Member Article

Workplace jokes not so practical

Playing a joke on your workmates could cost your bosses dearly, a law firm has warned. Manchester-based Peninsula says that when jokes go wrong or the victim does not see the funny side it is often the employer who ends up in court. The prankster could also find themselves up before an industrial tribunal.

The company surveyed more than 800 workers in a number of industries across the UK and found that most had taken part in a practical joke against a colleague. Two thirds of those surveyed said they did not think about the repercussions of the joke, even though most people questioned admitted they felt bullied if they were on the receiving end.

Even jokes that seem to be harmless fun could backfire, said the company. Among the examples it gave of jokes that can actually be construed as bullying were loosening the top of a salt cellar so a colleague’s lunch is covered in salt, spiking a teetotaller’s soft drink with alcohol, and sticking a sign on someone’s back saying ‘kick me’ or ‘slap me’.

Peninsular said other examples of office jokes and pranks which people had taken exception to included a worker locked in a stockroom with the lights switched off and a worker who was afraid of spiders finding them planted in his desk.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .