Tell us some of your most memorable April Fools’ Day pranks. You can join the conversation on our Facebook page or tweet your thoughts using #WTOP.
WASHINGTON – It’s all fun and games until someone gets fired.
While you may be tempted to pull an epic prank at work this April Fools’ Day, thinking twice could save your job.
Before placing that whoopie cushion on the boss’s chair, workplace experts at AOL Jobs suggest evaluating your planned prank:
- Is it offensive? Avoid sexually charged, racially-oriented or otherwise potentially taboo topics.
- Know your company’s culture. If your company is a pretty serious place, even a light prank may not be welcome.
- Be wary of using social media. A single tweet, photo or video can haunt people for years to come.
More than two-thirds of advertising and marketing executives consider pranks inappropriate for the office, according to a 2010 survey from The Creative Group, USA Today reports.
Here are a few ideas from Live Playfully that may be less likely to get you fired — even so, proceed at your own risk:
- Clear tape can interfere with the laser on the bottom of a computer mouse. Put tape over the mouse’s laser and watch your co-worker struggle to use it.
- Fill a co-worker’s desk drawers with ping-pong balls or something else surprising but relatively easy to clean up.
- “Balloon” someone’s office (fill it with balloons) while they’re out to lunch or out of the office for a meeting.
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