Office Pranks
KathyCo
18 Posts
At my former place of employment, whenever someone had a birthday, we would of course bring in treats for them. Then....they would have fun enjoying their gifts....or shall I say pranks. This would include, but would not be limited to:
***Sprinkling shredded paper over their desk (this idea came from the president of the company!)
***Make them "Scavenger Hunt" to find their desk items.
***Masking Tape their phone together.
***Bog up their voicemail with silly messages (this was done of course was done from home the night before!....our kids would help)
***Hide strange/silly items from the office/factory randomly in their office, for them to find in the days to come.
***Draw funny pictures on a few sheets of paper in their printer (we each had our own)
Everyone knew to expect this. No matter how late they would work the night before or how early they came in the morning of....we'd get them. I wouldn't dare do this where I work now, nor would I ever admit to partaking in such crude activities. This forum is just for entertainment purposes right? If not, I was just kidding. :~~
Do any of you have any other stories of office pranks?
***Sprinkling shredded paper over their desk (this idea came from the president of the company!)
***Make them "Scavenger Hunt" to find their desk items.
***Masking Tape their phone together.
***Bog up their voicemail with silly messages (this was done of course was done from home the night before!....our kids would help)
***Hide strange/silly items from the office/factory randomly in their office, for them to find in the days to come.
***Draw funny pictures on a few sheets of paper in their printer (we each had our own)
Everyone knew to expect this. No matter how late they would work the night before or how early they came in the morning of....we'd get them. I wouldn't dare do this where I work now, nor would I ever admit to partaking in such crude activities. This forum is just for entertainment purposes right? If not, I was just kidding. :~~
Do any of you have any other stories of office pranks?
Comments
One year we talked about hiding the company car from a salesman and putting a tricycle in its place (along with a note about budget cuts), but we never put it together.
Margaret Morford
theHRedge
615-371-8200
[email]mmorford@mleesmith.com[/email]
[url]http://www.thehredge.net[/url]
Margaret Morford
theHRedge
615-371-8200
[email]mmorford@mleesmith.com[/email]
[url]http://www.thehredge.net[/url]
I loved reading about these pranks. Sadly I can recall that for me those types of things stopped sometime about, I dunno, maybe 10 years ago or so. Back when we got so bombarded by all this stuff about decorum, workplace behaviors, professionalism in the office, sensitivity, not mixing work with fun, and the notion that such 'antics' must absolutely take place away from the property lines of the company....I know that I lost a lot of what I grew up being. All that fun for years with office pranks, good clean fun, laughing at ourselves, having a ton of fun with each other, telling each other about payback with a big smile, getting loud for a moment, doing stupid silly stuff.....why does all that have to be gone? I want it back but won't get it back. Suddenly I have a vision of Moe putting a bucket of water above the door that Curley's about to enter! I don't want to go to that extreme, but I sure as hell do miss it. Thanks for the memories!
On the birthday of her Food and Beverage Director she, along with some of the director's employees, filled her car with balloons, cranked up the car stereo, turned the windshield wipers on (after greasing them with vasoline), and cranked the heater (this was the middle of summer). From what I understand, the director took this all in stride as she was the cuplrit who filled my sister-in-law's office with balloons to the point that she couldn't open the door and placed signs all over the hotel reminding everyone to wish her a happy birthday.
At a previous office we also bought the manager a blow up doll that stayed in his office for a long time. One day I heard a strange noise coming from the supply closet, opened the door and the manager was deflating the doll. His face was priceless. He said he was meeting with medicaid people and wanted to be sure the doll would not be spotted.
I can't imagine not being able to play at work.
Yep, I'm afraid those days are over. We are much, much too grown up and professional for those type of games anymore....Sigh
Kind of mild, (compared to Vaseline on windshield wipers), but it was still a blast.
I was in on the great desk turnaround in the accounts payable department. We turned one of the AP clerk's desk around, moving the computer, plant, chair, you name it, we moved it. She actually liked it that way.
Then, to get even with the accountant that thought that up, we helped her relocate all of his office furniture to another department (in on the gag) so that he opened an empty office one morning. He was one of those low-productive but fun employees, and I think for a while he wasn't sure if he needed to leave the building forever or to look for his furniture.
At the bank I work for now, we have a spooky picture of Samuel Clemens and the eyes follow you around the room. If you are gone on vacation, you can usually count on Sam showing up in your office on your first day back.
1. We have two entry ways to our administrative offices on opposite sides of the building. A sign reading "Wet paint - use other entrance" on both doors is a low tech way to have some fun.
2. I like taping a microphone to our office copier with a sign that the copier is voice activated. Speak clearly and say how many copies you want"
3. I have a remote controlled fart machine (my wife gave me) which is always fun to put next to the copy machine. When I hear copies being made, just click the remote. There are several different sounds - some with good resonance and some that sound a little squirty. Ok, so I am 12 years old.
4. Removing the ball from someone's mouse is pretty low tech but fairly effective.
5. Putting an emberassing book on someone's office book shelf is kind of fun - like a Harlequinn romance for a guy or something on stopping bedwetting. They will say its not their book which is part of the fun.
6. Re-arranging items on a person's desk every day. Just one at at ime. Just enough to make them stop and scratch their heads. Better yet, park their car in a slightly different spot.
Paul in Cannon Beach
As a Senior Flight Attendant, it was my job to train the newbies in correct procedures during flights. On one particular trip, the pilots and I conspired against the poor new girl after we had overnighted in another city. It was a small propeller plane, a Fokker Friendship, that only seated about 40 passengers and the first flight only took about 15 minutes.
After take off, the First Officer hid in the luggage hold near the cockpit and the Captain pushed the Flight Attendant button. I told the newbie to go and see what the he wanted. I sat at the back of the plane as she came back through the plane, looking a little pale, and checked out all the cabin seats. When she reached me at the back she asked if I had seen the First Officer, which of course I denied. We then had to strap in as we were about to land. After taxiing to a stop I told her she should open the passenger door and walk to the bottom of the steps to farewell any passengers.
Imagine the look on her face when she opened the door and the First Officer was hanging on the back of the wing looking rather wind blown, jumped down and walked past her up the stairs saying "Phew, I thought I'd missed the flight that time!"
Aah, the good old days!!
Many many years ago in my hotel days (before I was in HR, mind you), the staff used to find some pretty interesting items "hidden" in hotel rooms. A maintenance engineer came across a large rubber... umm.... er... (cough) "sculpture" of a man's private parts. He placed it upright on top of the GM's car, with a paper bag over it, so it would stay there 'til the GM found it. The GM regularly retaliated with various other "found" objects, by placing htem in the employee's locker, car, etc.