Funny April Fools' Day Pranks To Play On Your Boss

Of all the people who you might want to prank this April Fools' Day, your boss is probably not at the top of your list, mostly because you like your job and don't want to get fired, but in the spirit of democracy, it's only fair for the head honcho (or at least your immediate superior) to get gotten just like the rest of us. So where does one start when planning pretty much harmless but funny April Fools' day pranks to play on the boss? You start by breaking things without actually breaking them.

It's a boss' worst nightmare — she comes into work and, all of the sudden, things start going haywire. Electronics are misbehaving in ways she's never seen before, and even her trusty smartphone isn't cooperating. It interferes with her workflow for exactly as long as you can let the joke to continue, which, should be proportionately tied to your boss' sense of humor about such mischief.

Nothing really gets damaged except perhaps your boss' belief in your capacity to behave like a real live grownup, which is an overrated myth to perpetuate. How long were you really going to be able to hide the beach escape kit in your bottom drawer anyway? You know, the one with all the grownup stuff (*wink*) like an inflatable beach ball, portable speakers, and camo camelback?

Here's how to mess with your boss on prankster's New Year.

1. Reverse their trackpad

Remember how when OSX Lion came out, "Natural" scrolling was the default direction for the trackpad and your life was turned all the way upside down as you questioned your sanity and tried to decide whether it was your computer or your brain that was broken forever? Simply go into your boss' system preferences, and change the trackpad settings to the opposite of whatever they normally are, and watch the chaos unfold.

2. Or turn the whole screen upside down

This is certainly a blunt instrument of a prank, however harmless, and there will be no denying that you were the perpetrator when you're the only one that knows how to fix it. Working with a PC? Hit CTRL + ALT + down arrow (and the same combination with the up arrow will flip it back). On a Mac? In the system preferences pane, hold down command + option and click on Displays. A hidden menu called Rotation will appear, and you can flip the display any direction your heart desires.

3. Crack their screen without actually cracking it

Download a screen crack app while your boss' phone is unattended, and wait for the screams of terror as your boss thinks she's shattered her cell phone screen.

4. The unanswerable ring

If your boss is still chic enough to use a desktop phone with an actual hook, tape the receiver down so that when the phone is picked up, it will continue to ring. Then, call from a blocked number and see how long it takes your boss to figure out that she's been fooled by a simple piece of tape.

5. Bring LinkedIn to life

This one is the most involved of all of the pranks, but you will have a comedic masterpiece to photograph when you're finished, especially if your boss is the LinkedIn type. Turn your boss' office into a manifestation of her LinkedIn profile by blowing up her profile picture (at least four sheets of standard printer paper), printing out endorsements like you'll find on her profile, and whatever other hilariously corporate details you'd like to highlight. Then, tape it all to her wall, and hope that she keeps you as one of her connections.

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