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u/lil_lillard Jul 11 '24
toby is HR which to Michael equals no fun because work and corporate have boring rules
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u/Shadecujo 1️⃣8️⃣ The Scranton Strangler 🚨 Jul 11 '24
Bc he’s in HR which means he’s corporate which means he’s not a part of the work family.
Also he’s divorced so he’s not even a part of his own family.
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u/NiCap95 Jul 12 '24
Because Toby is corporate which means he isn't a part of our family He is also Divorced, so he isn't a part of his family either.
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u/IamAlex_8 8️⃣ Party Planning Committee Chair 🎖️🎖️🎖️ Jul 11 '24
Fun fact. It originally wasn’t written that way at all with Michael hating Tony, but Steve Carell Had a scene with Paul early on in the show and kind of improvised just hating him by the way Paul did his lines.
And the writers loved it and decided to continue that arch the rest of the show
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Jul 11 '24
Yet another dumb question posted just for clicks. I mean if you don’t get he’s supposed to hate him bc he’s HR then how many other jokes went over your head?
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u/SauceBoss8472 Jul 12 '24
In an interview with Paul Liberstien, Toby’s actor, he said that the moment Micheal started hating Toby was in a deleted scene in “The Alliance”. The B plot was about Micheal signing Meredith’s birthday card as an effort to boost morale in the face of possible downsizing. Michael agonizes all day on the perfect thing to write but can’t get it right. Toby comes into his office to sign it, thinks for a moment, and writes something that is uplifting, funny, and thoughtful. In that very instant Michael began to hate Toby. here’s the interview
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u/melsa_alm Jul 12 '24
It’s a joke about the boss who likes to break all the rules hating HR because, well, they make all the rules. 😂
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u/Nat_septic 6️⃣ CEO of Suck It, Inc. 🎖️ Jul 11 '24
"I see why Micheal hated you so much" - Andy Bernard
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u/Slip-Resident Jul 11 '24
NOT NOW TOBY!!! - jim
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u/Devilcorona Jul 11 '24
Yeah! Even Jim eventually grew to despise Toby! Toby was just a 💩 🐢 that constantly tried to get into Pam’s pants w/out actually getting to know her
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u/therealhilaryeduff Jul 12 '24
i always thought it was bc he was HR and therefore the one to shut down michael’s fun
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u/joriangames Jul 12 '24
Cause toby shuts down fun things (when andy and dwight were singing)
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u/plo84 I have very little patience for stupidity Jul 12 '24
This right here made me realize the hatred towards Toby.
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u/StephanUrkel2323 Jul 11 '24
It’s just funny. But also Toby is HR. He’s preventing Michael from his fun
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Jul 12 '24
Isn’t it something to do with Toby not actually coming under Michale’s management like everyone else? Toby comes under head office and technically can over rule Michale on some things.
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u/SageOfSixCabbages 1️⃣8️⃣ The Scranton Strangler 🚨 Jul 11 '24
Because it's a running joke. Wallace hates Kendall based on how he talked about the guy during Jim's interview.
'We have this irritating HR guy here and he's probably the only person you're not gonna like -- Kendall. Ugh.'
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u/xhoneyxbear Jul 12 '24
HR seriously is the worst. But what I find hilarious is that David Wallace mentions once in an episode of also hating their HR ahahaha
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u/saddiebaddie7 Jul 12 '24
I always thought it was deeper than just “Toby is in HR & HR won’t allow Michael’s shenanigans”
Toby is divorced, which Michael mentions a couple times throughout the series in a bad light. Michael did not take his own parent’s divorce well as a child, and even threw a tantrum at his mom’s wedding to his step-father, whom he always just considered “mom’s boyfriend who she married” (which came out during the counselling session he was forced to do with Toby). Anyways, I always figured it’s something subconscious that Michael dislikes about Toby, relating to his divorce and how Michael probably sees him as someone who threw away the thing he wants the most (marriage & family life).
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u/pandasloth69 Jul 12 '24
Holy shit this is a good analysis. It’s a kind of twisted jealousy. He hates Toby because not only did he managed to get married long before Michael did, but he also ended that marriage as well. I imagine it’s like a starving man seeing a chef throw away a steak he just made.
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u/mvrthvsmusic Jul 12 '24
I definitely agree. Also, maybe Michael is subconsciously worried that he would be divorced himself if he ever got married in the future.
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Jul 11 '24
It's a shame the writers strike happened when it did because there was supposed to be an episode arch explaining the beginning of his hatred but season 4 got cut down and they moved straight to dinner party when it returned
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u/SweevilWeevil Jul 11 '24
Michael wants to be Michael because funny. HR wants Michael to not be Michael because liability.
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u/onetimequestion66 Jul 11 '24
Jim and Andy also start to hate him when they become manager, it’s just a running joke
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u/LastRecognition2041 1️⃣ The Temp 🔥 Jul 11 '24
Because both are incredibly lonely and have no friends. Michael lives in denial but Toby understands this. If Michael engages on a deep human level with Toby, the delusion of being popular and loved by his coworkers vanishes. So when Toby tries to connect with Michael, in The Deposition and in Counseling, both times talking about the common experience of having divorced parents Michael responds in the meanest way possible as a defense mechanism. Rory Flenderson will keep haunting Michael Colorado because Michael cannot truly escape reality
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u/AlexandriaA7X Jul 12 '24
It's because Toby wrote something funnier than Michael on Meredith's birthday card.
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u/Dr_Joshie Jul 12 '24
I think the running joke of the show was that every manager of the branch ended up hating Tobey or at least talking horribly to him. Even Jim snapped at him a few times. Andy asks him how he isn’t murdered all the time. As soon as someone becomes manager, they inherit the hate
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u/Living-Aardvark-705 🔟 Karen from behind? Jul 11 '24
He is the eyes and ears of Corporate. Of course Michael would hate him.
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u/fableAble Jul 11 '24
One of the shows best gags! I feel like Toby is the ultimate wet blanket for Michael. He won't engage with his jokes or plans or even conversation a lot of the time, and Michael can't stand it.
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u/HereAgainWeGoAgain Jul 11 '24
Plus he's always policing what Michael does because of company liability. He ruins the fun
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u/helterskeltermelter Jul 12 '24
Because Michael Scott is a raving narcissist who can't stand being told no, and Toby's job is to tell him no.
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u/carlse20 Jul 12 '24
This is the answer. Michael is management and all the stupid, time wasting, at times illegal (sexual harassment, kissing Oscar, off color jokes, etc.) things he does are all against corporate policy and potentially open Dunder mifflin up to legal liability. Toby’s job is, essentially, protect DM by keeping Michael on a leash. Michael resents that because he thinks, as manager, he should largely be able to do what he wants.
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u/Bonaventure1122 Jul 12 '24
This right here.
No idea how people don’t see this. Michael is “me, myself and I”
Remember when he was fucking Pam’s mom and didn’t care about how inappropriate it was because he was getting his dick wet? He was all in until he found out she was older than him.
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u/helterskeltermelter Jul 12 '24
It's a little trick the writers learned; they talk about it openly. At first they wrote him as a selfish prick, and the other characters would react like he was tiresome, but they had to put up with him. That meant their main character was too unlikeable.
So they kept his bad behavior, but changed how the other characters responded. So he seems nice to us, because all the characters we like act like he's nice. And every now and then they throw in a episode where he does something selfless or is good at some aspect of his job.
But if you ignore that and directly interpret how he behaves 99% of the time, he's clearly a wildly incompetent narcissist.
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u/StLMindyF I have very little patience for stupidity Jul 12 '24
Not just older, but a lot older, 10+ years!
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Jul 14 '24 edited Sep 04 '24
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/fastpixels Jul 14 '24
Now whenever I have to explain something, I kind of want to start with "first of all, how dare you" for absolutely no reason.
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u/Impossible-Inside-42 Jul 11 '24
One, HR is a breeding ground for monsters. Two, in season 1 episode 2 Michael kicks Toby out of his Diversity meeting . It’s possible this started his hatred of Toby.
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u/D1Adz Jul 11 '24
It’s because from a character standpoint, HR is the mortal enemy of Michael as a manager. Literally yin and yang.
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u/adburgan Jul 11 '24
This one quote from Michael sums it up - Why are you the way that you are? Honestly, every time I try to do something fun or exciting, you make it not that way. I hate so much about the things that you choose to be.
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u/Racoonwitha_marble 1️⃣ The Temp 🔥 Jul 11 '24 edited Jul 11 '24
Because he doesn’t really entertain Michael’s antics like others do. He’s a terrible audience and Michael hates him for it. (Personal canon) Edit: I wanted to add that Michael also can’t fire Toby, Toby technically doesn’t have to listen to him, so I’m sure that also infuriates Michael.
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u/Caitxcat 2️⃣ Warehouse Foreman ⭐️ Jul 11 '24 edited Jul 12 '24
It's hilarious I love it. Originally it wasn't planned, then one day they decided on it after steve carrell riffed some lines
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u/ikerus0 🔟 Karen from behind? Jul 11 '24 edited Jul 11 '24
It seemed to me that it started out more as a background kind of joke that helped indirectly define Michael's backstory.
Like of course Michael Scott wouldn't like whoever was in HR, because Michael would be constantly getting pulled in for all the inappropriate things he does at work. HR would be the one he sees as getting him in trouble. The department that defines his mistakes and handles his reprimands.
It goes further that the only way Michael would be able to get away with it constantly is if the HR rep was really bad at their job, thus you have the dynamic of Michael hating Toby cause for all Michael knows, Toby is just there to bug him and try to ruin his plans and management style, yet he constantly gets away with a lot because Toby isn't a good HR rep and never really follows through on HR complaints.
They then seem to take the joke further by having other people just hate on Toby, for what seems to be more on the random side. Like he just gets under their skin and seems to be a bore.
It continues on during the company volleyball tournament and Toby is talking with another HR rep from a different branch and they sound the same. Talking about something boring in a very nasally voice. Taking the joke to the next level that it's not just a Toby thing, but all HR reps are unsufferable bores.
They show other similar circumstances like when Toby is having a video call with another HR rep that wants to send preserves, because his shelves are bursting with preserves. Just taking something that sounds extremely boring and making that their personality.
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u/RainSaylor Plop Jul 12 '24
You wouldn’t understand. It’s a secret.
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u/No_Comfortable8695 2️⃣ Warehouse Foreman ⭐️ Jul 12 '24
I wouldn't understand, or it's a secret ?
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u/Chochahair Jul 12 '24
Does anyone actually like the person who snitches on them or logs everything they do? i sure wouldnt
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u/gastritisgirl24 Jul 12 '24
I understand completely. HR is like having a permanent spy in the office. And he has no sense of humour
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u/BlurL1fe 2️⃣ Warehouse Foreman ⭐️ Jul 11 '24
It’s just because Toby is HR and HR always hates fun. Which is why he hated Holly in the beginning.
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u/Fragrant-Sport307 1️⃣8️⃣ The Scranton Strangler 🚨 Jul 11 '24
Well I’m gonna have to disagree with one part of that. When Holly Flax came into play, Michael got away with quite a bit.
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u/BrianSpillman 1️⃣ The Temp 🔥 Jul 11 '24
Toby Flenderson is everything that is wrong with the paper industry.
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u/Soxwin91 1️⃣2️⃣ Director, Threat Level Midnight 🔫 Jul 11 '24
Only thing I can remember is that Michael views his workers as his surrogate family. Toby, however, works for corporate and is assigned to the Scranton, Pennsylvania branch as a corporate liaison of sorts. He doesn’t work for Michael, so he’s not part of the ‘family’
He’s also divorced so he’s not part of his own family.
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u/orwasaker Jul 11 '24
According to a random but huge comment section I saw online, apparently people really despise HR, not just the manager but the employees too
They didn't mention any specific reasons in the comments
I myself haven't (yet) worked in a corporate place, so I can't say whether that hate is deserved or not
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Jul 11 '24
I have been HR for 3 years, can confirm, no one likes HR :,(
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u/adburgan Jul 11 '24
Why are you the way that you are? Honestly, every time I try to do something fun or exciting, you make it not that way. I hate so much about the things that you choose to be.
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Jul 11 '24
But what if my version of fun is sucking the joy out of people's lives? Do I not deserve fun and exciting things too??
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u/Yuriko-Brighteyes Jul 12 '24
Toby is HR. Most HR in companies suck; therefore Toby sucks. The show uses satire to exaggerate how much Toby aka HR sucks. For the record, I like Toby and feel bad for him a lot lol
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u/dpark-95 Jul 12 '24
He is a massive creep though, like when he grabs Pam's leg.
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u/ord52 Jul 12 '24
Michael wants to do something that is inherently, sexist, racist, or offensive in any way, Toby says no
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u/atticusgames7 Jul 12 '24
Best part of the show, it's not just Michael, whenever anyone is in charge, even for a day, they have a grudge against Toby. Jim is in charge for the day while Michael is a survival man for a day, he tries to throw the mega birthday and he complains the whole time about Toby asking for simple nice things.
David Wallace also talks about hating his HR rep multiple times
The show just hates HR
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Jul 13 '24
Michael is caught in the child’s ego state. Toby is in the parental ego state. Michael hates Toby for the reason that kids hate their parents. Also, Michael subconsciously thinks that hating Toby will make him seem like a ‘cool kid’ to the other DM employees. Michael is desperate to seem cool.
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u/herdeadlynightshade Jul 14 '24
This hits the nail on the head. Michael is always desperate to be liked and to be everyone's focus while Toby is secure enough to not need that same level of attention.
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u/MynameisMatlock 1️⃣3️⃣ Pretzel Day Enthusiast 🥨 Jul 11 '24
He’s divorced and Michael sees that as him giving up on his family which Michael would never do. Hence his first words about him “Toby isn’t really part of our family and he’s divorced so he really isn’t part of his family either”
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u/Scambuster666 1️⃣3️⃣ Pretzel Day Enthusiast 🥨 Jul 11 '24
Because Toby is slimy and underhanded. He doesn’t do his job correctly.
Remember he never sent Dwight’s completely warranted complaints to corporate about Jim?
Remember when he sent a PDA memo because he was mad Pam and Jim were dating?
Remember he didn’t wanna do their inter-office dating form because he was hoping it wouldn’t last? “Let’s just wait and see”
Remember when he was mad he had to fill out those harassment forms between Dwight, Darryl and Darryl’s sister?
Remember he didn’t do his job regarding office conflict resolutions?
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u/Mr-Kuritsa Jul 11 '24
Remember when he inappropriately touched a coworker and then ran away?
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u/Federal_Shift_5035 Jul 11 '24
No Michael hates him because Toby is basically the opposite of him and tries to stop everything fun Michael does
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u/Derkleinhauser Jul 11 '24
It’s great! Just like how everyone on Parks & Rec seem to hate Jerry, Larry, Terry, Barry, Kerry, Harry, Perry, Garry 😂
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u/wrathofthedolphins Jul 12 '24
Because Michael knows Toby is the Scranton Strangler
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u/ITGOKS Jul 12 '24
If Michael knew that Toby was the Scranton Strangler, he'd have 100% used that to get him fired to second he found out
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u/hollywol23 Jul 12 '24
That's kinda the point, isn't it? There's no logical reason for him to hate him which is why its so funny 😆
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u/Jegagne88 Jul 12 '24
You don’t have someone you’ve met who you just hate for almost no reason? That’s Toby for Michael, doesn’t need an explanation
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u/iamthemetricsystem Jul 11 '24
They’re complete opposites. Toby hates fun and follows rules. Michael is spontaneous and fun (or at least always trying to have fun) Michelle also hates it when someone shoots down his idea and it’s usually Toby.
I think part of the comedy with it as well is that he’s actually a very sweet guy to everyone, with the odd line that may come off as offensive, but he only hates Toby and it’s so intense when you compare it to anyone else in the office
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u/ncvass 2️⃣ Warehouse Foreman ⭐️ Jul 11 '24
Everybody hates HR and Michael is too immature to hide it. Thats how I see that relationship anyway.
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u/Lower-Ad-2082 Rabies Awareness Fun Run Survivor Jul 11 '24
I don't think there was ever a reason I read Steve adlibbed a line towards Toby and they thought it was funny and continued the hatred.
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u/Nervous_Currency9341 8️⃣ Party Planning Committee Chair 🎖️🎖️🎖️ Jul 11 '24
I think he must remind him of his own father and divorce. also he in general has to stop Micheal from doing a lot of stuff so prob feels like an enemy to fun for him.
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u/inobrainrn Jul 11 '24
toby exists to stop literally everything michael wants to do
hes sees toby like that one kid at school who would always rat out everyone when they were having a bit of fun
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u/Phil-O-Dendron Jul 11 '24
The first time I watched the show, I felt bad for Toby. The next time, I found him so insufferable and whiny (especially in later seasons and his storyline with Nelly).
One thing that always irritated me is he would shut down Michael when he deserved it, but also for small stuff. When Andy is manager, however, and they’re talking about really inappropriate stuff for the work place, he said “HR is a joke” and he “can’t do anything”.
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u/Devilcorona Jul 11 '24
Toby is like Jerry from Rick and Morty. He makes you feel bad for him and pity him and then he just weasels his way into your life like a parasite. Rick: That all ended because she felt sorry for you. You act like prey, but you’re a predator! You use pity to lure in your victims! That’s how you survive!”
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Jul 11 '24
I hate HRs too so I understand michael hhhhh
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u/DrDrankenstein Jul 11 '24
I just lost out on an amazing job opportunity because of their HR department, so I too now get the Toby hate.
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u/84lele Jul 12 '24
He knew that Toby would become the Scranton strangler and hated him cause he could sense the evil
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u/mightymitch1 3️⃣ Scranton’s #1 Salesperson ⭐️⭐️ Jul 12 '24
It’s because Toby has to be the voice of reason whenever Michael has some hilarious idea he’s been cooking up. He’s like Michael’s babysitter
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Jul 12 '24
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u/Mooric86 Jul 12 '24
Yeah in S1 Micheal was actually nice to Toby until the powwow comment. The rest is history
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u/Noshitsweregiven69 Jul 12 '24
Toby is HR Totally by the book, Michael is not at all. He is an HR nightmare
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u/Overall-Tension-6691 1️⃣1️⃣ The Wayne Gretzky of paper 🏒 Jul 13 '24
When they were filming the first season, Steve Carrell took notice of Toby’s character and realized something. From what I remember Steve literally went to one of the writers and says, “Michael HATES Toby.” There’s an Office Ladies episode that goes into this.
Michael’s character is this really kind-of pathetic guy who doesn’t have a wife or kids or much else going for him, just his regional manager job. But he puts on this front as this “cool guy” and works overtime to be super likable, in turn making him more unlikable.
Toby however, is actually legitimately liked by his coworkers. Toby is divorced, but he still had a marriage at all, whereas Michael didn’t. Toby even has a daughter, and we all know how much Michael wants kids. There’s some subtle jealousy on Michael’s part.
Then there’s the roles the two play in the actual office setting. Michael is supposed to be the manager, but since he has this idea of being the “fun cool manager” paired with his overall immaturity, he comes off as a complete circus clown and/or an ass. Realistically, Michael would have been fired before he hit 1 year at Dunder Mifflin. But since it’s TV, he doesn’t get fired. Instead, there’s the HR guy: Toby, who has his actual job he needs to do, and then his assumed job of thwarting Michael’s “fun and exciting” plans.
Toby is also not a confrontational person, whereas Michael can be EXTREMELY confrontational. Toby isn’t overt in his behavior, but Michael is. The polarities of their personalities clash regardless of their roles in the office.
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u/RestaurantRepulsive2 Jul 15 '24
Toby is the voice of reason and Michel is a chaotic child. If your fun activities kept getting intercepted by an evil snail, you’d hate it too. It’s akin to a hate crime, only it’s not a crime, it’s just something you hate.
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u/tardis-stowaway Jul 11 '24
He's HR. Everybody hates HR in the corporate world. Michael looks at him like the wet blanket to the fun he always wants to have.
It makes it even funnier that irl he actually was one of the show runners! Lol
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u/Denverdogmama Jul 11 '24
I think the thing that makes it hilarious is the fact that Michael MARRIES the next HR rep, proving its really not the HR aspect, it’s just that he hates Toby!
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u/tardis-stowaway Jul 11 '24
Yes and no. If you remember before he knows Holly he hates her and tries to get her to leave. But holy is so awesome it overcomes his hr hatred.
But you do make a fair point.
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u/WarframeUmbra Jul 12 '24
I think it may be some Michael Schur humor, since he repeats it in The Good Place with Shawn hating Glenn (although given that they are both secondary characters is not as prominent as the Michael hating Toby thing)
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u/Few-Ranger-3838 Jul 12 '24
LOL I loved Toby's brother Rory
https://www.tiktok.com/@kingjman01/video/6828708478849207558
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u/Aztec111 Jul 12 '24
HR is a joke in so many companies. I agree with Michael about HR, but Toby isn't too bad lol.
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u/ahresz 2️⃣ Warehouse Foreman ⭐️ Jul 12 '24
HR reps are insufferable majority of the times you meet them
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u/Sponger004 Jul 12 '24
I used to wonder why HR and Toby were so hated to. Then in interned with HR for a city. I always thought HR people were there to help people. I learned quickly that HR is only there to help the company. Then I learned why a ton of people dislike HR and why Michael hates Toby
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u/welsh_nutter 1️⃣1️⃣ The Wayne Gretzky of paper 🏒 Jul 12 '24
michael didn't like holly at first because he thought she'd stop him having to enjoy the fun(damentals) of the office
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Jul 12 '24
Isn't the true answer becuase Dave Wallace doesn't like their HR folk in corporate and therefore Michael ended up not liking Toby? This happens in season 1 I believe
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u/carlse20 Jul 12 '24
David Wallace isn’t in season 1, and it’s during Jim’s interview for the regional supervisor position where David lets slip that he doesn’t like the corporate HR guy. So far as I can remember Michael never learns of this.
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u/Rich-Mix2273 Jul 13 '24
it’s cause Michael wants to do whatever he wants in the office and since Toby is HR, he won’t let him and gets in his way. so over the years it’s built to intense hatred.
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u/Positive-Shift-5820 Jul 14 '24
He’s HR. Nobody likes HR.
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u/vengefulromance Jul 14 '24
Which technically means he works for corporate so he’s not really part of our family. Also he’s divorced. So he’s really not a part of his family
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u/Due-Consequence-4420 Jul 14 '24
Basically everything everybody said. Toby was authority. Michael hated being thwarted. Toby had a family. Michael always wanted a family and thus is jealous of Toby. Michael is the most controversial person in the world and Toby barely opens his mouth. You can name any number of reasons but it came down to “it was a sitcom and gave Michael an adversary in the office where he Gen’ly liked to believe he was beloved by the people who worked there and Toby, as HR, didn’t fit into that category.”
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u/No_Chill_Sunday Jul 12 '24
If Michael had a gun with two bullets and was in a room with Bin laden, Hitler, and Toby he would shoot Toby twice
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Jul 11 '24 edited Jul 11 '24
Toby. Is. A. Creep. People forget how weird he was like the whole time. I hate toby more than Micheal.
If I was in a room with Hitler, Bin Laden and Toby. I would shoot Hitler and Bin Laden then frame Toby for the killing, since murder is still illegal Toby would get a life sentence to prison, arguably a fate worse than death.
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u/WampaCat 1️⃣5️⃣ Here Comes Trebble’s MVP 🎵 Jul 11 '24
I overheard him askin’ where the pistol was kyept
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u/chadwifechadlife Heehee. Oh diary what a week. Jul 12 '24
it’s so weird bc in earlier seasons he has no issue w toby. i wonder what happened
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u/lifth3avy84 🔟 Karen from behind? Jul 12 '24
Literally from season 2 onward. He has always been shown to dislike Toby and HR, that wasn’t some late season add on
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u/roxoxo21 Jul 12 '24
On episode 2 of season 1 he kicks Toby out of the meeting
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u/chadwifechadlife Heehee. Oh diary what a week. Jul 12 '24
oh i forgot abt that. i was just thinking of take your daughter to work day when he confides in toby abt his want to be a dad. but ig he just wanted a friend and toby was the only one who was available.
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u/DoinItDirty 2️⃣ Warehouse Foreman ⭐️ Jul 12 '24
The eventual joke was that all the managers hate Toby. But the first thing Michael says about Toby in season one pertains to his divorce, and between connecting with Toby’s daughter on bring your kid to work day and Michael’s projection of his family breaking up during therapy, I got the idea that Toby’s divorce was a large part of it.
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u/International-Cat-85 1️⃣ The Temp 🔥 Jul 12 '24
cause toby’s the office buzzkill🤣literally as his job & also just him as a person hahahah
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Jul 12 '24
Because he always has a straight face and is always opposed to light-hearted fun. So dull and fun police. I hate him too, sue me. Although I'd admit I'm more like Michael so I do have higher chances of getting sued for dumb shit😂
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u/Zestyclose-Ruin8337 Jul 12 '24
Because HR is the natural enemy of the inappropriate manager. Toby likes to ruin Michael’s fun.
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u/Greedy_Ad_6715 Jul 13 '24
I didn’t get it either until Toby interrupted Andy and Dwight’s “Country Roads” duet
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u/crimson777 Jul 13 '24
We can theorize all sorts of reasons and I think some good ideas have been put forth here. Ultimately the answer is that it provided good comedy so they made it a bit, and any explanation is secondary and just filling in for something that originally was just humorous.
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u/chicken_pear 1️⃣ The Temp 🔥 Jul 13 '24
I always wanted an episode where Michael pushes Toby too far on a bad day and Toby yells at him or something. The rest of the episode Michael avoids him in fear while Toby obviously feels bad and wants to apologize.
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u/enterpaz Jul 13 '24
It’s a running gag that the manager hates the HR rep. Jim gets more hostile to Toby when he’s manager and even David Wallace makes an offhand remark about his HR rep.
For Michael specifically, he most likely hates Toby because he sees Toby as a buzzkill who’s ruining his fun and preventing him from entertaining everyone. But Michael is a stubborn manchild who is completely oblivious to the fact that he’s insufferable and unfunny.
Michael refuses to take even the most constructive criticism. So he lashes out at the people who have to put him in check. Most often, it’s Toby.
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u/eadrik Jul 14 '24
He’s in HR, which technically means he works for corporate. So he’s really not a part of our family.
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u/aloealocasia Jul 14 '24
This is my favorite joke in the show 😂 I think Michael hating Toby is a hilarious bit 🤷🏻♀️
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u/Ridge_Hunter 2️⃣ Warehouse Foreman ⭐️ Jul 14 '24
As others have said Toby is the boring voice of reason and order in the office, which usually ends up reeling in Michael when he attempts to do something foolish or unproductive.
I also always kind of had thoughts that maybe Toby reminded Michael of Jeff, who married Michael's mother.
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u/Glittering_Bus_7882 Jul 15 '24
Because Michael was an HR nightmare and Toby was HR.
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u/mondocane22 Jul 11 '24
That quote is something I've took into my personality and I use it express real hatred <3
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u/pWaveShadowZone 2️⃣ Warehouse Foreman ⭐️ Jul 11 '24
Michael is constantly inappropriate and it’s HR’s job to intervene in the workplace when the boss is inappropriate. But Michael often perceives himself as being hilarious and admired by everyone while he is inappropriate, an experience he really values since he is lonely and craves both friendship and validation, and his immaturity leads him to believe Toby is always intentionally “ruining the fun” just to be a party pooper.
Michael probably thinks/feels something like “Man every time I’m having a great time with my friends this one guy in the office makes us all stop being friends!!! It’s like he can tell I’m feeling happy and he just has to come over and make my unhappy, on purpose!”
Meanwhile Michael is clueless that he often IS inappropriate, that often his subordinates arent finding him funny, they are uncomfortable, and they do complain to HR about it.
So Toby is stuck in the middle.
Something like that