Hilarious Office April Fools Day Pranks to Dupe Your Coworkers

April Fools’ Day is right around the corner. Depending on what kind of person you are, you’re either enthusiastically planning pranks or giving your giddy coworker the side-eye. April Fools’ Day is a yearly tradition that anyone can take part in, whether you’re a kid armed with whoopie cushions, or an adult employee looking for a little fun. 

Although we don’t recommend going to full “Jim Halpert” levels of torment, office pranks are still an unexpected way to keep things playful, as long as you follow these ground rules:

• Be safe. It’s not funny if someone gets hurt. Don’t attempt any pranks involving dangerous stunts, fire, or sharp/heavy objects. 
• Don’t destroy property. Be respectful of your coworkers and their possessions. 
• Avoid crossing lines. Consider whether your prank will come across as mean-spirited or cruel. Also, stick to pranking people you know will react positively to it. 
• Most importantly, have fun! 

A well-executed prank, such as silly promotional pens, can really lighten up the office mood and brighten your coworkers’ day. Here are some of the funniest office pranks to pull on your coworkers! 

1. Christmas or April Fools?

Head to the dollar store and buy cheap wrapping paper. Before your coworker arrives for work, wrap up all their belongings — the more thorough you can be, the funnier the result. Don’t stop with wrapping up their staplers, notebooks, or office supplies— you can wrap their whole desk, chair, and computer in paper! When your coworker comes to work, they’ll be perplexed, and you can watch them get progressively more confused as they continue opening their “gifts”.  This prank is truly the gift that keeps on giving! Just make sure this coworker is a friend, or else the situation will be more awkward than funny. 

2. Do-nut Try This One!

Here’s a prank healthy eaters will love! Get a box from a well-known donut place, place it in your office kitchen or shared space, and fill it with a veggie platter! As your coworkers gather around to grab a sweet treat, they’ll be met instead with the opposite. This is a funny moment you and all your coworkers can bond over, even the ones you don’t know too well. Some may even appreciate you for encouraging the office to eat healthier. 

3. “Get Pen’d”

Even pens can be just as useful in pranking your co-workers as they are for promoting your company. Why are promotional pens effective? It’s simple; because pens are everyday objects we use all the time, they are great for pranks. Take advantage of online stores like Penfactory that offer fully customizable pens to poke fun at your coworkers. If you’re wondering what to put on promotional pens, you can try silly titles for each of your co-workers, such as:

• “LinkedIn Browser” for a job recruiter
• “Chief Ego Operator” for CEO
• “Water Cooler Operator” for that one co-worker who’s always taking a break
• “Chatterbox” for that person who never stops talking
• “Broken Arrow” for the one guy who’s never getting fired, but also never seems to work
• “Sarge” for your bossy and controlling manager
• “Will Work For Food” for the co-worker who always comes back late from lunch break
• “Slack Attack” for that person who’s always on Slack – even after work
• “Human Google” for the know-it-all you can always rely on

4. Professional Etiquette

Emails are an untapped well of potential when it comes to pranks. Send a professional-sounding email to your co-worker with an important-sounding subject line like “READ ASAP”. Mention a certain deliverable that you want them to work on, and include a  hyperlink. Instead of linking the task, link a weird or funny video instead. If you know your coworker really well, you can send them a video you know they’d be weirded out by. Bonus points if it’s a loud, blaring video and they have their sound on!

5. The Power of Zip-Ties

If you’re looking for a cheap prank, grab a bunch of zip-ties and tie them around some basic everyday office tools, such as scissors, a drawer, or even a stapler. Without scissors, zip-ties are nearly impossible to remove! By the time your coworker finishes snipping all of their stuff free, they’ll be laughing along with you.

6. Someone’s Watching…

This one’s easy: put googly eyes on everything! Make like Waymond in the popular movie “Everything Everywhere All At Once” and smack googly eyes on everything in sight at the office. Somehow even the office desktop looks kind of cute with a pair of big googly eyes! 

7. Family Photo Swap

Does your co-worker keep a sweet family photo on their desk or pinned up on a corkboard? Swap out their family pictures with their favorite celebrity (or their least favorite). This is a good prank if you don’t have much time but still want to do something fun. (Just make sure your friend gets their real family photo back.)

8. Zoom to Try This Prank!

During the pandemic, everyone was going a little stir-crazy, and it led to some great pranks while people were working at home. If your company uses Zoom often, try this fun home office trend! Here’s how it works: everyone else besides one person will dress up according to a theme. 

• Theme Ideas
  • Superbowl Rihanna and her backup dancers
  • Colorful rainbow wigs
  • “Men in Black” get-up with a suit and sunglasses 
  • Weird animal masks 

9. Taped Mouse

Nothing is more frustrating than having a mouse that won’t work! Your coworker will be annoyed when they turn it over and see the sensor was taped over, but they’ll also breathe a sigh of relief too. Here are the steps for this prank: 

• Step 1: Tape over the sensor on your coworker’s mouse.
• Step 2: Watch as your co-worker tries to figure out why they can click, but can’t scroll, no matter how hard they flail their mouse around.
• Step 3: Don’t forget to send a friendly message for when they finally figure it out.

10. Seeing Double

Freak out your coworkers by making them think a doppelganger hacked the call! For this remote working prank, you’ll want to do it during a video or Zoom meeting. Record a video of you coming in with tea, and set that video as your video call background. Then when the real you enters the call, they’ll be in for a surprise! Imagine how weirded out your coworkers will be when they suddenly see two of you on the screen. Harmless, yet spooky, this prank will get your co-workers good.

PenFactory Has What You Need for a Hilarious April Fools’ Day

Make your employees’ day by celebrating April Fools’ at work! At least one of these pranks will elicit a laugh or two. Remember that pranks should always be friendly — your coworkers should be allowed in on the joke, not the butt of it. 

PenFactory has everything an office prankster might need, whether you want a customized gag gift or a funny promotional pen.

People often wonder, “Why use promotional pens?” Outside of being great for marketing, promotion, or just as gifts for your employees, you can use them in pranks! If you’re wondering where to buy promotional pens, we have you covered. Our huge array of merchandise doesn’t stop at pens — for keychains, drinkware, stationary, tech, and much more, shop PenFactory!