7 Ways to “Prank” Your Male Co-Workers This April Fool’s Day

March 29, 2019 | Filed in: Your Brain

In the spirit of April Fool’s, we thought it would be fun to pull out some of the oldest pranks in the book. You know, time-tested tricks that will have everyone in your office in stitches. Historically, these “pranks” have been played on women, but this Monday, why not try them on the men in your workplace?    

1. Go up to the nearest male executive (ideally a CEO, CFO, or CTO) and ask him to make you 85 photocopies. When he looks confused, feign embarrassment and say, “I’m so sorry. I mistook you for the executive assistant.”

2. Next time you lead a meeting, encourage the men to sit right at the table, rather than around the edges of the conference room. Say, “Don’t be shy, boys. Your insights are critical to the success of this project.” But when they try to speak, cut them off immediately. Talk for 30 minutes straight, then tap your papers on the table and say, “Great meeting, guys. Really good stuff.” If Greg looks frustrated, give him a friendly shoulder squeeze as he leaves the room.

3. Replace this year’s company golf outing with a trip to the spa. If the men seem confused or unenthusiastic, reassure them that they’re welcome to join—and in fact, that it would be in their best interest to do so. (Some of the biggest deals are sealed over mani-pedis.)

4. Figure out who is on paternity leave and “borrow” some of his clients while he’s away. If you really want to bamboozle him, borrow his office as well. When he returns to find his stuff in a cardboard box in the corner, he won’t know what hit him.

5. Tell your male co-workers the office dress code has changed. Instead of business casual, the new code dictates that they should look “stylish but not too stylish, authoritative but not uptight, interesting but not distracting, and just enough but never too much.” They’ll have a blast navigating the new rules!

6. Replace your company’s entire executive team and board with women. When questioned, insist that you wanted to include a man but simply couldn’t find any qualified candidates.

7. And finally, the biggest prank of all: Have the payroll office pay your male co-workers 80 cents on the dollar for the day—but then keep doing it for decades! If they protest, tell them to lighten up. Haven’t they ever heard of a joke?