It's not April Fools' Day without some pranks. While most are taking advantage of harmless gags like putting sugar in a salt shaker or texting their friends "ETA?" despite not having any plans, branch manager Robert Darragh pulled the greatest stunt of all — making his employees feel as though they're appreciated.
"I wanted to do something for April Fools' Day this year, but when I first got to thinking, nothing really popped. Taking batteries out of every mouse or switching the coffee to decaf would've been easy enough, but they wouldn't bat an eye — that's everyday stuff," began Darragh. "I realized that the first step to a good prank is confusion, and I can't think of anything that would confuse my employees more than throwing an appreciation event."
To do so, the boss of 15 had to put in the research.
"I looked back at what I did for past employee appreciation days, then reworked those ideas as if I actually cared," chuckled Darragh. "Instead of ordering one pepperoni pizza for over a dozen people and cutting it into thin slices, they each got to pick whatever meal they wanted and had it delivered to the office on the company card. I also usually tell my best workers that they're slipping to get them to worry and do even more, but today, I just said 'Good job!' and gave everyone a $2,000 bonus. Lastly, in place of having them work late, everyone got a fully paid half day — just hilarious stuff like that."
The best part? They fell for it hook, line, and sinker.
"When people got their coats on and headed out the door, I just stood there with a warm expression and waved. They all thanked me and smiled as they walked out — not even in a complacent way. These people were totally convinced that I truly cared whether or not they even made it home alive," said Darragh, hardly able to see through the tears of laughter streaking down his face.
After his employees left, Darragh spent the rest of the day crafting an email to tell everyone they'd need to put in 10 hours of overtime to make up for the half day and figuring out who to fire in order to recoup money from the lunch and bonuses.
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Photo courtesy of nannetteturner via CC BY 2.0
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