Discover the best office pranks to boost team morale and add fun to your workplace. See what role humor plays in the workplace – and it’s more than just laughs
Every workplace could use some humor, and nothing makes people laugh better than a funny, well executed office prank. But did you know that humor in the workplace benefits the organization in other surprising ways?
In this article, we’ll go over 20 of the funniest office pranks we’ve come across. Towards the end of the article, we’ll talk about humor in the workplace, its benefits, and the science behind it.
Finally, we’ll discuss how leaders can foster a work environment that’s creative, fun, and safe for everyone.
We looked on the internet, user forums, online videos, and our own favorites to come up with 20 of the best office pranks. When choosing the office pranks to feature here, we looked at:
We even feature three celebrity pranks to add a bit of glamor to the list.
We’ve broken them up into these categories:
Let’s get started – here are 20 of the funniest office pranks:
This is a common office prank where everything in an employee’s cubicle – office chair, desk, and stationery – is covered with festive wrapping paper.
Is there a sudden shortage of Post-it notes at the office? Be on the lookout for someone’s desk or cubicle in an explosion of pink, yellow, or blue of these sticky notes.
Is a coworker becoming increasingly frustrated with their mouse not working? And do you see the office clown giggling in the corner? Tell your poor colleague turn the mouse over – is there a piece of tape over the sensor? Yep, it’s the classic computer mouse prank.
This involves placing a sign on a non-voice-activated device, like a printer. The sign gives instructions to use voice commands when operating the machine.
This prankster on Reddit was very successful:
Are system updates taking too long? Your colleagues might have been pranked. This involves setting up fake "Installing Updates" screensavers on everyone’s computers, making them believe their system is updating. Time to call IT.
This is a well-known office prank that calls for patience and delicate fingers. The prankster rearranges keys on a coworker's keyboard to spell out a funny message, ensuring it's easily reversible.
In this video, Master Builder Alec changed everything on a colleague’s desk (who was away on vacation) to their Lego-fied versions. Talk about commitment – there are 11 videos detailing his efforts. Here’s one of them:
In case you’re wondering, he’s not in trouble with HR for this. He works for Lego; making videos to document these office pranks is part of his job!
This involves changing the mouse pointer settings on a coworker's computer. It’s an effective and harmless office prank. No one ever thinks to check their mouse or cursor settings, so the culprit could get away with it!
Here’s what a giant cursor might look like on the screen:
To save your hapless colleague without having to call IT, here’s what you can do:
HR saves the day yet again.
This requires setting a colleague's phone to a very low volume and calling it repeatedly. If they work in sales, customer services, or HR (watch out!), the unanswered call is bound to drive them nuts.
Replace a coworker's chair with a different one from another part of the office. Watch their reaction when they notice the swap.
Fans of the Ron Howard movie “The Paper” might remember a similar scene. In the movie, one of the reporters had been begging his boss for an ergonomic chair for years. He finally decides to get one himself, but his colleagues quickly replace it with a stool.
Imagine seeing an employee’s family photos include a smiling shot of Angelina Jolie or Henry Cavill. Yes, someone has pulled a family photo swap on a clueless colleague. Hang back a little, see their reaction once they notice the unexpected change.
Reddit is a treasure trove of ideas for office pranks. Here’s one of the funnier ones: pulling out a banana and using it as a phone! It’s hilarious without being offensive:
This is clean, harmless fun, with everyone sharing a laugh at the expense of...a banana.
It all started with $4 glasses at a drugstore, and the rest is history. Jim’s purchase of Dwight’s look-alike glasses inspired him to go for the entire ensemble. And we have to say, the likeness is spot on!
Another classic from “The Office” - here it is for everyone to relive and enjoy. For the record, Dwight does make a good point about damage to property:
The Jell-O prank is part of our list of April Fool’s jokes from 2022 – it's still worth a read!
The prank involves veteran pencil pushers Hitchcock and Scully, the last people you would suspect of starting a prank.
Hitchcock tells everyone that they missed Scully’s birthday. The squad, feeling guilty, passes the hat to give Scully cash as a gift.
They hand the cash to Scully with an apology for missing his birthday. But it wasn’t his birthday, and Scully and Hitchcock share the loot.
Here’s a real-life birthday office prank: a man from New Zealand gets random greetings from strangers. Find out how that happened in the article.
This one’s a funny office prank: someone changes the auto-correct settings on a colleague’s computer the minute they walk away.
A variation of this prank is mentioned in “Brooklyn Nine Nine” when Captain Holt sets an auto-correct change on the computer of his work nemesis, Madeline Wuntch. "When I was alone in her office, I changed her auto-correct. Now when she types ‘Wuntch,’ it gets replaced with ‘Butt.’”
Resident prankster Jake Peralta moves Captain Holt’s podium by a half inch. He didn’t think Holt would notice, but the reaction he got was priceless:
When do office pranks cross the line? Find out what world’s top HR leaders think. Reach out to one of them via our special reports page on Global 100 for HR.
Imagine your workplace is a Hollywood set, and you have A-list actors like George Clooney and Brad Pitt outdoing each other’s pranks.
Some of film and TV’s biggest stars come up with the most genius on-set pranks, and we’ve listed a few for you. Keep an eye out for them at work - your colleagues might look to Clooney and his buddies for inspiration:
When award-winning actress Meryl Streep was shooting The Iron Lady, she received a package with audio recordings and material to help with her dialect. (Meryl Streep played former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher in the movie.)
A note came with the package: “This guy helped me with my accent in Troy, I thought maybe he could help you.” The nerve, giving Meryl Streep acting advice! Turns out the package came from Brad Pitt. Or did it? George Clooney was behind that prank.
While filming “Ocean's Twelve” in Italy, Brad Pitt sent a memo to George Clooney's neighbors around Lake Como. The note, written in Italian, said that Clooney preferred to be addressed as Danny Ocean (his character's name) and requested that no one make eye contact with him.
This prank led to local media referring to Clooney as Il Divo (The Diva).
Late show talk host Jimmy Kimmel is part of Clooney’s inner circle, and he gets in on the action with his own prank.
Here’s how it starts: Kimmel’s Aunt Chippy gets picked up by a driver. She gets in, then the car drives off...without the driver in it! Watch Aunt Chippy go hysterical in the back seat of a self-driving car:
We’re counting this as an office prank because Kimmel recorded it for work (aka his talk show).
Laughter is the best medicine is more than an adage; it’s a claim backed by science. An article from the London School of Economics (LSE) explores the benefits, risks, and considerations behind workplace humor:
Studies have shown that humor in the workplace helps decrease burnout and stress. Shared laughter among colleagues also leads to a deeper rapport, a bond within teams.
When employees are free to play jokes and laugh together, it’s an indication of psychological safety. This means that, just as they are free to laugh at each other’s pranks and jokes, they are safe to make mistakes. This leads to greater creativity and risk-taking, resulting in a workplace that supports new ways of thinking.
Not all humor at work is effective though. Successful jokes – those that are funny and appropriate – place the joke teller in a positive light.
Jokes that are sarcastic, though requiring higher-level thinking, may come across as negative.
Self-deprecating jokes, while endearing the joke teller to their colleagues, could lead to some lost credibility with the boss.
Another point to keep in mind in workplace humor is intention. Are people using humor to bond and have a good time, or to single out someone and laugh at them? And of course, there are also gender, race, and cultural issues to consider.
The bottom line is to use humor while being mindful of relationships in the workplace.
The LSE article mentioned humor and levity as part of a safe workspace. It’s not just about who can make the most people laugh; it’s also about bringing warmth and lightness to a serious work environment. Leaders have a role to play in making the workplace safe and comfortable.
Apart from having a leader who is willing to create a space of lightness and humor, an environment where people can make mistakes is just as important. With all these factors in place, employees take risks, become innovative and creative, and enjoy work overall!
While this area of research continues to grow, here’s what we know so far:
Who knew that office pranks and laughter could benefit the workplace this much?
What are some of your favorite office pranks? Let us know in the comments below
