The intern – we all know one, you may have even been one, there’s even a movie starring the one and only Robert De Niro that captures this familiar character. On Thursday, June 17, 2021 the world was treated to a classic intern-esque snafu that brought the internet joy (#DearIntern) and made all of us at Humor that Works very excited.
In short, HBO Max subscribers received an empty email with the subject line: Integration Test Email #1, and a single-sentence message: “This template is used by integration tests only.”
As customers wrote in, HBO took a step that would open the floodgates for people to connect:
In an act of solidarity, people around the world began sharing their own relatable and humorous stories and big learning moments.
Some #DearIntern were easy to make, innocent mistakes;
(As someone who has also worked multiple jobs at once I’ve definitely forgotten where I am and gone into auto-pilot while answering the phone. While I’m sure I confused many clients, they all survived.)
Some #DearIntern mistakes were a bit more shocking:
(this team probably just needs to take a few more buzzfeed quizzes)
One #DearIntern mistake made us ask “HOW?”:
And our personal favorite over here at Humor That Works:
In work and professional settings, we can get so wrapped up in “doing things right” that we forget that mistakes are a fantastic way to learn and improve as long as the proper support system is in place. Besides, everybody makes mistakes at one point or another and it can bring, not only a company, but a world together when taken in stride and the humor can be found.
Hopefully, that intern will be able to laugh about this mix up sooner rather than later and companies around the world take a page out of HBO’s book to foster growth through humor – based on this experience, it’ll make us all feel a little bit closer.
For more information on our Humor in the Workplace services to maintain high morale and employee engagement, checkout our Humor Services page and book a Strategy Call with us.
Author: Paige Hackworth
