Summary

• Stanley and Phyllis have a subtle friendship, shown through actions rather than words, but they clearly have a soft spot for each other.
• They have had moments where they acted more like frenemies than friends, such as when Phyllis called out Stanley on his affair or when Stanley wrote a formal complaint about Phyllis.
• Despite some tension and conflicts, Stanley and Phyllis generally have a strong bond and are usually content with their relationship compared to other office conflicts.

The Office is filled with fantastic duos that make the show what it is, but one of the most underrated friendships on the series is that of Stanley and Phyllis. One of the most popular contemporary workplace sitcoms of all time, The Office used its mockumentary format to explore the day-to-day of a Pennsylvania branch at a mid-level paper company known as Dunder Mifflin. As with any office setting, co-worker relationships are a particular highlight of the series and The Office does a phenomenal job in creating realistic professional friendships that are bound to happen when working in close quarters.

Out of all the relationships on The Office, the Stanley and Phyllis friendship is the most overlooked. Sitting across from one another for the entirety of the series, Stanley and Phyllis are both sales personnel for Dunder Mifflin, and share some funny similarities. Their dynamic is a subtle one, shown more often through actions than outright words, but it's clear, especially by the end of The Office that the two fostered a soft spot for one another. Nevertheless, there are a couple moments in The Office that speak to the two being something more akin to frenemies than actual friends.

Times When Stanley & Phyllis Were BFFs

Phyllis Protects Stanley From The Others

The Office is known for its many holiday episodes. Big things happen on holidays like Halloween and Christmas, but Stanley and Phyllis have a great friendship moment in The Office season 5, episode 6, "Employee Transfer," one of the show's many Halloween-themed installments. In this particular moment, Stanley actually dressed up for Halloween by wearing Swamp Thing mask at his desk. When Kelly brings up Stanley's mask, Phyllis essentially tells her to back off because Stanely was napping. He wears the mask so he can sleep at his desk in peace. If Phyllis didn't care about her friendship with Stanley, she would have gladly let Kelly wake him up.

Stanley & Phyllis Took Care Of Jim's Clients

When Jim starts working part-time for Athlead in The Office season 9, episode 8, "The Target," he needed help covering his end at Dunder Mifflin, so he wouldn't lose his full-time salary. Knowing Dwight would never help him in his time of need, he took Stanley and Phyllis out to lunch to convince them to help him. Phyllis and Stanely loved being sucked-up to so much, they totally took advantage of Jim's wallet and generosity — even though they would have helped him without the expensive lunch. Seeing Stanley and Phyllis drunk and full to the brim in the back of Jim's car was a real highlight for the pair.

Stanley Whittled Phyllis A Wooden Version Of Herself

In The Office's near-perfect series finale, viewers see what life is like at Dunder Mifflin Scranton after the PBS documentary was released. Kevin was fired and now owns a bar, Angela and Dwight were planning their wedding, and Stanely finally retired and moved to Florida — however, that doesn't mean the Stanley and Phyllis friendship is over. At Angela and Dwight's wedding, Stanley gives Phyllis a miniature version of herself that he whittled for her out of wood, as he spends his time as a retiree whittling birds. Phyllis is so taken aback by the gesture that she's moved to tears in an endearing moment.

Phyllis Defended Stanley When Michael Started Gossiping

In The Office season 6, episode 1, "Gossip," Michael is bewildered by the fact that his co-workers knew more gossip than he did. Thanks to that summer's interns, Michael learned that Stanley was having an affair while his wife was out of town. Before realizing that spreading gossip and fake news could ruin a person's life, Michael ran to Phyllis to tell her the news. "Stanley hates crowds, kids, and music. I think you should check your facts," Phyllis quips to Michael. This realization made Michael upset because he knew that Phyllis and Stanley know one another better than anyone, even though she ended up being wrong.

Stanley & Phyllis Don't Bicker Like The Other Cubicles

When looking back on where everyone sat in the office, Stanley and Phyllis were the only two that didn't have multiple conflicts. The accounting department was constantly getting into arguments because of Angela's controlling nature. Angela and Oscar are often at odds, and Angela has not a single nice thing to say about Kevin. Jim and Dwight have a rivalry as old as time and were too busy pranking each other to ever fully focus on anything else. Stanley and Phyllis, on the other hand, were always content with their little hub, even when Andy joined them in The Office season 3.

Stanley Defended Phyllis' Perfume Choices

Stanley and Phyllis established that they were friendship goals in The Office season 3, episode 7, "The Merger." Conflict reigns when the Stamford and Scranton branches merge under Michael's tutelage, and Karen soon finds herself sitting near Stanley and Phyllis. Karen tried to confront Phyllis over the fact that she might be allergic to her perfume, something Phyllis refused to change. In one of The Office's many asides, Stanley mentioned that he's not sure what's wrong with these new people, because he's been sitting next to Phyllis for years and never complained about her "stinky perfume" once.

Times Stanley & Phyllis Were Frenemies

Phyllis Calls Out Stanley On His Affair

In The Office season 6, episode 5, "Niagara Part 2," the whole gang is in Niagara Falls for Jim and Pam's wedding, resulting in a contentious Stanley and Phyllis moment. As Phyllis and Bob are standing in line at the church, Phyllis' hat kept hitting Stanley in the face. He remarked, "If your hat hits me in the face one more time ..." but before he could finish, Phyllis drops the sass by saying that his wife Terri loved her hat "the last time she saw it." She then subtly looks at Stanley's mistress Cynthia in a disapproving way to make the entire conversation even more uncomfortable.

Stanley Loves When Michael Thinks Phyllis Is Old

In The Office season 7, episode 21, "Michael's Last Dundies," Michael and the new regional manager, Deangelo Vickers, put together a video of Michael imitating his co-workers. When it came time for Michael to impersonate Phyllis, he wore a wig, glasses, and acted like Phyllis was an elderly woman who was on her last leg. Phyllis didn't seem to take the joke too well (especially since she and Michael went to the same high school) but Stanley, on the other hand, was laughing uncontrollably. While some viewers see Stanley and Phyllis as having a brother/sister relationship, this is one time Phyllis did not appreciate Stanley's giggles.

Stanley Wrote A Formal Complaint About Phyllis

Aside from Dwight's most hilarious complaints about Jim featured in The Office season 2, episode 21, "Conflict Resolution," is the revelation that things might not be so great between Stanley and Phyllis. Michael tries to resolve some of the dramas in the workplace by reading people's complaints out loud. Among the pile of issues, Michael reads a complaint from Stanely stating that Phyllis "cries too much" and that it bothered him. Phyllis doesn't believe the complaint because she and Stanley are close. When the camera zooms in on Stanley, he mutters, "We sit close ..." Stanely's comment upset Phyllis, suggesting they weren't as close as she thought.

Stanley Wouldn't Let Phyllis Cut The Pretzel Line

One of Stanley's best moments on The Office was in season 3, episode 5, "Pretzel Day." Stanley hates going to work every day, but there's one day he loves showing up for and that's Pretzel Day. Once a year, a pretzel man shows up to Dunder Mifflin and offers warm pretzels with a variety of toppings. It's a day Stanley takes very seriously. While in line, Stanley and Phyllis get into an altercation. Phyllis sees her husband Bob Vance in line and gives him a hug. Stanley, however, sees this as Phyllis trying to cut the line and yells at her until she heads toward the back of the line.

There Was Tension Between Stanley & Phyllis

Whenever Stanley and Phyllis had their bad times, it was quickly resolved, but some viewers think there was some underlying tension between the two. There's a theory on Reddit that states the reason Stanley and Phyllis threw jabs at each other is because they were in a secret relationship. Stanley mentioned he had three affairs in his lifetime but since he only discussed two of them, audiences suggest he could be hinting at a possible relationship with Phyllis. What gives even more weight to this theory is when Toby mentions office relationships should be disclosed in The Office season 2, episode 2, "Sexual Harassment," Phyllis asks if one-night stands count.

Phyllis Was Jealous Of Stanley's Dundie Win

While it could be a result of Stanley taking too much glee from Michael's dramatization of Phyllis as an elderly woman, Phyllis' reaction to the Dundie that Stanley wins in The Office season 7, episode 21, "Michael's Last Dundies" certainly doesn't make it seem like the two are friends. Stanley has won several Dundie awards on The Office, but for Michael's final award ceremony he wins the "Diabetes Award." In a confessional moment, Phyllis remarks that she also has diabetes, but doesn't make a "big deal" about it, inferring that Stanley does.