Dilbert cartoon first published on Sunday 16th November 1997

Dilbert//3137, first published 29 years ago on Sunday 16th November 1997

Tags

urgent doing work more urgent

Official transcript

The Boss hands Dilbert a piece of paper. The Boss says, "This is urgent. Stop what you're doing and work on it right now."

Dilbert looks at the report. Dilbert says, "Is it more urgent than what I was doing?"

The Boss says, "I don't know what you were doing."

Dilbert says, "Exactly. So how could you know if this is more urgent?"

The Boss says, "Tou could work late and do both."

Dilbert says, "Work late? Is this more important than my health?"

The Boss grabs the piece of paper. The Boss says, "Forget it! I'll have Alice do it."

Wally looks over the cubicle wall. Wally asks,"Just out of curiosity what ARE you doing?"

Dilbert says. "Playing "Quake"."

originally published on dilbert.com

Open source transcript

THIS IS URGENT.

STOP WHAT YOU'RE DOING AND WORK ON IT RIGHT NOW.

IS IT MORE URGENT THAN WHAT I WAS DOING?

I DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU WERE DOING.

EXACTLY. SO HOW COULD YOU KNOW IF THIS IS MORE URGENT?

YOU COULD WORK LATE AND DO BOTH.

WORK LATE? IS THIS MORE IMPORTANT THAN MY HEALTH?

FORGET IT! I'LL HAVE ALICE DO JUST OUT OF CURIOSITY, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?

PLAYING "QUAKE."

collated from github.com/jvarn/dilbert-archive

AI Analysis

Comic Strip Title: "Work Late"

Summary:

This 'Dilbert' comic strip, originally published in 1997, humorously portrays a conversation between a boss and an employee about the importance of work.

Scene:

• The boss asks the employee if they are more urgent than their previous task.
• The employee responds that they are more urgent than their health.
• The boss then asks the employee to work late, and the employee agrees.
• However, the employee is then distracted by a game of "Quake" on their computer.

Humor:

• The comic strip pokes fun at the common workplace phenomenon of employees being asked to work late, often without adequate compensation or recognition.
• The humor lies in the employee's willingness to prioritize work over their health, only to be distracted by a game.
• The comic strip also highlights the absurdity of the situation, where the employee is asked to work late without any clear understanding of what they are doing or why.

generated by llama-3.2-11b-vision-instruct

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