Are memes the new language of work?
Memes. Reels. GIFs. The stuff we send without thinking, and yet somehow it’s become one of the clearest ways we communicate how work actually feels. In this episode, w'e’re are joined by Martin Kevill, Creative Director at Tangerine Communications, whose client roster includes Specsavers, Essity and Iceland Foods.
Together, we dig into a deceptively big question:
Are memes the new language of work?
With meme culture now baked into daily life - from group chats to Slack channels to brand marketing - we explore what it’s doing inside organisations: how it shapes identity, culture, connection, and the things people often feel they can’t say out loud.
Memes as the new “water cooler”
Martin argues that memes have started replacing the tiny workplace interactions we used to rely on: the hallway chat, the shared eye-roll, the “you seeing this too?” moment. In a post-pandemic world where communication is increasingly digital and fragmented, memes act as fast, emotionally-loaded signals that can convey:
a feeling
an opinion
a belief
a shared reality
All in a split second.
And crucially, because memes are personal to both sender and receiver, they can carry nuance that standard corporate communication often can’t.
Saying the unsayable
One of the most interesting threads is how memes let people communicate things they might never say directly to a manager, colleague or HR, without technically “saying it.”
Martin describes this as a kind of grey zone: memes can function as a form of micro-therapy, pressure release, or subtle truth-telling — a way of signalling “this is happening” while keeping it wrapped in humour.
It’s also why memes can be powerful in workplaces where anxiety, burnout or frustration are building quietly: they create small moments of recognition that help people feel less alone.
What actually makes something a meme?
We get practical, too. Martin defines a meme as:
an image (often a screen grab from culture)
carrying a strong, universal expression
that can be re-captioned to fit countless scenarios
and shared in highly personal ways
The best memes, he says, are emotionally adaptable. They can be applied to millions of different moments because the expression is so recognisable (even if you’ve never seen the original source).
That’s why memes from live culture — TV moments, viral clips, everyday “caught on camera” reactions — travel so fast: the meme becomes the cultural moment.
The workplace downside: authenticity, inclusion, and power
We also talk about the risks.
Alice raises two big cautions:
Memes can’t replace leadership clarity. If organisations lean on informal, interpretive communication too heavily, it can muddy meaning rather than create it.
Memes can exclude. Because they rely on shared context and interpretation, they don’t always land equally — especially across neurodiversity, generations, or different cultural reference points.
Martin agrees: memes are so powerful they can be used for bad as well as good — fuelling cliques, gossip, exclusion, or misinformation if they become a weapon rather than a bridge.
Can brands and internal comms use memes without killing the joy?
Dan shares examples of internal comms borrowing from pop culture formats (Carpool Karaoke-style leadership videos, viral TikTok “throw/catch” edits) and asks where memes fit — especially in B2B environments and internal communications.
Martin’s take: B2B audiences are still human, but organisations need to earn the right to use memes. If leadership tries to “sound like the workforce” without real connection or credibility, it reads as inauthentic fast. Memes aren’t a shortcut: They work best when there is already genuine shared experience between sender and receiver.
The AI question: do memes need to be real?
We end on the future: if AI can generate infinite memes instantly, do memes still work without a real human moment behind them?
Martin isn’t sure, and that’s the point. The “humanness” of a meme often comes from the shared cultural story attached to it: we all saw this; we were here together. If that disappears, memes may evolve into something else — more like modern cartoons — but the connection mechanism might change.
The takeaway
Memes might look like throwaway humour, but in many workplaces they’re becoming a kind of emotional infrastructure, a quick way to say “I see you,” “same,” or “we’re in this together.”
Used well, they can create micro-connection in an increasingly disconnected world of work. Used badly, they can become exclusionary, confusing, or corrosive.
Either way: they’re not going anywhere.
Guest: Martin Kevill, Creative Director, Tangerine Communications
