In every office, there's a prankster – a good thing, too. Every office needs a bit of fun; it's part of a healthy office . A practical joke can turn a dull day into a happy one and take the tension out of a stressful situation.
I remember when I came in for my Euroffice job interview. I walked in nervous and badly dressed and was greeted by laughter. Thankfully – very thankfully! – I found out it was because people were chucking a Flying Monkey across the room.That's when I thought 'This would be a fun place to work!'. Now not a week goes by where I don't take aim at a colleague (not if they're on the phone of course) and let that monkey fly!
Now, our monkey flight was done under laboratory conditions, all sterile suits and gumboots, so we couldn't film it. But have a look at this instead:
In the many months I've been here, my colleagues and I have taken it in turn to play little jokes on one another. Finding everyone’s stolen
staplers on your desk; fibbing to someone that that the Office manager must see them immediately; changing someone’s screensaver. There's plenty of scope to be inventive.
And the trick to dealing with an office prankster? Don't get mad, get even.
The best time to play a practical joke is when someone is away on holiday. We have all seen pictures of desks swathed in
bubble wrap, stuck with Post-it notes, covered in coloured paper or, the best one I've seen, of cardboard models of each piece of equipment, including their
computer and chair.
So if you ever want to defuse a tense situation, pay someone back or just brighten up a dull day, why not have some fun around the office? You could even start an office dare league with a group of colleagues!
Hmm. I do believe someone’s away on holiday next week. Now where's my whiteboard marker..
