Employee gets pranked by her 50-year-old coworker by getting her water bottle mixed with coffee cream, she is very upset and worried she's overreacting: 'I feel like it’s not okay for anyone to mess with someone's drink.'

Author image for María Cetra
María Cetra • Writer
Jul 6, 2026 7:15 AM EDT

Office pranks aren't the only thing that needs some regulation. Annoying coworkers too!

I think that if a 50-year-old employee is always doing pranks on the younger coworkers, and he went as far as messing with their food, I don't think that a manager should take that as funny or unproblematic. It's actually weird and uncomfortable. Office pranks are a problematic topic, especially because what one finds funny can be traumatizing to somebody else. And there are also the limits that aren't super clear. They are like a gray area that is almost invisible. But I do think that messing with food is a very clear way to go over the limits.

What is worse about the whole situation in this Reddit story is the fact that the managers see the mess and just laugh. A boss not caring about the employees' well-being and considering attacking somebody's food a simple joke shows that this manager is probably not good at his job. Not realizing how much this could escalate and damage the company is not thinking through. The employee that wrote this story is visibly uncomfortable, and now she is receiving internet advice to go to human resources and file a complaint. And if she did, it would be perfectly acceptable. The real issue is having a boss that doesn't think, that doesn't realize how much damage a "simple prank" can do to somebody.

Office pranks in general should be banned, except the silly ones like writing jokes on a post-it. But if the prank can cause disturbance, then it should not be done and shouldn't be allowed. As a manager, you have to take care of your employees and of the company. Letting situations like these occur is a liability. The best way to manage them is to forbid them and to place punishment on the people who do them.

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  • 01
    So I'm fairly new to my job (I've been there for almost 3 months) and one of my coworkers (almost 50 year old man) has for the most part been pretty chill. He will make jokes and do small pranks and such but I think today he took it too far. I normally keep my water bottle with me at all times but today was super busy and I hadn't taken a drink really all day. When it finally got slowed down I took a drink of it and it tasted.......off. Now I did just come back from lunch and thought that maybe
    via Limp-Yam-841
  • 02
    Model image of 3 different water bottles.
    via quokkabottles

    Model image of 3 different water bottles. 

  • 03
    had was mixing with the water and making it taste weird. So I got a piece of gum and still the water tasted off and was getting more extreme. I opened the water bottle and there was basically a white foam fizzing up towards the top of the bottle. I understandably went "ew what the h I??" And the 50 yr old coworker at first acted like he was also disgusted and didn't know what it was. He then started laughing and so did everyone else. I then learned that he had put powdered coffee creamer in my
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  • 04
    water. Apparently he's done this to other people??? And they just act like it's normal. I was so embarrassed and honestly mad. I went to our break room to try and clean the water bottle out but there was sludge stuck in the straw. I was visibly upset when I got back because he kept asking "are you mad, irritated, miffed???” And I just kept saying "it's fine" because I felt like if I actually tried to stand up for myself every one of my coworkers would turn on me. They all seemed to be in on the
    via Limp-Yam-841
  • 05
    also saw this prank play out and didn't seem to be too worried. I really don't want to go into work tomorrow because I know I'll have a hard time pretending that it's not still bothering me. Idk if I'm overreacting but I feel like it's not okay for anyone to mess with someone drink no matter what the intentions are behind the "prank"
    via Limp-Yam-841
  • 06
    Trondant13 NOR. Food and drink should never be tampered with. Personally I would escalate this as far as I could go.
    via Limp-Yam-841
  • 07
    Affectionate_Hat9275 Nor. What If you were allergic to dairy? Vegan? Fasting for health or reli_ous reasons? He has no right to mess with people at work in any way. This constitutes harassment and bu ying and your manager should not be okay with it. Make a formal complaint OP!
    via Limp-Yam-841
  • 08
    OpheliaMorningwood NOR. Contact HR and make a complaint. Enough is enough.
    via Limp-Yam-841
  • 09
    lynnnysa1 My best friend is INCREDIBLY allergic to dairy. Not lactose intolerant (although that would still be bad), but she is ALLERGIC. That little "prank" would have sent her home sick! And what about if someone was vegan! There are so many reasons why messing with the things someone is going to eat/drink is OFF LIMITS! In general I hate pranks. I don't think they
    via Limp-Yam-841
  • 10
    are funny. All they serve is to embarrass someone, and to me that is just mean. But for it to be even be called a prank, and not bu ying, the person it was done to has to ALSO find it funny. If they don't then the "prankster " is just being an ass, and I can't see the difference between that and bu ying.
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  • 11
    MaryPink60 NOR. He is immature, disgusting, and obnoxious. Go to HR. He deserves to be in trouble.
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  • 12
    Dontfeedthebears You need to go ABOVE your manager like right now, document everything at least in notes or something. Photos. Everything you can. This is intentional contamination and the fact that everyone is acting like this dandy fine because is just "Crazy Pete just is like that and does wild stuff sometimes" is Absolutely
    via Limp-Yam-841
  • 13
    NOT NORMAL. This is, I repeat.. NOT, NORMAL!! I would feel absolutely gaslit right now. This is not normal. The fact everyone is so nonchalant about this is because it has gone on for so long that they have a toxic office culture. NOR!!!
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  • 14
    scaryunclejosh - NOR that's not a prank. Having a coworker forget to lock-out their computer and sending them an email from themselves telling them to lock their computer is a prank. someone's ingestibles isn't cool or funny. with
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  • 15
    Never enough_naps I feel pranks in general a very immature and low effort "comedy". I don't hate them, but I'm not a fan of lots of them and I feel they need to adhere to strict rules to not hurt anyone physically or emotionally and messing with anyone's food or drink is a absolute NO for pranks or anything else.
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  • 16
    Dmau27 A prank is putting postits on stuff or adding pennies to your office phone so it's heavy. okay. NOR with food is not
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  • 17
    Visual representation of an office workspace.
    via kate.sade

    Visual representation of an office workspace. 

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overreaction office pranks horrible coworkers boundaries
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