Of all the workplace horror stories out there—getting fired via email, your boss taking credit for your ideas, Karen in accounting microwaving fish—it’s hard to top what happened to Alex Murphy in RoboCop. This guy DIED on the job. And not in some peaceful, heart-wrenching, “tell my wife I love her” kind of way. No, Murphy got straight-up obliterated by a gang of coked-out psychopaths who, in a just world, should have spent the rest of their lives in a high-security prison or, at the very least, working for Ticketmaster.
But instead of getting a funeral, some kind words, maybe a GoFundMe for his grieving family, Murphy was recycled. They scooped up whatever was left, shoved it into a clunky tin can, and sent him right back to work. The man didn’t even get a single day off. No “mental health day,” no severance package, not even one of those sad little corporate emails saying, “We regret to inform you that Alex Murphy has passed away. There will be bagels in the breakroom in his honor.”
And the wildest part? He didn’t even get a raise.
They brought this dude back from the dead, erased his memories, and gave him a job that was objectively worse than the one he died doing. Like, can you imagine that happening in any other profession? “Oh, hey, Steve, sorry about the whole dying thing. We’ve uploaded your consciousness into this sentient blender. Now, get back to making spreadsheets, champ!”
It’s not just workplace exploitation—it’s workplace necromancy.
And the corporate overlords of OCP really tried to spin it like a promotion. “Oh, you’re not just a cop anymore, Murphy! You’re RoboCop! Now you get to be shot at even more and never sleep!” Like they expect him to be grateful. Meanwhile, Murphy’s rolling around Detroit, malfunctioning every five minutes, walking like a refrigerator with a gun, and unable to process emotions because some middle manager decided empathy was “not in the budget.”
If there was ever a movie that summed up the American workforce, RoboCop is it. Work until you die, then come back as a robot and work some more. And the best part? Even when Murphy finally breaks free and remembers who he was, even when he avenges his own murder—he still goes back to work.
He could’ve gone anywhere. Moved to the woods. Changed his name to Steve. Lived off-the-grid. But no. He just puts the helmet back on and keeps punching in. Because deep down, he knows the truth: if you leave one job, you just end up at another one.
RoboCop is a hero, sure. But he’s also a cautionary tale. If your company ever asks you to sign a contract that includes the words “You may be resurrected as corporate property”, it might be time to start looking for a new job.
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