Dilbert is by profession an engineer who loves technology more than he loves people, a lot more. His poor social skills and his general discomfort with human interaction make him the perfect office worker hero for a cartoon strip.

Next add to the mix Dogbert, Dilbert's dog and in some ways mentor. Dogbert, while generally treating all humans with disdain, has an accute understanding of human emotion and how people interact. His observations on the subject go over Dilberts head, but the pair need each other.

Then there's the co-workers. Wally, Dilbert's fellow engineer and closest colleague is the hero of cynical office workers everywhere. Alice has a quick temper and is continuously overworked, Catbert sums up Human Resources perfectly while anyone who's ever worked in an office can instantly recognise the Boss character.

Dilbert and the world of characters that come along with him sum up office life with such perfection that you can see strips cut out and stuck to computer monitors (probably strictly against company policy) in offices throughout the world.