Check your calendars: it’s April Fools’ Day! Known as one of the most fun or most frustrating holidays to celebrate, which, of course, depends on whether you’re the one doing the fooling or you’re the fool. Spice up your workday with a few of these fun ways to trick your coworkers. Or if you’re not much of the prankster, at least you’ll know what to look out for from those in your office who are.
The Faulty Mouse
A simple piece of tape is enough to block the laser tracker on your mouse and let your coworkers believe their mouse isn’t working. If you’re lucky enough to have a coworker’s log in info, go on and change the mouse settings so that right and left clicking is switched. That’s enough to drive anyone crazy and even make it difficult attempting to switch it back.
The Clothing Mix Up
Collaborate with a few coworkers for this clever, office-wide joke. Get everyone to bring a few changes of clothes and change a couple times throughout the day. Even better, plan one as a matching to someone else and watch people as they second-guess themselves as you walk by.
The Refrigerator Handle Switch
Most office refrigerators allow you to flip the hinges from one side or the other in case its location within a room requires it to open a certain way (for example, if it’s in a corner). Take advantage of this feature by either switching the side the handle is on or the hinges, but not both, so that the door becomes impossible to open no matter how hard one may pull. Make the switch right before lunch and enjoy the show!
The Mysterious Sound
Download an app or find some type of device that will play a consistent sound and hide it in a drawer or someplace near your coworker. Funny sounds like a heartbeat, beeping, or something you record yourself, will have your coworker very confused. In an open office, you can prank multiple people at the same time.
The Paper Clip Trick
You’ll need to be stealthy with this one. Place a paper clip on the copier and make several copies. Then put the paper back in the supply tray so coworkers will use it later in the day. When all their copies come out with a mysterious paper clip on them, they’ll be stuck searching for the mysterious paper clip for a while.
The Photoshop Fix
If you’re good with Photoshop and can devote some time during your lunch break, borrow some of your coworker’s desk photos, scan them into your computer and edit some of the pictures to replace family members with animals, make them look fat or distorted, or anything else ridiculous you can conjure up. Put them in the frames in place of the regular photos and see how long it takes them to notice.