There is a truism in the Refinery29 office: If you want to get a response to an email, include a GIF. While not every office is GIF-sending-friendly, including one can be a great way to brighten a boring email or better express yourself — after all, there's a limit to how many exclamation points you should include. But not every GIF is work-friendly. I once sent this GIF to my coworkers (best described as Obama-as-Beyoncé-on-a-pizza-in-space?) and just received blank stares. So don't be like me — next time you want to share a GIF with a coworker, go with one that's proven to work.
Here are 20 tried-and-true GIFs that have seen their fair share of Refinery29 inboxes.
That feeling when things finally (finally!) come together.
If you're all ready to celebrate a birthday, promotion, or completed project — or maybe just need a drink after a hard day's work.
This is definitely the politest way to say you really DGAF.
When you and your coworker are equally confused about what you are being asked to do.
If you want to convey all those "OMG" feelings (but don't know where to even start), let a kitten do it for you.
Then again, sometimes your job can feel like herding actual cats.
Let the lads of One Direction be the animated emojis of your grief.
Emails about free food deserve a response as gleeful as Cookie Monster's.
Mic-dropping might be a bit aggressive for a work email — if not for Ben Wyatt's goofy charm.
A Michelle Tanner GIF is always an acceptable way to end an electronic pep talk.
If you've ever tried to fix something that doesn't need fixing (or tried to take care of something that doesn't need taking care of), a quick "sorry" accompanied by this pug can do wonders.
Some days, you are the cat — and a last-minute presentation is the flower.
Anticipating a surprise birthday party, raise, or job well done? Go with Ron Swanson.
Or go with a classic Kristen Wiig moment when you really can't hide your excitement.
Then again, sometimes you don't want to keep your excitement to yourself.
And never underestimate the power of a "thank you" GIF. Like when someone gets the job done efficiently...
...Or does something you weren't expecting.
Or just really, really moves you with their actions.
And sometimes, you just need to express that "face palm" feeling.
As a bonus, here's a GIF you should probably keep to yourself (but hey, it's a feeling we've all had at one point).
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