April Fool's Day can be an opportunity for good-natured guffaws around the workplace, but there are risks involved in pranking colleagues, and potentially off-colour jokes should be thought through, says one expert.

That's according to Workopolis president Patrick Sullivan, who tells CTV's Canada AM that jokesters should weigh the risks.

"You don't want to go too far but you want to ensure everyone in the office has a good laugh," explains Sullivan, who admits he is known to pull a few pranks himself.

"I think the worst thing would be if the joke is just not that funny and no one laughs. That would certainly be upsetting," he adds. 

The first day of April is undoubtedly a goldmine for potential laughs. Tuesday morning on Canada AM, sports and weather anchor Jeff Hutcheson briefly convinced the show's other hosts that Ottawa's Rideau Canal would be open for skating during the Canadian Tulip Festival -- not true, of course.

And there have been other classic pranks over the years that drew laughs as well as anger -- often an unanticipated side-effect of a good prank.

In 1996, the Taco Bell corporation announced it had purchased the Liberty Bell and was renaming it the Taco Liberty Bell, to the chagrin of hundreds of U.S. citizens who complained before learning it was meant as a joke.

And in 1998, Burger King chose April 1 to introduce the "Left-Handed Whopper," designed specifically for the 32 million left-handers in America. Everything about the burger was the same, except that the condiments were rotated 180 degrees, the franchise announced in a clever full-page ad in USA Today. A news release the next day announced it was all a hoax.

But when it comes down to playing pranks on the people you work with -- coating their pens and keyboard in honey, wrapping everything they own in tinfoil -- it pays to use sober second thought, Sullivan suggests.

If someone is offended, loses their job or is forced to resign, of if the prank causes the employer to lose money, the laughs will disappear fast, he says.

With that in mind, Sullivan suggested a few points to consider when planning a prank.

• Know your workplace culture: It's important to be sure that the people you work with are going to be comfortable with your joke or prank -- if you're not sure, don't take the chance.
• Find out who is off limits: Let's face it, some people just can't take a joke. If that person is your boss, beware! And if you do offend someone, even accidentally, apologize quickly to clear the air.
• Check your timing: Maybe you're known as the sarcastic wit around the workplace. But that dry sense of humour might not do you any favours at a meeting run by the boss.
• Touchy subject matter: Stay away from it, plain and simple.

Sullivan was hoping his own April Fool's Day prank wasn't going to fall flat. He sent an email to workmates saying he was tired of the local lunch offerings, and the employee who brought him the best meal would receive a prize.

Sounds like a groaner.