We’re through orchestrating mysterious missing pens or weird sticky notes in our officemate’s workspace. No matter how hardworking or motivated you are, sometimes work can just feel so unrewarding. You finish all your deliverables on some days, and you still have hours left before calling it a day. You’ve also worked on things in advance. Now what? Maybe you can try something new like this Top Five Tips for Effective Email Marketing. Or if you are in the mood for something less serious and fun, then the answer is: mess with your workmates through hilarious pranks! Don’t worry; you won’t be offending them because we listed ten sneaky yet harmless practical jokes that you can do to your colleagues at any working hour. Just make sure your boss won’t catch you reading this behind your computer because they’ll make the best victims. So if you’re ready, keep reading to find out!
- Ownage Pranks Prank Call App
This prank app boasts a collection of more than 100 pre-recorded prank calls that you can choose from that you can send to anyone anywhere and anytime you like. You send quick prank calls ranging from an annoying neighbour randomly asking for a Wifi password to an angry girlfriend threatening someone to stay away from her man. You won’t have to worry about these pranks’ quality because they are made from funny soundboards and genius prank scripts and performed by professional voice actors to make the calls more believable. Yes, no need for voice acting rehearsals anymore before calling! More than that, they value your privacy; that’s why they have a spoof call feature that uses anonymous caller ID for when you are going to make your pranks. Still not satisfied? You can send them a prank request if you want something more elaborate. Ownage Pranks is that one-stop app for when you want to make a prank call because they have everything!
- Mouse Prank
If you are working near your colleague, disconnect their original work mouse from their computer when they’re not looking and connect your wireless mouse instead. Once they come back, observe how they will move their mouse and go precisely in the different direction that their cursor is attempting to point. Try not to be too messy with this because you want to mess with them for a while before they find out that someone is messing with them!
- Lyric Prank
If you haven’t heard of lyric prank, then we’ll give you an introduction. This is a famous practical joke that people use all over the internet. You can do this with any texting app you have on your phone. To make this work, find a song and text the lyrics line by line to your prank victim until they realise that you’re not telling them anything but just texting random song lyrics. To make this prank fun, you need to find a song that you can play with. Pro tip: don’t use a hit song or a song they surely know because that will give the fun right away. Be creative!
- Flipped Screen Prank
Imagine your victim returning to their computer and seeing everything flipped upside down! Unless they work with their feet on the ceiling, then this will surely freak them out. But, whether they are using a Windows or a Mac computer, we indeed have something for you!
For Mac: Hold the Command + Option buttons at the same time. While doing this, head to the System Preferences, then go to display. You should see an option called “Rotation”, and voila – the Mac screen’s display will magically turn upside-down.
For Windows: There are two ways to do this on a Windows computer. The simpler one is to press the buttons Ctrl + Alt + Down Arrow simultaneously. But if that doesn’t work, go to the desktop homepage and hit your mouse’s right-click. Next, head to Display Settings and change the screen orientation.
(Note: in older versions of Windows, Display Settings may be called Screen Resolution.)
- Hanged Screen Prank
While your roommate/family member is taking a break from work away from their laptop, you can try taking a screenshot of their desktop display. Next, set this screenshot photo as their home screen. Now, remove all the shortcuts and programs on their screen. Don’t worry; they won’t go anywhere, and you can always help them put them back later on. Once they come back, they’ll be confused why the programs aren’t clicking and that their laptop probably might be broken. If they have lots needed to accomplish, have the mercy and tell them what you did, okay? But that’s totally up to you!
- Small Table Prank
If you are very close to someone’s work table in the office, then you shouldn’t miss an opportunity to play this prank. Come early to work every day or leave later than them. Everyday or every other day, move their monitor at least a centimetre closer to their face. The point of doing this gradually is to leave them unsuspecting about the changes. This prank may take more than a week or so to take effect – but we assure you, complaining about having a small table in the office is entirely priceless and worth it! Don’t forget about helping them with the problem like the good colleague that you are, okay?
- Happy Birthday Prank
The perfect victim for this is that person in the office who is shy and mostly introverted. If you are still building rapport with them, why not begin with a funny prank that they will never forget? Tell your officemates that it is their birthday. Get a birthday cake, some balloons, and a gleefully well-rehearsed birthday song. While they are working, gather around their work area, bring them the cake, and start singing the birthday song. Watch their purely bewildered faces as you.
- Grassy Keyboard Prank
This may take a lot of effort (and dealing with mother nature), so prepare this enough. First, you need to identify your target at the office – Preferably someone who works near the window and is getting sufficient sunlight. Second, look at their keyboard. No, look at it. It’s best if one of those with chunky keys will leave a lot of room under it. Find the exact model and brand and get an identical one in any available store – or if not, get one online. Now, you will need some grass seedlings and a soil bed to plant them beneath the keys. Once the seedlings are planted solid, come early to work and switch their old keyboard with the one with seedlings in it. In a few days, they will notice that some mystical creature may touch their keyboard and that grass starts growing out of it!
- Loading Cursor Prank
Do you ever sometimes feel irritated when the mouse pointer displays a loading symbol? Sometimes it signifies good things yet to come, but often, it just means that your computer is hanging. When your prank victim is particularly annoyed by this tiny detail – then you must try this prank on them!
For Windows: Visit Control Panel > Mouse > Pointers. From there, you can change the normal working one into a seemingly loading one.
For Mac: Unfortunately, Mac doesn’t have this working cursor customisation, but you can make something as annoying! First, go to System Preferences > Accessibility > Display. You’ll see an option to make the mouse cursor a gigantic one.
- System Sounds Prank
Make sure your victim is away from their computer for a long time because this prank might take a while to be flawlessly executed. Give it at least 30 minutes. If your victim is a Windows user, download some .wav files of different system sounds like Slack, Microsoft Teams, Skype, Messenger, or other programs and apps that they use frequently. Once you have this, head to their Control Panel and switch the different system sounds among other programs that they are using. Be creative, and make sure not to get caught!
- Wireless Keyboard Prank
If growing grass on keyboard keys is too complicated and time-consuming for you, you can still have a shot for gags with this another keyboard prank. Get a wireless keyboard and connect it with their laptop when they are not looking. Once they come back to sit on their comfortable office chair and start typing with freaky phrases or even just type some gibberish. This will surely freak them out and will make them think that there is something wrong with their computer’s keyboard.
Ready to try one of these with your workmates? Find an accomplice if you want to try multiple pranks on this list but don’t want to be discovered as the mastermind! That way, you won’t have to do these antics by yourself. Better yet, pull a fake prank on yourself to pretend that the mysterious prankster has victimised you too. It’s up to you if you want to be overt or discreet about it. The only goal here is for you to have fun and have a good time with your colleagues.
