5 April Fool's Day Pranks for the Office

Sometimes you just have to do something to release the stress at the office. April Fool's Day is as good a time as any to have an innocent laugh at a trick or prank. Here are five innocent April Fool's pranks for the office that will keep you laughing and (hopefully) won't cost you your job.

April Fool's Prank No. 1: Group Meeting
Pick a victim and go around telling as many people as possible that an emergency meeting has been called for a specific time in the victim's office or cubicle. Imagine your victim's surprise when 10 or 20 people show up at her office all at once. If you have a boss with a good sense of humor this is a great April Fool's trick to play on her. No boss likes to see a line of people showing up outside the door all at once.

April Fool's Prank No. 2: Your Mouse is a Louse
Write "April Fool" on a piece of sticky note and carefully place it on the bottom of your victim's mouse. Make sure that no corners of the sticky note show from underneath the mouse. When your victim tries to use the mouse it will still slide around but it won't work. This is a great trick to play if you can get to the office early enough to play the prank on several people. Just be sure you're close by so the trick doesn't become an April Fool's Day surprise to the IT department, too. Your computer tech won't appreciate those frantic calls from your victims if you let the prank play out too long.

April Fool's Prank No.3: I'm NOT a Fan
If your victim's favorite team just lost a game in the NCAA Basketball Tournament and you are computer savvy, rub in the loss with an April Fool's trick sure to start his morning off on the right note. Or not. Rig his computer to play the opposing team's fight song or add the opposing team's logo to his computer screen as a background.

April Fool's Prank No. 4: Lunch Bunch
If you have a group of office friends who bring their lunch, make them your April Fool's victims. Trade around items in their lunches. Or add funny items to trick them. Switch sandwiches. Remove all the dessert items, and as a prank, replace with carrot sticks and celery. Add something out of the ordinary like a rubber frog, lizard, or roach. No real insects, though. That's just plain mean!

April Fool's Prank No. 5: Wacky Memo
If you are the boss, trick your employees on April Fool's Day by sending out an email or hard copy memo that changes office hours or days, changes casual Friday to casual Monday, or some other harmless directive. It needs to be an memo item that won't cause undue stress but is believable enough to trick them at least for a few minutes.

The Last Word on April Fool's Day Pranks at the Office
As you are planning your April Fool's Day tricks heed this word of warning. According to the Creative Group of Robert Half International, a professional staffing firm, statistics show that 71% of marketing executives and 45% of advertising executives say April Fool's Day pranks have no place in the office. That seems a little harsh. Most offices could use a little humor.

Keep your April Fool's Day pranks in line with these guidelines. Before you trick, make sure it isn't against office policy, keep it politically correct, don't damage any office equipment, and make your April Fool's prank a short laugh and not an all day event. Follow these tips and you'll be the official April Fool's Day office prankster and not the latest office casualty.

Sources:
Paula Burkes, Distasteful April Fools' Day pranks, jokes unsuitable for the office, NewsOK.com