WTF Wednesday.

WTF Wednesday: Where’s the Fun

I’m a prankster at heart. Always have been. As a kid, my mom was the primary recipient of my antics—and I learned (repeatedly) where “the line” was.

At work, obviously, there are guardrails. Especially when it comes to pranks. But fun? Fun is not against the rules.

One of my former colleagues had a habit of leaving his coffee thermos everywhere. One day, I saw an opportunity.

I took it.

While he walked the halls looking for it, I quietly launched a year-long mission.

I built an intranet page documenting the thermos’ adventures.

It went to Florida and floated in the ocean. It traveled across our 32-county service area. It showed up in offices far and wide.It even accompanied someone to a mammogram.

Marketing was in on it. The CEO was in on it. (And yes, our CEO was just as excited about this ridiculous game as anyone.)

He accused three of us—including me. He never officially learned who did it… though I’m pretty sure he knew.

At our senior team holiday outing—one of those places where you play games and earn tickets—I had quietly handed the thermos to the prize counter attendant (you know, where you usually get an eraser after spending your entire ticket stash). When he cashed in his tickets, she handed it to him.

The look on his face was worth the wait.

Toward the end of my tenure, I shifted to something smaller. I started hiding tiny plastic animals—ducks, frogs, all kinds of cute little creatures—in people’s offices.

I’d hear, “OMG, I just found the cutest duck on my desk.”

Only two people ever knew it was me—and that’s because they caught me. When I left, I passed the responsibility on.

Because here’s the thing:

A tiny duck can change a really bad day.

Camaraderie doesn’t always come from trust falls and icebreakers. Sometimes it comes from shared laughter. Sometimes it’s a well-planned prank. Sometimes it’s a tiny moment of joy, placed exactly where someone needs it.

Leadership takeaway: If your culture doesn’t make room for joy, it will eventually struggle to hold trust, resilience, and connection—especially when the work gets heavy.

Yes—there are rules and guardrails.

But there’s no rule against having fun at work.

And there is a cost to forgetting how.

~Steph