The tax office suspected a fishing boat owner was not paying proper wages to his crew and sent an agent to investigate.
The agent approaches the boat and find a man working, he shows him his badge and that he is investigating a tip off.
He asked the gentleman, "I need a list people who are employed on this boat, and how much they are paid."
The guy replies, "Well, there is Clarence, my deckhand. He has been here for 3 years. He makes $1,000 a week plus free room and board. Then there is this other bloke. He works about 18 hours every day and does about 90% of the work around here. He makes about $10 a week, pays his own room and board, and is bought a bottle of rum and a dozen beers every Saturday night so he can cope with life."
The agent raises his eyebrows, and exclaims, "That is the guy I want to talk to, the other bloke."
The gentleman replies, "That would be me. I own this boat. What did you want to know?."
Joke Poo: The Management Evaluation
The HR department suspected a tech company CEO wasn’t properly evaluating his development team and sent an consultant to investigate.
The consultant walks into the office and finds an engineer debugging code, he shows him his badge and that he is investigating a performance review complaint.
He asked the engineer, “I need a list of people working on this project and how they are evaluated.”
The engineer replies, “Well, there’s Sarah, our junior dev. She’s been here for a year. She gets mentored weekly, attends training conferences, and is constantly praised in our stand-up meetings. Then there’s this other guy. He works late every night, fixes all the critical bugs, and rewrites half the codebase on his own. He gets a ‘meets expectations’ review and a gift card to Starbucks once a year, so he can cope with life.”
The consultant raises his eyebrows, and exclaims, “That is the guy I want to talk to, the other guy.”
The engineer replies, “That would be me. I’m the CEO. What did you want to know?”
Alright, let’s break down this joke and see if we can fish (pun intended!) for some comedic gold.
Joke Dissection:
- Setup: Sets the stage with a tax investigation into potential wage fraud on a fishing boat.
- Misdirection: The agent focuses on the apparent exploitation of the overworked, underpaid “other bloke.”
- Punchline: The “other bloke” is the owner, cleverly framing the situation as self-imposed drudgery for personal gain.
- Humor Source: The humor comes from the unexpected twist and the subversion of expectations. We assume the agent is uncovering wrongdoing against an employee, but instead, it reveals the owner’s unique work ethic and perhaps even a self-deprecating sense of humor.
Key Elements:
- Tax Investigation: Government bureaucracy and potential tax evasion.
- Fishing Boat/Industry: A specific industry often associated with hard work, self-reliance, and a certain degree of isolation.
- Wage Disparity: The extreme difference between the deckhand’s pay and the “other bloke’s” pay.
- Self-Ownership/Entrepreneurship: The twist that the overworked individual is actually the owner.
Comedic Enrichment/New Joke Idea:
Based on the elements above, I’m thinking of a “Did you Know” type of observation with a humorous spin:
Did you know: The average lifespan of a fishing boat owner in the North Atlantic is surprisingly long? This is largely due to their comprehensive health regimen. It’s scientifically proven that 18-hour workdays, minimal wages, and a weekly rum and beer cocktail (for coping, of course) actually boost longevity. Tax auditors, strangely, are not included in this study. And that’s how they avoid paying out retirement benefits, clever right?