on.”

Mr Voulgaris also used to work in an office setting, where he said he had so little work to do that he used to go on four hour walks a day because he was “so bored”.

He claimed he used to pester his bosses for more work and they would just brush him off because he had only been working there for a few months.

“I actually quit because I was so bored,” he said.

From the comment section of the video, it seems there are many Aussies who agree with Mr Voulgaris’ assessment, but one expert has warned against painting all office workers with the same brush.

Dr Tiffany De Sousa Machado knows what it is like to work in an office setting. She is the Head of Wellbeing and Development at DrTiff.com.au, a lecturer, as well as the Associate Head People & Culture, Adelaide Business School, University of Adelaide.

Speaking to news.com.au, she conceded that staring at a screen all day can certainly look unproductive from the outside.

“Often, as I sit and work or participate in a zoom conference I wonder what my dog is thinking as she watches me – ‘what is she doing just sitting there?’ It has also been the cry of many a partner who would often accuse me of not doing ‘real’ work,” she said.

“It’s easy to dismiss office work as little more than tapping away at a keyboard and firing off a few emails, especially when viewed through the lens of physically demanding jobs.”

Dr Tiffany De Sousa Machado said office work may be perceived as being less demanding as the effort put in is often ‘invisible’ to the outside. Picture: DrTiff.com.au

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Dr De Sousa Machado said office work can often seem less substantial when comparing the often invisible cognitive effort required for these roles - such as planning, organising, strategizing and problem solving — to the visible, tangible labour of others.

While this mental labour might not leave people physically drained at the end of the day, she said it can be just as exhausting.

Since being posted, Mr Voulgaris’ video has gained more than 560,000 views and over 1600 comments.

One person claiming to be an officer worker said the video “100 per cent described” them, while another noted they used to be so bored at their office job that they would go out to buy office supplies they already had just to have a task to complete.

“It was such a culture shock going from retail to my first office job and my first thought was, ‘what are we even doing here?’,” one said.

Another person claimed that, in their experience, 20 to 30 per cent of employees seem to “do all the productive work”, while the rest are just “cruising”.

However, not everyone agreed with this perspective, with many office workers claiming their workplace was very different to what was described in the video.

One commenter branded their office job “stressful” and said they were always under the pump at work, another person agreed, saying they have “a thousand KPIs to uphold”.

The video sparked a major debate. Picture: iStock

One added: “From someone who’s been a cleaner, seasonal worker, retail and many others, my office job is way less physical. BUT mentally its exhausting.”

Another claimed it changed depending on your workplace, noting they would do “nothing for days” in their last role, but their new job is “non-stop”.

Similarly, Dr De Sousa Machado noted that “not all office jobs are created equal”.

“There are roles where the workload is lighter, and yes, some days might genuinely feel like they’re defined by little more than email replies. I’ve had these roles – they served a purpose but were ultimately unrewarding and undemanding,” she said.

“But in many sectors, what looks like casual typing is actually the visible tip of a much larger iceberg of cognitive effort.

“I have often felt complete exhaustion at the end of a day in the office where I have had to think and create all day. Mental depletion is real, despite it looking like a seated respite from doing anything real.”

Ultimately, she believes that every kind of work holds value and services a purpose, with one not being inherently better or more important than the other, adding that they are just different and demanding in their own ways.

“Recognising this helps us move beyond surface-level assumptions to appreciate the diverse ways people contribute to the world,” Dr De Sousa Machado said.

Originally published as ‘Come on’: Aussie creator claims office workers ‘don’t do anything’