Franny from Franny and Zooey may have had the Jesus Prayer to repeat as a mantra in the back of her mind in order to cope with the pains of reality, but office workers use something much simpler than “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.” Their not so internal benediction is, alternately, “I’m so tired.”
Who knows what it is about having to be somewhere at a certain time, riding in the tin can and letting the soul-sucking glow of a computer screen wear at your mind for roughly eight hours a day? Whatever the case, having to work in an office will ultimately have you constantly repeating to anyone who will listen: “I’m so tired.” Just like Pete Bancini, one of the mental patients in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, you’ll be tuned out by everyone else, as they all feel the same way and are trying to cope with their own fatigue and zombie-like state. Functioning on a rudimentary level is, after all, extremely draining.