This is the best use of a Friends meme I’ve seen in a long time. It seems like a simple equation: hard (or “essential”) work = more money.

And yet, here we are. This one probably has the essential workers cracking up, but also crying on the inside.

Doctors and police officers may be keeping people safe and alive… but the essential workers giving us beer and chips are slingin’ some joy into the mix. That’s essential if you ask me!

This is too true – but I’m not sure that the band needed to keep playing while the boat was going down. Were they considered “essential”? We definitely, without question, still need our essential workers while it feels like the world is falling apart. The Titanic band probably could have put their instruments down.

Many of the people we’re calling heroes are heroes… but they’re also trapped. They didn’t volunteer for this – they need to make money just like the rest of us! The image selection for this meme is flawless.

This person has found a different term for the people on the front lines who we keep praising for being “essential”. It might be just a tad dramatic… but not entirely wrong! This just goes to show how important your choice of words are. The world would be a very different place right now if we were calling our essential working heroes “sacrificial”.

Okay so, not really ‘volunteer’ so much as, ‘have to work to continue paying the bills’. But I can imagine it feels like being one of the Hunger Games tributes. Just remember everyone is rooting for you!

I don’t know who’s making these essential worker rules, but there are definitely some questionable choices being made about what counts and what doesn’t. It’s not that we don’t love and appreciate our mascots… but “essential” seems like a bit of a stretch!

We’re heading for a new social imbalance – forget the haves and have-nots. COVID has brought us the essentials and the non-essentials. To be fair, they are keeping the planet together right now.

Who needs money when they could just have a cool title? Seems like a fair trade to me. Being called a hero multiple times a day is definitely better than a living wage. At least that’s what CEOs and the government seem to think essential workers want.

What about the people manufacturing that toilet paper we’re all so obsessed with? Or the people making all the dry good we’re stocking up on for our pantries?

That’s not to say that the grocery store employees aren’t absolute gems for the work their doing, but those poor factory workers are getting none of the essential worker praise.

It must be a laugh for all the essential workers to see the endless “stay home” messages while they wake up for another long day of risking their lives. They’d love to! But they’re busy carrying the rest of us through this nightmare.

It’s true – all we see is the glitz and glamour of the essential employees now being hailed as heroes. But what’s life like at home? I’m sure many are sleeping in basements and being doused with sanitizer when they walk through the door.

I can only imagine the giant eye roll every essential employee had when they heard about protestors taking to the streets to whine about staying home.

Of course we’re all sick of being stuck indoors. But you can’t protest a virus. If anyone is protesting, it should be the essential workers.

Putting this on your dating profile would be great because you’d let everyone know you’re a hero without saying “I’m a hero”. On the other hand, no one will want to come near you for fear of catching the virus.

He’s got a good point! It’s funny because it’s true.

We’re all talking about how essential these workers are at the moment… and yet they’re still making minimum wage. I’m sure our heroes would be happier to be risking their lives every day if was reflected in their pay checks.

Everyone assumes the essential employees are lucky to still have jobs, and of course they are! Many people have lots their jobs due to the pandemic. But it doesn’t mean their work days are what they used to be.

They are quite literally risking their lives, and dealing with crazy shoppers and desperate people. It’s no easy task!

What do you think? Will this go back to the “before” picture once the pandemic subsides and everyone goes back to work? Or will we all value fast food workers as much as we do right now? I think they deserve to be Aquaman everyday.

Really, being “essential” and being “in danger” (as this meme usually reads) are synonymous these days.

Even though being an essential worker doesn’t come with very many perks… it does sound pretty fancy. No one has ever called me essential in my whole life! So there are some pros and cons to this title.

It’s nice to be recognized for your hard work – no doubt. But safe working conditions, reasonable hours, and better pay would go a lot farther.

For those of us who are non-essential and staying home, there isn’t much we can do other than appreciate them (and be kind!!!) as they continue to keep society afloat. But governments and corporations slapping a “hero” sticker on them isn’t really cutting it.

What else are you going to do all day? You need the distraction of your co-workers to fight off the fear and/or boredom. It will prevent you both from going crazy!

I think we can safely assume most essential employees didn’t feel so “essential” before the pandemic broke out. Hopefully bosses everywhere will remember how important their staff are going forward! May this be a lesson to all.

The essential employees are going to need a way bigger bottle if they’re pouring one out for all the non-essentials. But hey, we appreciate the sentiment. We’re pouring one out for you guys too.

If there’s one upside to being an essential worker, it’s gotta be the smooth ride to work. Without all the non-essentials causing bumper to bumper traffic. We can only imagine how beautiful that feels.

This is not only hilarious, but also a good way to avoid getting pulled over by a police officer who wants to know what business you have being out on the roads. It seems like whoever’s driving this van has a good sense of humor about the situation.

Literally every time I leave the house to get groceries I expect to get pulled over and asked where I’m going. Imagine being an essential employee and having a a letter to whip out and show anyone who tried to stop you? You’d feel like a VIP.

Why not just put “hero” as your middle name, too? In all honesty I think a lot of employers will find this valuable when looking at resumes in the future. That is some next level dedication to the job!

I can just imagine all the essential employees are dying for this to happen. I would be like please pull me over on my commute to work so I can whip out my essentials letter.

Yes things certainly are moving quickly! There was rules about no fabric masks, no homemade masks, but then everyone ran out of regulation surgical masks so all of a sudden those fabric masks became acceptable. I can imagine it’s hard to keep everything straight when it’s changing every shift.

Sometimes it just takes a little perspective. Or a desperate situation like this one, for people to appreciate the value of something else. In this case, another human.

It must feel pretty baller to hand over your essential employee letter and be let off the hook for being out and about. (Assuming you’re only using these great powers to go to and from work safely.) But hopefully no one has taken it this far.

Truthfully, neither of these situations are great. Working from home, or staying home and doing nothing, isn’t all fun and games either! But is it better than risking your life? I mean, yeah.

It’s okay to be thankful you have a job while at the same time, wishing you didn’t. I think a lot of us feel like that on a regular basis.

If the government says it then it must be true! Those classified as “essential” workers are basically celebrities now. Or, at the very least, heroes.

Oh how the tables have turned! Fast food workers, grocery store staff, and even nurses had generally thankless jobs. But now that we’ve seen the true value of our essential brothers and sisters… they live like kings. Kind of. Kings without all the money.

I’m sure the commute is fun, but once they get to their workplace I bet it’s not as fun as it seems! But do I envy the people who have a reason (any reason) to go outside? Yes. Absolutely yes.

I don’t think any of the kids who signed up to stock shelves and pack bags at their local grocery store could have possibly prepared for this. I mean, none of us could have. But all these essentials would much prefer the warm embrace of safety at this time.

There really and truly is a spongebob meme for absolutely everything, isn’t there? It’s the more relevant show of all time… in its own way.

The last frame even has Squidward about to dump a pile of vegetables over Spongebob’s head. If that isn’t a true representation of how essential grocery store employees feel right now then I’m not sure what is.

If you’d given everyone a piece of paper and asked them which of these 3 services would still be considered essential in a global pandemic, not many would have predicted the grocery store staff. They’re working longer and harder than ever before! We owe them everything. I love food too much to go without the grocery store.

It must be a bit of a roller coaster. At first, you feel special, you’re “essential”! How exciting. But then, when you realize essential means long hours, bad pay, poor working conditions, and literally risking your life… the shine comes off it a little.

Yes, it’s in pretty bad taste to label yourself a hero. Luckily, everyone else in society is saying it so often that no essential employees will have to worry about it. “Essential” is now synonymous with “hero”.

The non-essentials are certainly having some hair troubles, as we’ve seen in countless YouTube videos of DIY bangs and shaved heads. This guy is ready to take on both worlds.

I mean, technically he’s doing her a favor. It’s probably safer not to meet up with your essential friends unless its necessary. But that tone!

Truck drivers must be flyin’ from location to location now! The roads are theirs for the taking. Not only that, but they don’t really have to encounter very many people for most of the day. A pretty sweet gig if you have to be working during the lockdown, really. Especially with the added bonus title of “hero” and “essential”.

I would like to highlight that no one in society really knows what else to do. They’re not sure what they can do! But should employers be paying more for their essential workers to risk catching the virus everyday? Yes. I can see why this meme has hit the funny bone for a lot of essential workers!

Okay so countertops may not be as obviously necessary as saving lives and keeping the streets safe. But hospitals and other essential businesses need them! It’s not just your countertop kitchen, we need those for surfaces all over the place. We appreciate your service.

It’s too true – there are so many people who have been asked to stay home like the rest of us. But they would rather protest and make it more difficult for the cops and doctors to do their jobs.

Just stay home!

The essential workers are laughing in your face for this one! Most people are moping about how they don’t have the choice to go outside. Not only do essential workers not have the choice to go outside and enjoy themselves on their time off, but they don’t have the option to stay home and be safe! Count your blessings, y’all.

Please stop protesting and just stay home. The essential workers are already in danger, and are in even more danger when people choose to ignore the rules! This must be driving every nurse, doctor, grocery store and other essential employee crazy.

If it helps, it would have been pretty hard to focus on school at this time too. But yeah… I think most essential workers are probably questioning their life choices that lead them to the jobs that are currently making them “essential”.

Excuse me everyone, out of my way! I am essential. Make way for the person keeping this society together by a thread. You can thank me later. Do I have time for some autographs? Of course I do.

It’s good that the term “essential” has more gravitas than money… because we know our essential workers certainly aren’t getting both. I can only dream of what it must be like to have someone call you essential. Sigh.

While the essential workers are running around, feeling important, doing the work that the rest of us literally rely on to survive… there are the non-essentials.

Those who believes they were important, but had their workplaces tell them that, actually, they aren’t needed. It’s causing many to have an existential crisis.

Like honestly we don’t deserve this level of dedication from our delivery people. And they don’t get all the glitz and glory as the commonly mentioned nurses, cops, and grocery story staff. So, thank you, delivery heroes. Oh and also, you deserve a raise.

Essential workers are forced to go to work, and especially those like doctors and nurses know what can happen if you don’t. And they’re all worried about their friends and family, so don’t be surprised if they’re checking up on ya to make sure you’re sticking to the rules when they can’t.

They’re literally doing all of this for you!

People who provide essential services should be paid accordingly but for some reason it just doesn’t happen! Teachers are now offering Skype lessons, helping parents home school, and overall trying to do the best for these kids in a bad situation. And when teachers want a raise? There’s no money. But Chrome Books? Of course!

It’s awful now, but it’ll make for a pretty badass story when we’re on the other side of this. Essential employees will be like soliders. “In the great Coronavirus pandemic of 2020, I was an essential employee on the front lines.” You can tell your grandkids all about it!

Does that help right now? Probably not.

Hahahaha… but also… please stay home if you’re feeling sick. Please!

Working sucks, quarantine sucks, but getting and/or spreading COVID sucks even more, I promise.

Funny because it’s true! Being essential is great, but if there’s no pay check to reflect it, then that minimum wage check hits different.

Not only do essential workers have to go to work and risk catching the virus… they also can’t day drink like all their unemployed friends cooped up indoors with nothing to do. Times are tough.

So while the “hero” label may not cut it in exchange for all the amazing work our essential workers are doing, it’s nice to know you’re appreciated. Hopefully, this desperate situation will teach us all a lesson about how important each and every ant in the hill of human society really is.