The hidden hostility behind office practical jokes
Pranking is fun, and shouldn’t we stop taking things so seriously? Not so fast, writes James Adonis.
It’s a good thing April Fool’s Day fell on an Easter long weekend this year rather than a workday. For if it were the latter, you might have been the victim – or perhaps the instigator – of pranks that would have made The Office proud.
The infamous pranks were always inflicted on the gullible Dwight by the mischievous Jim. Sometimes they were mild jokes, like stacking the vending machine with his personal belongings, thereby making him pay for the return of his own stuff.
Other times, the tricks were more elaborate, such as moving his desk into the bathroom right
OPINION:
next to the urinals. Or alerting him that an abandoned baby was in the women’s toilet cubicle, only for him to run in and see that: (a) there was no baby, and (b) a female co-worker was on the loo. But that’s all make-believe, right?
YouTube, in contrast, is full of the real deal, with millions of views for clips that expose the humiliation of unsuspecting office workers.
The most popular include the hijacking of a colleague’s mouse to make his computer do what it’s not supposed to do; the coating of a boss’ car in Lego pieces; and the sudden appearance of walls,whereby staff don’t realise they’ve been trapped until it’s too late.
Personally, the most wicked prank played on me was when a teammate took advantage of another’s absent (and unlocked) PC. For days I was convinced I had a not-so-secret admirer.
So what is it that makes people engage in pranking? If you’re an enthusiastic prankster, it might not be just because you love a laugh. According to a study published in last month’s Motivation and Emotion journal, it could be that you’re a sadist.
You know you have a sadistic streak when you derive pleasure or excitement from someone else’s physical or psychological pain.
Often we imagine sadists in the Fifty Shades Of Grey sense but, if you trust these scholars, it becomes manifest in the workplace, too.
You may immediately have your back up at a claim like that. Pranking is just a bit of fun, you might say, and people should stop taking things so seriously. In most part, I agree with you, except when pranks get out of control.
I recall a boss of mine playing a prank on a colleague who was known for providing the best service. One day he told her he’d received a vicious complaint from a VIP client. He even set up a fake email address to make it appear genuine. He didn’t tell her it was a joke until the next day, which means she spent 24 hours in tears, calling family and friends in the UK in obvious distress, so upset at the damage she’d supposedly done. He didn’t care. A true sadist.
In this new study, the researchers asked hundreds of people to either recall a time when they had pranked someone or to watch a video of someone unknown to them being pranked.
They were also required to complete questionnaires, which included questions like ‘‘I have difficulty forgiving people who have hurt me’’.
The results of that macabre exploration showed that people are motivated to embark on sadism when they possess a couple of core characteristics.
The first is high levels of sensitivity when disrespected by others; the second is a lot of rumination, making their anger (and revenge) more intense.
Hence why the scholars conclude that ‘‘pranks appear to be born out of (displaced) hostility, and are better characterised as harmful – not harmless – fun’’. –Sydney Morning Herald
James Adonis is the author of The Motivation Hoax: A smart person’s guide to inspirational nonsense.
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