On the heels of the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival, we thought it would be the perfect time to give our audience a list of our favourite workplace movies. While our work sometimes exposes us to situations that seem to be straight out of a movie, we have endeavored to restrict our list to include only those stories that actually originated in Hollywood.

So, without further ado (and in no particular order):

• The Devil Wears Prada (2006) – a toxic boss and an abusive work situation.

• Admission (2013) – a conflict of interest arising in the workplace, and a good example of just cause for termination.

• The Apartment (1960) – the risks of mixing work and pleasure by allowing superiors to use your apartment, and by sharing a girlfriend with the boss.

• Moneyball (2011) – when building a team, the collective capabilities of the whole is more important than the individual capabilities of any single member.

• Office Space (1999) – a comedy about the dangers of unmotivated and disengaged employees.

• 9 to 5 (1980) – a group of secretaries take control of their sleazy boss, making some changes around the office in his “absence”.

• The Internship (2013) – with their roles reinvented as a result of technology, two salesmen fight to remain relevant.

• His Girl Friday (1940) – a look at some of the conflicts that arise when personal relationships impact professional decisions in the workplace.

• Working Girl (1988) – a secretary climbs to the top of the company by imitating her boss in her absence.

• Up in the Air (2009) – how employment relationships can come to an end, and the varying emotions shown by employees on the receiving end of a termination.

Ryan D. Campbell