Pranks That Reveal How Wacky Office Life Really Is

Working in an office might sound boring and stuffy, but at times even the most corporate places of employment can be pretty crazy. From funny puns to kooky pranks, these office workers range from silly to deranged, proving just how exciting working in an office can be.

For instance, whoever bit into this slice of pizza and put the rest back is a real piece of work. There are times when the saying “sharing is caring” just isn’t true. No one wants to share a slice, and who eats pizza starting at the top right corner anyway?

We Need to Talk About Kevin

Writing one’s name on their work lunch is the acceptable thing to do. However, some people just don’t respect boundaries and prefer stealing to cooking. This audacious postcard must have been taped up by someone pretending not to understand the system. We hope Kevin was tasty because he might have been this person’s last meal.

Taking someone’s sandwich can be a dangerous thing to do, like in the friend’s episode, “The One with Ross’s Sandwich.” Ross gets so angry when his boss eats his leftover Thanksgiving-turkey-sandwich that he becomes violently deranged and is eventually fired.

Fix the Leak

Sometimes things break or stop working, and letting employees know, is standard protocol. However, posting a sign isn’t enough; things should be fixed as soon as possible. When this faucet wasn’t repaired for months on end, some office workers got creative with their vocabulary.

Fixage may not be a real word, but it rhymes with leakage. Whoever wrote this sign successfully got their point across in an obnoxious yet funny way. Whether for washing dishes, or maintaining personal hygiene, having a functioning sink at a shared workplace should be mandatory.

Don’t Eat Before Reading This

If writing names on lunchboxes doesn’t stop people from stealing food, maybe this sign will. Some coworkers cannot control their urges and eat whatever looks the yummiest, whether it’s theirs or not. However, eating food that you don’t know who else touched is a risky business.

Whoever stole this person’s meal is probably seriously regretting their choice. Getting mouth sores from eating a stolen lunch is poetic justice. Maybe next time, they won’t just take what isn’t theirs unless they want to get another STD from eating the wrong persons BLT.

Prank Line, Do Not Cross

When one guy didn’t show up to work for a few days, his coworkers took advantage of his absence to stage an epic prank. They decorated his cubicle like a crime scene, complete with yellow tape, the outline of a dead body and clues about the murder hidden around the office.

When the sick employee got back, he had a full-fledged murder mystery to solve. We can’t help but wonder if the photograph of Marlon Brando as The Godfather, propped up against the computer screen, is a lead. Do they get any actual work done around this office?

Privacy is a Priority

Working in a cubicle can feel degrading from those who take the grind seriously and distracting for those with attention deficit disorders. Every ambitious worker bee strives to get their own corner office someday and some even take matters into their own hands.

Sick of the other people in his office, this inventive employee built his own personal four-walled office. Privacy was obviously his priority because his corner office lacks some basic comforts, including windows, light, and air. We sure hope that the darkness and quiet have helped him focus better.

Free food Doesn’t Always Taste Better

At first glance, this sign is very inviting but upon closer inspection the free chicken strips look a bit dry. The most surprising part isn’t that someone thought of the idea and printed out the sign; it’s that other people actually took a strip.

Remember that free food doesn’t actually always taste better. Maybe the prankster was making a pass at the quality of the free food supplied at their office, or perhaps they were just bored. Some people seem to have a lot of time on their hands, which begs the question of whether any work gets done.

A Great Personality

Thought of as a place where work comes first, offices aren’t usually known for their fun and games. However, some employees try to create a silver lining even in the most tedious and dull parts of the day. Someone left an informational post-it letting their coworkers know that the coffee maker wasn’t hot.

Another employee saw their note and decided to have fun with the less-than-ideal situation. When they were finished, the machine read- “Coffee Maker not hot but has a great personality.” This post-it joke definitely brought a few smiles to the faces of the office’s disappointed caffeine addicts.

Take Me Out to The Ball Pit

Regardless of the age of office workers, some of them can be pretty immature. For a birthday surprise, a group of colleagues came in early to decorate their friend’s cubicle like a family fun center. The office ended up looking like a Chuck-E-Cheese, covered with balloons, flags, and even a ball pit on the floor.

The birthday boy seems to be immersed in work and completely ignoring his ball pit. Kudos to his friends for taking their birthday prank so far. Having one’s own personal ball pit seems like a dream come true.

Sorry, Not Sorry

A massive problem with sharing office space is dealing with the smells of other people’s food. It’s harmless most of the time, but every so often, someone eats a tuna sandwich or throws out smelly trash in the newsroom garbage. This self-aware passive-aggressive coworker tried to voice their complaints gently.

However, the fast-food felon found a way to outdo their coworker and answered in ketchup. Hopefully, their colleague has a sense of humor because their comeback was hilarious and ironic. They found the most precise way to say “sorry, not sorry” to the nitpicking sign writer.

No Time for Work

Time management skills are a crucial factor of office work, so much so that some people even praise their productivity on their resume. This clever sign, however, exposes the realities of many people’s daily capabilities. Some office workers are just too busy procrastinating to get any real work in.

The sign is a timetable that would make any CEO’s blood boil, considering it consists mainly of coffee breaks and internet browsing. If lunch breaks were over two and a half hours in real life, working nine to five wouldn’t be half bad.

Some People Prefer to Work from Home

During 2020 office workers worldwide got used to working from home. Some people found it tedious and difficult to focus with distractions like Netflix and family around. Other people loved working in the comforting environment of their houses and would prefer never to go back to the office.

This employee is obviously from the latter group. He absolved to bring his home to the office when his employers insisted that he start coming back into work. Inside the cramped dimensions of his cubicle, this architect crafted an entire cardboard house, complete with a door and plants on the lawn.

Abide The Dress Code

While some workplaces don’t allow their workers to wear t-shirts except on casual Friday, other offices make everyone wear T-Rexes. Who knew that dinosaurs could use computers? Whether this incredible stunt was a large-scale prank or a group Halloween costume, it will go down in (pre)history.

Do any of these tyrannosauri know how to use a thesaurus? And inflatable Jurassic costumes may be all the rage but aren’t there any paleolithic animals with long arms? Typing with the short arms of a T-Rexes seems kind of hard. Well, at least they look Dino-mite.

Mr. Bean, Right Behind You

Imagine getting into work in the morning, entering the restroom, and seeing Mr. Bean right behind you. The staff member who put this cardboard cut out in the men’s room must be seriously twisted. Being blindsided by Rowan Atkinson’s crazy eyes is enough to cause anyone cardiac arrest.

It is entirely understandable that the first person who went to the bathroom that morning was shocked. However, the corporate world is a real rat race, and if he wants to climb the ladder, he shouldn’t stop and stutter but instead embrace the exciting escapades.

The Spelling Bee

When employed at a high-brow company, surrounded by highly professional and accomplished coworkers, it’s natural to anticipate competence from coworkers. Whether regarding the work they do or the signs that they hang up in the break room, a certain level is expected.

The person who wrote this sign was clearly quite aggravated by the mocking remarks and cynical comments around their office. In an attempt to change the office vibe, they started a “no sarcasm” challenge. However, when they failed to spell the word sarcasm correctly, they were rewarded with a sarcastic observation.

The Printer Keeps Jammin’

Someone in this office got sick of the constant technical problems and tried to make the best of a bad situation by evoking the king of reggae. It wasn’t a bad idea, considering how good the genre is at chilling people out during stressful situations.

Apparently, their office printer jams so much that they named it Bob Marley. Adorned with a full-scale play on words of the song “Three Little Birds,” this printer is pretty witty. However, we wonder where they printed out the sign if there is no working printer at their office.

Call Zordon on Zoom

Who knew that The Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers went corporate? Well, everyone has to grow up sometime, but they’ll nevertheless stay Power Rangers ’til the end. Sadly, everyone’s favorite ranger, Pink, seems to be out sick; maybe that’s who they were calling, although it looks more like an out-of-focus Zordon.

Whether this fun group-look is for a costume or a gag, it seems very well planned out. It makes us wonder if the people underneath the costumes morph back into bored office employees or if they are actually planning to defeat the evil sorceress, Rita.

Taking Things Literally

Having one bathroom shared by a large number of people is always a recipe for disaster. Despite the apparent etiquette regarding restrooms, many people forget or neglect to do their part in maintaining clean facilities. However, flushing should be mandatory no matter what.

However, so many people weren’t flushing that this office had to put up a “check if you flushed” sign. Unfortunately, the staff at this company began to literally check off the piece of paper after flushing rather than understanding the actual issue being addressed. We suppose they’re not the sharpest pencils in the box.

Passive Aggressive Post-It Prank

Pulling office pranks is a long-revered tradition and has become perfectly acceptable in society by now. In most places of work there is even a resident prankster, like Jim Halpert in “The Office” or Jake Peralta in “Brooklyn 99,” known for their epic antics and elaborate gags.

This office’s prank enthusiast was probably sick of getting passive-aggressive post-it notes from the coworker in their neighboring cubicle and decided to get revenge. Truth be told, the desk is so perfectly aesthetic when covered meticulously in colored post-its that the person who was pranked didn’t mind.

Krunchy Karrots Not Krispy Kreme

When working on a computer all day, munching down on donuts is almost a requirement. So, if a coworker is friendly enough to buy donuts for everyone, they are bound to be gone in no time. One employee decided to play a very mean joke on their friends on April Fool’s Day.

The culprit filled two Krispy Kreme boxes with sliced vegetables and dip instead of donuts. Somebody call the diet police and tell them that no one wants their crunchy carrots and celery. Luckily they avoided ruining their social life by providing three boxes that actually contained donuts.

Keep Your Hands to Yourself

Hi-tech companies are all about innovation and new inventive ways to make life easier and better, but sometimes this forward-thinking mentality can go a little too far. Of course, hygiene is essential, and no one wants other people touching their utensils, but having a dirty scoop in the drawer seems counterproductive.

The real problem with this drawer isn’t the scoop so much as the single-use spoons themselves. There is no reason why a group of adults shouldn’t be trusted to use and wash reusable silverware instead of polluting; plus, soap kills bacteria, so it’s a win, win.

Cubicle Goofy Golf

Many up-and-coming companies light up their employees’ days with fun workplace perks that add some satisfaction to the usually mundane workweek. Some offices have ping pong tables and others have in-office chefs, some companies even organize trips and outings for their employees.

It seems that this staff was unsatisfied with their company’s lack of activities, so they decided to do something about it. Their creative side really came out when they built a minigolf room out of cardboard and fake grass. If they put that much effort into their work, maybe their bosses would reward them with a trip.

Lower The Drawbridge

Knowing how to work as a team is a sought-after skill, especially when interviewing prospective employees for a company. This team really broke away from the pack when they worked together to construct an entire cardboard castle around their desks. They now have complete privacy from their coworkers.

These kings showed real dedication to their craft, and now the only hassle is that when they need to use the restroom or go for a lunch break, they have to lower the drawbridge. Luckily, they didn’t completely forget where they were and try to dig a moat.

Making The Best of It

This guy really tried to make the best out of a bad situation. When someone spilled red wine on the rug of his cubicle, he knew that the company he worked at would never pay to change the dingy carpeting, but he didn’t despair.

Instead, he used his sense of humor and talented artistic skills to make art out of the stain. Now, rather than seeing a disgusting blotch on the floor beside his desk, he’s blessed with the companionship of a spazzy and disgruntled cat. Nowadays, he’s so attached to the cat that he doesn’t want the carpets cleaned.

Emotionally Unstable Programmers

It seems that these programmers are easily scared and emotionally unstable. While programming, they need quiet, and any disturbances are unforgivable and bound to cause violent outbreaks. Maybe it’s the tapping on the glass that bothers them, making them feel like animals at the zoo.

However, there is one way to avoid pissing off the programmers but still get their attention; the trick is to enter their office while singing “Ava Maria.” Most people probably just give up and don’t bother talking to the programming department anymore, which might have been their plan all along.

Pret A Manger

At this place of work, only management is allowed to post on the communal corkboard. For some reason, they felt the need to make a huge sign to emphasize their control over the board. Too bad they spelled manager wrong and thus opened the door to sarcasm and general tomfoolery.

People love to laugh at any spelling mistake, especially as a reaction to a threatening notice. The person who printed the response pretended to take the misspelled word literally but knowing that most people wouldn’t know what a manger is, they thoughtfully added an explanatory picture.

The Perfect Shot

Technology is a large part of contemporary office life; from programmers to coders to writers, almost everyone spends their time at work glued to the screen. So, when an office provides such an odd desktop background, it is bound to generate some kind of a reaction.

However, it wasn’t a pro that caught the hippo; the photographer of this photograph just got lucky. When his friend swiveled around in his office chair to talk to another coworker, his head perfectly attached to the swimming baby hippopotamus on the computer screen, and he snapped his perfect shot.

Join In the Reindeer Games

Some people haven’t quite figured out how reserve psychology works and eventually they might find that other colleagues will laugh and call them names. This person was adamant that no one touch their reindeer mug; little did they know that writing such a big sign about it would elicit the opposite response than what they wanted.

Their associates couldn’t help but make fun, and they joined in a game to touch the famous reindeer mug. If you had ever seen it, you would understand and might even say it glows. This gag will go down in history.

The Grass Is Always Greener

Some offices have gaping windows with beautiful views, while others have less glamorous things to look out on, like a blank wall or someone else’s cubicle. This gardening enthusiast decided to grow a lawn on their desk to brighten up the view. Truthfully, it looks kind of hard to work with all that grass.

The dedication is admirable, and surely their neighbors are envious and feel like the grass is always greener on the other side of their cubicles. The flamingo and the “Keep Off the Grass” sign are priceless, but where are the keyboard and the mouse?

In-N-Out of Work

When working at an office, it’s important to make oneself an essential member of office life. Whether you chose to be the workplace foody or the helpful over compensator, it’s vital to maintain your status as indispensable to the company so that when they have to lay someone off, it won’t be you.

This guy didn’t know how to render himself crucial to the company and decided to open up an In-N-Out Burger joint in his cubicle. There is no way they will let him go now, even though his performance has gone done since he’s too busy flipping burgers.

I Have Now!

This sign indeed takes the cake for the most ridiculously useless office gag. Dare to look at the picture below, and you’ll waste some precious time that you will actually never get back. We aren’t going to lie, though; this prank made us laugh out loud.

Now that you have also seen this cat, wouldn’t you rather have a coworker bring their furry pet to the office to play with than make a silly sign? The best offices are those where people are allowed to bring their dogs or cats to work.

A Hostage Toaster Strudel

After kidnapping and eating someone else’s poor innocent toaster strudel, this joker still hadn’t had enough. Wanting to provoke their more responsible coworkers, they wrote a ransom-note-style sign using cut-out magazine letters detailing the decadent deliciousness of the hostage toaster strudel.

The employees who purchased and brought their own meals for lunch started to live in fear of the evil abductor of lunches, and worse, desserts. The toaster-napper proved to them yet again that labeling your lunch and snacks is of no use in the cruel world of the office.

Updated Fire Codes

Maintaining updated fire codes is a qualification of any place of work. However, many companies sadly do not uphold their commitments as employers. Having a companywide fire drill and learning how to stop drop and roll shouldn’t be that big of a deal, but this office didn’t bother.

Luckily, a rogue employee picked up the company’s slack and made sure to update the building’s evacuation plan with the most crucial information needed in any emergency- Run! We hope that it’s enough to save the staff in the case of a fire.

Ben Before Men

Men’s restrooms are notoriously gross, and when every guy in the office must share one bathroom, it can be frustrating. Ben must have gotten really fed up with his coworker’s restroom etiquette to claim the whole room as his own.

Since the sign now clearly reads Ben, it is obviously undisputed that the room is his. Does the office cleaner still have to clean Ben’s WC, or is it under his complete jurisdiction now? We feel bad for the office next door that now has quite a few extra bathroom users.

Rage Against the Machine

It appears that someone thought it would be pretty funny to listen to people trying to use a voice command over and over and failing before finally giving up. The culprit printed out a sign that says that the paper towel machine is now voice-activated.

They didn’t even bother covering up the original instructions on the machine that specify that it is motion activated. However, people are prone to follow the more significant, bolder, newer instructions without overthinking them. Imagine the number of office employees getting back to their desks with wet hands, enraged at the machine.

Pressing All the Wrong Buttons

Some people are just incapable of following instructions; this helpful coworker was sick of people jamming up the office printer and pressing all the wrong buttons when attempting to fix it. So, they put up a sign asking that anyone unsure of how to use it please ask them for assistance.

However, one of their colleagues just couldn’t help themselves and, when they couldn’t find their helpful friend pushed lots of buttons. However, it looks like they may have succeeded in making the printer work because they managed to print out a sign detailing their crime.

A Regular Robin Hood

Before us lies another case of the typical crime of stealing other people’s food and drink from the office kitchen. In this incident, not only did someone steal another person’s creamer, but when the victim retaliated with an angry sign, the offender replaced the victim’s sign with a different one- welcoming anyone to use the creamer in question.

Are they trying to get the boot, or do they fancy themselves, Robin Hood? Maybe rule-breaking employee just can’t abide close-fisted people and was just trying to send a message to their colleague, not to be stingy. After all, sharing is caring.

Spider On the Loose

No many people can abide creepy crawly creatures, especially spiders that even have a common phobia named after them. One employee believed that pulling a prank on their arachnophobe coworkers would be funny and labeled an upside-down cup as a spider trap and set the scene to look like it had escaped.

Of course, just as the prankster had planned, chaos ensued, and the office was terrified that the vermin was on the loose. However, anyone brave enough to pick up the cup and look underneath was lucky enough to find the words “Happy April Fools Suckers” written inside.

The Never-ending Story

When a person tries to establish silly rules but ends up breaking them in the process, they naturally become victims of ridicule. The staff members at this office were no exception, and everyone wanted in on the fun. Who would think that a gag so simple would kick off so many reactions?

It is pretty clear that this mockery got out of hand, but as long as no feelings were hurt, why not. It could even be that the original sign was put up as a joke, although that might be giving human being’s a little too much credit.

If At First You Don’t Succeed

After trying to label their food with their own names to avoid petty theft of their lunches, these coworkers realized that the robber would not be so quickly halted. Therefore, they tried something new, discovering who the lunch thief was, they started labeling their food as “Not Debbie’s.”

You got to do what you got to do to protect your food and if at first, you don’t succeed, try, try again. Being singled out isn’t fun, but Debbie probably deserved it; bring your own lunch, lady. She must have stolen a lot of food to incite such a harsh reaction.

What Do You Mean by Jobs?

When posting rules and regulations, clarity is recommended; words can easily be misinterpreted or confusing. When the clerk tried to ask his coworkers not to print out large print jobs, his phrasing was not clear enough and probed an unexpected reaction. One troublemaker decided to misunderstand the sign and print out a large Jobs.

The funniest part is that they didn’t actually break the rule when doing so. Despite Steve Jobs filling a whole page, they only printed out one page, which can hardly be considered a large print job. However, they definitely emphasized how unclear the sign was.

The Cult of Cage

Decorating your desk is always an excellent way to show off your self-expression and hobbies to coworkers; however, this employee took it a step too far. They must be a big fan of national treasure Nicolas Cage to adorn their desk with so many pictures of his face.

The actor may have a cult following, but this office worker’s obsession is sure to label her as one of the outsiders, and it might be time to kill their kick-ass decorations. Although perhaps this outcast doesn’t mind showing off how wild at heart and weird on top they are.

Don’t Skim Off My Skim Milk

Sometimes extreme measures must be taken to protect one’s own. These innovative workers decided to defend their skim milk with lock and key to defer delinquents, literally. Their seriousness has proved to be by far the best way to protect food and drinks in the office.

What is unclear to us is why anyone needs that but skim milk. Having one carton in the office refrigerator would make sense, but keeping three huge bottles topped with plastic protection and padlocks seems a bit excessive. Not only are they stingy, but they are hogging the entire fridge with milk.

Kitty Cat Cubicle

Being a cat person is nothing to be ashamed of, but this employee went over the top and advertised their feline fascination on everything in their cubicle. From their computer desktop to the actual top of their desk, they covered everything in sight with kitty cats.

These cute cats probably really make this cat enthusiast’s day every day. However, they come off as kind of creepy for those not obsessed with cats, with all those sad eyes staring back at you all day. Nevertheless, the most important thing is that the person whose desk this is thought it was purrrrrfect.

Spoilers Are Coming

When Game of Thrones was on the air, people worldwide waited impatiently for each episode to come out. Since the show was so popular and had so many fan theories, the main activity the day after an episode was aired was to talk about the events of the chapter and hypothesize.

However, anyone who missed an episode knew that fear of spoilers cuts deeper than any sword. This employee even made a sign explaining that they hadn’t watched the latest episode and asked their coworkers to refrain from discussing the show. They know nothing if they think spoilers aren’t coming.