25+ Fun Office Prank Ideas to Use in the Workplace

Do you notice your colleagues and coworkers overworked or need some light moment? Are you looking for some office prank ideas which are fun but will keep you from getting fired?

Are you thinking about how to prank your coworkers? Well, here is a list of pranks that you can use to spice up your workplace. But before proceeding, you should understand how these pranks benefit you.

Benefits of office prank

Using fun, simple and non-offensive humor at work can enlighten a dull office and regular day. It indeed makes everyone happy.

Practical jokes used by workers, managers, and bosses enhance teamwork and performance. If you have a team to deal with, pranks are an excellent option to improve motivation and connection with peers.

Employees who have fun at their workplace tend to be more innovative and productive and work better in teams. They also have reduced chances of absentee and sick days.

If you wish to boost efficiency and employee job satisfaction, some office pranks, once in a while, can help you in it. It helps in:

Enhancing employee engagement
Reducing stress and burnout
Increasing optimism
Promoting a better workplace culture
Better bonding among coworkers
Fall in absenteeism

It may be tough to believe, but pranks can make companies and employees function better to accomplish goals. While a depressed work environment, work pressure, and toxicity burden employees, these small fun moments bring joy and relief. They further help maintain a healthy work-life relationship at the office, making the office environment more comfortable.

20 office prank ideas to spice up the workplace

Below here are 20 office prank ideas to spice up the workplace

Wrapping paper

Rather than wrapping a gift, wrap your coworker's chair, system, or belonging with shiny wrapping paper. Once they enter their office, their reaction will surely make them laugh.

Nicholas Cage's toilet set

To make your peers laugh in the washroom, go for the Nicholas Cage toilet seat prank. Just paste one of his weirdest and funny pictures on the toilet seat and allow him to greet anyone choosing for a washroom break.

Fish drawer

You just have to open your coworker's desk drawer, empty it, take a plastic wrap, and put fish in it. Make sure the fish is dead.

Sticky notes

Decorate your colleague's cubicle or car with several sticky notes. If your friend procrastinates and doesn't use sticky notes, the prank is a must for them.

Download chrome extension

Just download the Chrome extension and replace all the photos with Nicholas Cage. Sounds horrific! Extensions are simple to install and uninstall… so don't worry; they will not harm your coworker's computer. However, it's important to be cautious and choose reliable extensions that enhance productivity. Doing a quick Firefox vs Chrome comparison can help you decide which browser provides a more seamless and secure experience when adding useful functionalities to your browsing environment

Freeze your colleague's desktop

Take a screenshot of your colleague's computer screen and put it as desktop wallpaper. And make sure you hide all the folders, files, and shortcuts on the desktop. Sit tight and wait to have a hearty laugh with others.

Voice-activated toaster

Just paste a note on the toaster mentioning "the toaster is voice-activated" and wait for your colleague to use the best of his voice to activate the supply.

Family photo swap

Does your coworker have a family photo on their desk? Replace the picture with that of a wired celebrity.

The broken mouse

A broken mouse is a classic prank you can play on your colleague. Tape the sensor of their mouse and watch them figure out why they can click but cannot scroll.

And yes, always leave a friendly message when they finally figure it out.

Healthy doughnut

Surprise your coworkers with a box of doughnuts on their birthday. But make sure the bag of doughnuts has assorted veggies. Use this prank on someone who is not much into healthy food.

Make it creepy

Well, some toys and clowns look incredibly creepy. Decorate your colleague's cubicle with those clowns and artificial hair and spook them. Wait till they're scared and you have the time of your life.

Balloon cake

Birthdays are celebrated less at work, but adding humor is always suitable for your coworker's special day.

Rather than icing a cake, try icing a balloon. Let your coworker try to cut it and burst out with buttercream all over them.

Swap the toilet

If your office has separate toilets for men and women, why not swap them to prank your colleague? Though old-fashioned, you will surely pull this one off nicely.

Fake virus

Be it the coronavirus or computer virus; both are equally irritating. If you want to prank your coworker, show them that their PC has a virus. Infect your colleague's system with a fake virus and see them getting irritated and restless.

Sleeping beauty

This prank is for those colleagues who need help keeping their eyes open late at noon. Just watch them dozing off and collect as many peers as possible. Click pictures with the sleeping beauty, and you will have some fantastic memories to enjoy.

Foghorn Entrance

It is an age-old office prank. It includes positioning a prominent horn on a door frame and blowing into it. As soon as the sound travels, it makes everyone inside jump, giving everyone a good laugh.

Autocorrect prank

Get into your peer's phone and change their autocorrect settings to hilarious things. Replace yes with no or no with cool. Switch words and see how it makes everyone laugh.

Caramel onions

A decent prank! Use it on someone with a sweet tooth but zero liking for onions. Just dip an onion in hot caramel and let it set. Serve it as a caramel apple to your coworker. Let them take a bite so you can laugh.

Febreze war

By using Febreze, you can easily win an office prank war. Often people get irritated by this smell. Tie a zip-tie around febreze and keep it in your coworker's cubicle while they are out and watch them return to a potent work area.

Rubber snake

Well, use these little critters to scare your coworkers harmlessly. Watch them getting scared away, running from one corner to another.

Tips and tricks for pulling off the perfect office prank

If you wish to pull off the above-mentioned office pranks on your coworkers, ensure that it doesn't land you in trouble. So, always know what you're going to do.

Here are some tips and tricks that will help you pull off the perfect prank without getting fired:

First and foremost, remember there will be people around who will see you performing the prank. Ensure you don't embarrass them by mistake.
Do not prank someone who cannot bear it or doesn't deserve it.
Refrain from prying someone who is performing poorly at their job.
Always think before planning a prank and see if you can pull it off effortlessly without hurting or harming anyone.
Ensure you never target the wrong person, especially someone who may be sensitive to a particular situation.
After you're done, always clean up your mess.
Only pull off those pranks which can be suitably performed at your workplace.
Never involve any client in your prank.

Creative ways to prank your coworkers: fun and unforgettable ideas

Pants in the stall

When you find someone underneath the stall, you need to wait for your turn. Here, you may have to wait forever. Plant this guy in your office washroom and see how long it takes to get people frustrated.

Ballooned conference rooms

The prank goes two ways: You can surprise your team, who has reserved the conference room and conduct a long day meeting without anyone knowing about it.

Desk trolls

Buy as many trolls as you can in bulk. You can troll your colleague's cubicle with it, but ensure you purchase more than one pack of trolls to make this stunt a reality.

Stolen identity

To pull off this prank, you should steal an identity and impersonate someone at your company. Create a fake resume and cover letter, the same as theirs, and send it along with your photo to the company.

Make sure your resume reaches the person you're impersonating, and they come out in shock, and you could enjoy a hearty laugh.

Nailed the cake

Inform everyone there's a cake in the kitchen. The prank, here, is that it is written in frosting. Enjoy hunting…

You're felined

It is an excellent prank for those who are allergic to cats. Bring in a few cats in their cubicle and click their pictures, making faces at them.

The seed board

Team with your IT professionals to pull off this prank. The user may still wonder how the plants are growing from their keyboard. You can target someone who sits near the window and get sufficient sunlight.

The ceilings with eyes

Make your colleague freak out by looking at a horrifying picture placed on the ceiling of their cubicle. It is the jumpiest freak-out you will ever see.

Tips for practical jokes at work

Here, discussing the rules and valuable guidelines one must follow while fertilizing these office prank ideas is essential. Office pranks often, if performed over the top in an unexpected way, bring you into a troubled situation. So, it is vital to follow the guide given below:

The prank should never be done angrily

The principal intent of an office prank is to share some fun and laughter and not be vengeful. Your prank should include any emotion of anger, envy, or revenge. It would help if you practiced it happily and did not make anyone offended or angry. If your jokes are a reason for your peer's anger, you may face the result.

Never damage your office property in the process

Well, this is something you should avoid at all costs. Indeed, you don't want to get slapped with a hefty fine post your prank. Remember you should never vandalize your office property, cubicle, desk, or walls during your prank.

Never compromise on work

You should ensure that you don't disrupt work or anyone's productivity while having fun with your colleague. Of course, you don't want to fall short of your deadline or lose a client. The goal of an office prank is to boost productivity rather than impact it negatively.

Avoid any illegal stuff

Simply put, no racism, no personal jokes on color, gender, caste, or any kind of discrimination or harassment should be made while pranking your coworkers.

Never cross your line

The last rule is a blend of all of the above rules. Always remember, you're pranking for fun. Do not cross any line that may hurt any person's sentiments.

Remember, it is a fun exercise and should end on a fun note. Simple pranks, when implemented respectfully, help make the workplace diverse and inclusive and foster a healthy office environment.

Summing up

Office pranks are an excellent option to boost office morale from time to time and have some decent fun. However, people should be alert to the caveat that they may cause in terms of discomfort. It shouldn’t hurt anyone’s sentiments or prove to cause any kind of harm to anyone around. It should be done merely for fun and happiness.