Not to say that work isn’t for working, but, well, it’s kind of the perfect place for some good old fashioned mischievous entertainment. If your place of employment isn’t cool with some well-meaning pranks, then I’m really sorry and you should save these ideas for another place and time (like a new job with a way better environment).
Personally, I love a good office prank, and I want to share my favorites with the world. I’m such a giver. For your convenience, I’ve ranked them from slight snicker to ROFL.
7. The Mouse Trap
For a harmless, mild mannered joke, tape over the light detector on the bottom of a co-worker’s computer mouse. Your co-worker will spend at least five minutes jiggling his or her mouse around. This is an excellent option for the office than frowns on a little mischief.
6. Musical Keys
Want to give yourself a private laugh? Switch your co-worker’s keyboard keys around when he or she isn’t around. It might take a little while for your co-worker to notice, but you’ll have a good laugh when he or she doesn’t understand why the “A” is mysteriously sitting in place of the "P."
5. Hold the Phone
In this prank, you will use a lot of rubberbands. Essentially, you wrap rubber bands around a co-worker’s office telephone. Think of how you wrap rubber bands around a ball to create a rubber band ball. This makes your co-worker’s phone unusable until they remove all of the rubber bands – which will definitely take a while. Listening to them grumble and wince as they take the rubber bands off will provide you with a good 30 minutes of entertainment.
4. The Stubborn Dialogue Boxes
If you’d like to give your co-worker a stressful moment, I recommend driving him or her crazy by setting a dialogue box as their computer background. You’ll need to prepare for this one in advance. On your own computer, pull up several dialogue boxes in various sizes and places. You want there to be enough dialogue boxes to create an entire computer background. After you’ve done that, screen shot the image.
When your co-worker has walked away from his or her computer, save the dialogue box image as the background on it and make sure to hide all of the desktop icons. Then pull up five more actual dialogue boxes. Leave them up and high tail it back to your own desk. Try to muffle your laughter when your co-worker loses it as they try to close out all of the dialogue boxes.
3. The Cubicle Balloon Pit
For a colorful and fun office prank, seal off the open wall of your coworker’s cubicle with plastic wrap, string, streamers, or caution tape. Make sure that there aren’t any large spaces between whatever you use as a barrier. Then fill the cubicle with as many balloons as possible. Your co-worker will be sure to laugh when he or she arrives to find the workspace hidden beneath balloons. The best part is when your coworker removes the streamers and balloons flood the office. How festive is that?!
2. Suspended Supplies
This prank is perfect for those with tons of free time. After your co-worker has left the office, steal a few of his or her desk items, like the stapler or computer mouse. Then whip up some gelatin, pour it into a mold and place the stolen goods inside. It works best to have a mold for each item. Arrive to work early and place the Jell-O items back in their proper places. Your co-worker will be speechless and perplexed. This is a messy prank that will take your co-worker some time to clean up, so don’t try it on the office grouch.
1. The Office Wake Up Call
If you want to create a massive office upheaval, I’ve got you covered. Trust me: don’t do this prank if your office is uptight and silent because you might get fired for creating a disturbance. If your office is chill, then go for it. Make sure you choose the perfect victim. Then duct tape an air horn below the seat of your co-worker’s desk chair. It is important to place it directly below the seat. Be on guard, because when your co-worker sits down, that air horn will greet the entire office with a great big “GOOD MORNING!” Enjoy the madness that ensues.
Good luck! Don’t blame me if these backfire.
