For five seasons now, the NBC sitcom “The Office” has depicted a warped version of the typical American white-collar workplace: A fluorescent-lit, Sartre-like hell where a dysfunctional set of characters live out their workaday lives in quiet, hilarious desperation.

Who can’t relate to that?

Of course, the funniest characters in “The Office” are cartoonishly exaggerated. There aren’t Michael Scotts (Regional Manager) and Dwight Schrutes (Assistant to the Regional Manager) out making wildly inappropriate comments and performing borderline criminal acts in real-life offices. Are there?

I had to find out.

I don’t have the stomach for a Schrute-like encounter, so I set about looking for a real-life Michael Scott. My search led me to Tom Breedlove.

At first, the similarities were startling.

Michael Scott manages the regional office of Dunder-Mifflin. Tom Breedlove manages the office of Indy Litigation Support Group.

Dunder-Mifflin sells paper. Indy LSG sells legal documents.

Scott tells his employees to think of him as a friend first, a boss second and “probably an entertainer third.” Tom Breedlove is an entertainer third.

In his spare time, Breedlove performs musical stand-up comedy at various Indy night clubs. “My spin is I’m the bad guitarist who pretends he’s really good,” Breedlove said. “That’s my schtick.”

Breedlove is 36 years old (Scott is a little older at 44), and like Scott, has never been married. But unfortunately for my search (but fortunately for the rest of his office) the similarities pretty much end there.

For one, Breedlove is super-serious about his work. One of his employees, Lissa Mesker, said his bent for comedy occasionally carries over into the office, but “other times, it definitely doesn’t.” When asked point blank if Indy LSG in any way resembled “The Office”, Mesker said, “Oh, god, I am so glad that is not our office.” After a couple of seconds of silence, she added, “That would be embarrassing for everybody.”

Also unlike Scott, Breedlove doesn’t expect his employees to find him funny. “But you can’t bring a bad vibe to the office,” he said. “You don’t have to have a sense of humor. But everyone here has one.”

Also, if you work at Indy LSG, you may become a test audience for Breedlove’s newest material. “Oh yes, that happens,” Mesker said. “He plays his guitar every once in awhile. Sings us songs. They’re pretty funny.”

She paused. “He’s getting better.”