You're sure to generate a lot of laughs if you try one of these work pranks. photo by akeg on Flickr

Work Pranks & Office Humor: Funny Things To Try At The Office

by Lynnette

office humor, work pranks

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You're sure to generate a lot of laughs if you try one of these work pranks. photo by akeg on Flickr

Is work getting you down? Tired of same ‘ol stuff — day in and day out?

Here are some FUN ideas to lighten things up a bit around the office.

Some are flat out crazy. But others might be worth a try… so long as the people in your office have a good sense of humor!

This post could be subtitled: How to keep a healthy level of insanity at work.

Go ahead and make a game of it — following are the dares and how many points you earn for each completed work prank.

1-Point Office Dares

  • Cover your co-workers desk with sticky notes.
  • Walk sideways to the photocopier.
  • Ignore the first 5 people who say ‘good morning’ to you.
  • Call someone in the office you barely know, leave your name and say, “Just called to say I can’t talk right now. Bye.”
  • Shout random numbers while someone is counting.
  • To signal the end of a conversation, clamp your hands over your ears and grimace. (Or, give the casino dealer’s hand signal for “I’m out.”)
  • Leave your zipper open for one hour. If anyone points it out, say, “Sorry, I really prefer it this way.”
  • Make a face like somebody beside you farted.
  • While riding in an elevator, gasp dramatically every time the doors open.
  • While sitting at your desk, soak your fingers in Palmolive.
  • No matter what anyone asks you, reply, “Okay.”

3-Point Office Dares

  • For no reason at all fill a co-workers cube with balloons.
  • Say to your boss, “I like your style” and shoot him with double-barreled fingers.
  • Babble incoherently at a fellow employee then ask, “Did you get all that, I don’t want to have to repeat it.”
  • Page yourself over the intercom (don’t disguise your voice).
  • Kneel in front of the water cooler and drink directly from the nozzle (there must be a ‘non-player’ within sight).
  • Grow mold in your coffee cup.
  • As often as possible, skip rather than walk.
  • Don’t use any punctuation. Or, use, too…much; punctuation!
  • Put your waste basket on your desk and label it “IN”.
  • For an hour, refer to everyone you speak to as “Bob.”
  • When in conversation, no matter where you are in the office, mutter, “I think my phone is ringing” and leave.
  • Hang a 2-foot long piece of toilet paper from the back of your pants and act genuinely surprised when someone points it out.
  • At sensitive moments, blow your nose raucously. Apologize for your sinus condition.
  • Wear a disposable paper face mask. Tell the group: “Hey, you don’t want to catch what I’ve got!”
  • Bring a noisy electric pencil sharpener to the meeting. Sharpen your pencil every few minutes.
  • Every time someone asks you to do something, ask them if they want fries with that.

If the pranks are a little too scary for you and you’re really looking for more team-building activities to build camaraderie that’s great.

If you’re still into scoring points for office work dares — please continue to the 5 point dares!

5-Point Office Dares

  • Pretend to light up a fake cigarette inside your office.
  • Every time someone asks you to do something, ask them to sign a waiver.
  • Walk into a very busy person’s office and while they watch you with growing irritation, turn the light switch on/off 5 times.
  • Take donuts to the morning meeting, and poke your finger into each one “testing for freshness”.
  • Announce to everyone in a meeting that you “really have to go do a number 2.”
  • After every sentence, say ‘Mon’ in a really bad Jamaican accent. As in “The report’s on your desk, Mon.” Keep this up for 1 hour.
  • At the end of a meeting, suggest that, for once, it would be nice to conclude with the singing of the Star Spangled Banner (5 extra points if you actually launch into it yourself).
  • While an office mate is out, move their chair into the elevator.
  • Put those hole-reinforcing circles on the center of your eyeglasses.
  • In a colleague’s Day Planner, write in the 10am slot: “See how I look in tights.” (5 Extra points if it is a male, 5 more if he is your boss)
  • Repeat the following conversation 10 times to the same person: “Do you hear that?” “What?” “Never mind, it’s gone now.”
  • Come to work in Army fatigues and when asked why, say, “I can’t talk about it.”
  • Posing as a maitre d’, call a colleague and tell him he’s won a lunch for 4 at a local restaurant. Let him go.
  • Speak with an accent (French, German, Porky Pig, etc) during a very important conference call.
  • During the course of a meeting, slowly edge your chair towards the door.
  • Arrange toy figures on the table to represent each meeting attendee, move them according to the movements of their real-life counterparts.
  • Have your co-workers address you by your wrestling name, “Rock Hard.”
  • Suggest that beer be put in the soda machine.
  • Send an e-mail to the rest of the company telling them what you’re doing. For example, “If anyone needs me, I’ll be in the bathroom.”
  • Rubberneck at the notes of the person next to you. Copy them word for word — (sub-vocalize as you do) — Tell them that they “understand these things better than you do.”

Not so much of a prankster? Then check out the really great games and activities you can do at the office.

The thing about work is that most of us spend more time at work than we even do with our family. I hope these tips will help you bring a little more fun into your workday!


More Funny Work Stuff

In addition to the links I’ve included above, here are some additional resources to help you have some fun at work this week: