25 Very Best Office Pranks

We all know that the traditional workday in the traditional office can be a real big drag. Top it off with the person who calls Wednesday “Hump Day” and you are ready to just pack up and go home. Let’s face it, you need the job so that is not a good idea. Instead, let’s try to spice up the office and make “traditional” a thing of the past. Here is a list of 25 awesome, clean, and fun office pranks that you can try in your office that will keep you and your coworkers entertained, but still employed! Beware, if you try these be ready for some good-natured retaliation!

Warnings on pranks in the office: These pranks are safe to be done in the workplace, but you still need to proceed with caution, not every prank will be appropriate and suited for every situation or individual. Consider the following disclaimers regarding these office pranks:

1. Keep in mind the audience. Do not conduct these pranks on individuals that would get upset, harmed, or otherwise put-out by these pranks. Know your coworkers; know your boss. 
2. Do not make additions that would harm someone. For example, avoid peanuts if someone in the office has a peanut allergy. 
3. Do not harm, alter, steal, or any way permanently disturb others’ belongings. You want to keep it fun, not make office arch-nemeses!
4. Do not create a huge disturbance. Make sure that your prank does not interrupt the work day more than just a slight relief. Remember, you want to keep your job!

 

#1 Falling bugs!

You will need:

• A fake bug or best of some kind. 

Steps:

1. Place the plastic spider, cockroach, etc. in a location, such as a door frame, so that it will fall on an unwitting coworker. You can also place fake bugs in other locations, such as bathroom floors, refrigerators in the breakroom, desk drawers, you name it.
2. Wait for the planted bug to fall!

 

#2 In Office Ransom

Take a simple but often used item from a coworkers desk. Create and leave a ransom note with a silly request, such as leaving a stack of paper clips or emailing someone with the lyrics to “Party in the USA” by Miley Cyrus in return for their precious stapler.

 

#3 “Steal” Someone’s Food

You will need:

• Food – I recommend cookies, brownies, or cake
• Label for food “DO NOT EAT” or “For X’S Birthday”

Steps for this office prank:

1. In the breakroom/kitchen, purchase and leave some food, such as a birthday cake, that is labeled “DO NOT EAT” or “For Keira’s Birthday.” 
2. When someone is in the breakroom/kitchen, begin to eat it and see their response. 
3. Take it a step further and offer some of the food to the witness! Their true nature will be revealed.

 

#4 Traveling Gnome

You will need:

• A plastic statue or stuffed animal

Steps:

1. Get some sort of stuffed animal or gnome and place it around the office – the kitchen, people’s desks, office plants, looking down from the ceiling tiles. 
2. Periodically move it around, not revealing your involvement and deny knowledge of what they are talking about. 
3. Watch the reactions as time goes on. 

 

#5 Prank calls

A traditional prank, but a good one. Depending on what your company offers, pretend to be a client demanding ridiculous services that are outside of your coworkers’ purview. 

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#6 Stuck at work

You will need:

• Lotion or another lubricant

Steps for this office prank:

1. Use lotion, soap, or any lubricant and generously apply it on the doorknob to the exit. 
2. When people try to leave at the end of the day, they will be stuck! 
   1. You can also try this on other doorknobs in the office for variety. For example, you could conduct this prank on the bathroom door with the sign “Bathroom breaks have been discontinued until further notice. -Management” 

(DO NOT DO THIS ON EMERGENCY EXITS)

 

#7 Unconventional diet

You will need:

• A CLEAN and EMPTY office supply container such as a glue stick or whiteout container.
• Food that will easily fit into the container.

Steps:

1. Empty and clean a container from some office supply you would commonly find in your place of work.
2. Put food into an office supply container. 
3. Eat said food in front of your coworkers. See the shock on their face when they see what you are eating/drinking!

 

#8 Cat Facts

Sign your coworker up for Cat Facts, a random texting service that will text your coworker random cat facts throughout the day. They will not know what is going on, but they will also learn interesting and important cat facts at the same time!

 

#9 Imaginary world

Steps:

1. During a break, stand at the window and comment to a nearby coworker on some imaginary (but believable) things outside the window. 
2. Walk away from the window once they come over to look. 
3. Enjoy seeing them look and try to find what you are talking about while you moonwalk away. 

 

#10 Scavenger Hunt

You will need:

• Two random items from home or the office

Steps for this office prank:

1. Tell your coworkers that you have organized a scavenger hunt for them.
2. Indicate to them that you placed three random items around the office, have them look for them. 
   1. Only thing is, you only place two items. 
3. They will continue searching around the office once they have found the two and be searching for the imaginary third item.

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#11 Boss Photo-Bombing

You will need:

• Photos of your boss’ face

Steps:

1. Print out several photos in various sizes of your boss’ face. 
2. Cut out the faces from the photos. 
3. Tape it over all faces in your coworker’s frames. 

This can be altered to be your face, the face of a celebrity, etc..

 

#12 Sweet and Salty

Steps:

1. Go to the office kitchen and switch the sugar and salt packets. 
   1. Be sure that the sugar is then located where the salt should be (likely near the pepper) and that the salt is located near where the sugar should be (likely near a coffee machine and other packets of sweetener). 
2. See how many people fall for it before someone actually switches them back.

 

#13 Mixed up!

You will need:

• Skittles and M&Ms

On your desk or in the office kitchen, put out a container of Skittles and M&Ms or another similar looking yet contrasting flavored candies and see their reactions. 

 

#14 Unplugged

Steps for this office prank:

1. Unplug the keyboard or mouse to a coworker’s computer. 
2. If you are able to do so, turn on the voice-reader so that it reads aloud the text on the screen.
3. See your coworker be stumped and confused on how to fix the voice-reader with a non-functioning keyboard/mouse!

 

#15 Rick Roll Memo

Steps:

1. Send out an email memo to your coworkers. 
2. Include a link to Rick Astley’s “Never Gonna Give You Up,” disguised as a link that is pertinent to your work or the email itself. 
3. Wait with your ears on alert to see who fell for the Rick Roll first. 

Next: The 30 Best Icebreaker Games!

 

#16 Not for you

You will need:

• Bottled beverages
• Superglue

Steps:

1. Buy some bottles of soda, water, or any other work-appropriate beverage.
2. Superglue the lids shut. 
3. Put a note offering the beverages to your coworkers. See the coworkers be very grateful and then disappointed when they struggle to open them. 
4. If you want, offer a way to help them fix the situation as an olive branch after this prank — they might be thirsty from their hard work.

 

#17 Talking plant

You will need:

• Walkie talkie

Steps for this office prank:

1. Hide a walkie talkie or similar device in a plant. 
2. Periodically speak to your coworkers. 

• You can narrate what the coworker is doing, what they should be doing, complement them, whatever feels right. 
• Especially effective if the device has voice-altering effects. 

 

#18 Caramel Onions

You will need:

• Caramel
• Apples
• Onion
• Bamboo skewers

Steps:

1. At home, create enough caramelized apples for your coworkers. Be sure to also create one or two that have exchanged the apple for an onion!
2. At work bring everyone into a centralized place to enjoy your generous snacks, 
3. Wait and see who got the onion in the batch! (Be sure there are no allergies!)

 

#19 Frozen bugs

You will need:

• Plastic bug small enough to fit in an ice cube tray
• Ice cube tray
• Iced drink either prepared at work, or purchased at a coffee shop

Steps for this office prank:

1. Make some ice using an ice cube tray and insert fake bugs to freeze in the cubes. 
2. At work prepare an iced drink or purchase an iced drink on the way to work and place some of your ice cubes with bugs in it. 
3. Kindly offer your coworker a nice cold beverage with your frozen bugs. 
4. See their reaction once they notice the entomological gift you added to their drink.

 

#20 For Sale

You will need:

• A “For Sale” or “Now Hiring”

Put a “For sale” sign or “Now Hiring” sign on your coworker’s desk. See your coworkers reaction upon this discovery. Bonus points if you get a reaction from both your boss and the coworker. 

 

#21 Coworker Cam

Begin talking to your coworkers about a non-existent coworker named Cam. Convince your coworker that this person exists until they either believe you or begin to talk to other coworkers about the individual. Have them really begin to doubt their knowledge of who works in the same office as them.

 

#22 Reverse!

Turn around all items at your coworkers desk as best as possible. Change their monitor to face the wall with the keyboard-oriented in the same direction. If possible move the desk, chair, printer, and any other items in the office that aren’t permanently affixed to face the opposite direction. This will certainly spice up their attempts to start working when arriving first thing in the morning!

 

#23 Get to work

You will need:

• Gift wrapping paper
• Boxes of various sizes

Steps:

1. At home wrap up several layers of boxes like nesting dolls and at the very inside of the smallest box, insert a sticky note that says “Get back to work!”
2. Present your coworker with the large gift-wrapped box for all their hard work. 
3. Watch them open the gift with the anticipation of some nice treat and see their reaction to the sticky note! 

 

#24 The Doll

You will need:

• Doll

Steps for this office prank:

1. Get a doll, preferably one that looks similar to your coworker
   1. If you can find a doll that not only looks like your coworker, but is also dressed in business casual, that will be even better.
2. Place it in your coworker’s chair when they get up for a break. 
3. Make sure that the chair is oriented in a way that they have to move it to get back in it. 
4. When they return they will need to move the chair and then they will see that there is their creepy miniature working in their place.

 

#25 Restricted Device Usage

You will need:

• Rubber bands – a lot of them
• Coworker’s work phone or other often-used device

Steps:

1. While your coworker is away, grab one of their devices they often use as a part of the work day, such as their phone
2. Use as many rubber bands as necessary and cover the device to the point that it is unusable unless the rubber bands are removed. 
   1. If possible, take the time to make a pattern out of the rubber bands. Try a grid pattern, spirals, etc.
3. Now lie in wait while your coworker discovers your diabolical crafting schemes.
4. Another layer for this can be to use tape (or more rubber bands) to fasten the blades of a pair of scissors shut so that it cannot open. Then they cannot use the scissors to expedite the removal of the rubber bands. 

 

Using any number of these office pranks will certainly bring back some life to your work day, improve comradery amongst you and your coworkers, and get a great boost of serotonin. Be mindful of the pranks you pull and who you pull them on. But most important, be ready for whatever pranks might be awaiting you!