Office workers rejoice after Microsoft outage shuts down systems as staff jokes that their working week can end early thanks to ‘blue screen of death’: ‘Happy weekend, thank you Microsoft!

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Office workers joked that the Microsoft outage could end their work week early, amid a wave of internet memes following the global crisis.

Industries across the UK have reported major disruption as a result of the outage, with aviation, rail and GP surgeries particularly affected by the technical issue.

The crash, believed to have been caused by a faulty software update from cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike, also knocked Sky News off air this morning.

Users shared memes on X, including images of the so-called “blue screen of death” and jokes that the outage was an excuse to stay off work early for the weekend.

Other memes showed the world on fire – a reference to the massive domino effect hitting businesses around the world, including the world’s largest airports.

LEAVING WORK: A meme of a man desperately wanting to jump out of his workplace door, in an apparent joke that the power outage is an excuse to leave early for the weekend

A man in a flat cap smoking a cigarette walks away from a massive fire that has destroyed a large house, symbolizing the global impact of the power outage

A man in a flat cap smoking a cigarette walks away from a massive fire that has destroyed a large house, symbolizing the global impact of the power outage

A meme shows IT workers scratching their heads and twisting their faces during the crisis

A meme shows IT workers scratching their heads and twisting their faces during the crisis

BLUESCREEN: A man covered in a blue-brown tan - a reference to the

BLUESCREEN: A man covered in a blue-brown tan – a reference to the “blue screen of death” that computers experience when they crash

Pandas represent people whose laptops turn blue due to global power outage

Pandas represent people whose laptops turn blue due to global power outage

A meme shared online shows people surrounding a man being stoned to death, intended to represent IT workers

A meme shared online shows people surrounding a man being stoned to death, intended to represent IT workers

In this meme, technicians are working on overhead cables with a computer displaying a 'blue screen'

In this meme, technicians are working on overhead cables with a computer displaying a ‘blue screen’

The Las Vegas sphere is shown with a message that reads: 'Your device has encountered a problem and needs to restart'

The Las Vegas sphere is shown with a message that reads: ‘Your device has encountered a problem and needs to restart’

An employee jokes that

An employee jokes that “anyone who uses a computer for work should go home early today”

Another meme featuring a blue screen of death shows a computer with the message 'Windows did not load correctly'

Another meme featuring a blue screen of death shows a computer with the message ‘Windows did not load correctly’