Culture and Engagement 7 creative April Fools’ Day jokes for remote workplaces [2024] With many employees working in a remote or hybrid environment, physical pranks and jokes aren’t as easy as they used to be. But, that doesn’t mean you still can’t engage in some funny office pranks. 4 minute read You might also like… Whitepaper Intranet use cases Whitepaper 10 Award Winning Intranets It’s that time of year again where it is acceptable to shrink wrap a colleague’s desk, stuff your boss’s desk full of balloons, or rearrange the keys on a coworker’s keyboard. Unfortunately, if you work in a hybrid or remote workplace you will need to be a little more creative. But, that doesn’t mean you still can’t have a little fun in the workplace—especially on April Fools’ Day. We hosted a webinar that talked about why humor is important to a healthy workplace culture. Our guest speaker, and Humor at Work expert, Mike Kerr entertained all of us with his presentation on Leading and Laughing During Turbulent Times. Mike provided a lot of tips on how to ham it up in the workplace, but most of all he reminded us of the importance of laughter during uncertain times. So if you are looking for virtual April Fools’ pranks, or even funny office pranks, consider trying out one of these ideas: Virtual April Fools’ pranks for your hybrid or remote workplace 1. Rent a meeting llama By now, almost everyone has attended a virtual meeting where a dog or cat makes a cameo appearance. But what if you could have a llama attend your next meeting? A nonprofit animal sanctuary called Sweet Farm has made this a reality by allowing organizations to hire a llama in their Zoom meetings. 2. Change things up on Zoom or Google Meet Most meetings today occur virtually on video. By leveraging filters or uploading custom images you can switch up your background to something entertaining and humorous. Or if you wanted to really go all in, you could go beyond a static image and change your background to a video of you walking in on yourself, like this guy did. 3. Give yourself a new job title If you have ever wondered what it would be like to be CEO for the day, now is your chance to change your job title! You could add your new title to either your intranet, instant messaging platform, or even your email signature. You could even change your title to something super clever, like: Director of Astonishment, Oracle of Inspiration, or Chief Whiner. 4. Get clever with your Zoom name Zoom allows users to put anything in the name display box. Use this opportunity to get creative and change it to something like “Reconnecting…” Your teams will assume you have a weak wifi connection, which might just provide you with a great excuse to exit a meeting early. 5. Create a fake company announcement Fast food giant Burger King went viral back in 2018 when they launched a chocolate Whopper. The burger wasn’t real of course, but rather an April Fools’ Day prank. Consider what fake announcements you could announce to your employees or customer base: A new logo? A unique product unveiling? Or an expected announcement about a colleague? 6. Screen-share something scandalous One of the biggest ‘oops’ moments that can occur is when an employee accidentally shares something inappropriate on their screen. Take advantage of this by creating fictitious folders or documents on any screen you share—like ones that say something like “resignation letter” or “Dr. Phil audition.” 7. Announce a fake colleague Why not announce a brand new fictitious coworker? Through your intranet you could create an entire employee profile, complete with skills, hobbies, and even their position in the org chart. Watch and enjoy as colleagues start welcoming the newest member of your team! Have a little fun with your intranet View a collection of inspiring intranets from companies that like to have a little fun in the workplace. Download now One final word of advice, it should go without saying (like the reminders on car commercials that say ‘closed professional circuit’) that any shenanigans you engage in should not involve destroying anyone’s property, or making fun of someone’s ethnicity, religion, or sexual orientation. In other words, April Fools’ Day should not get you fired. Looking for better way to engage all your staff— not just on April Fools’ Day, but all year round? Check out ThoughtFarmer’s modern intranet solutions that enhance culture and keep everyone connected through a dynamic, centralized communications and knowledge hub.