Funny Office Awards: 56 Joke Awards Your Team Will Want

Funny office awards work because every workplace has its own small heroes: the person who always remembers the attachment, the one who keeps the dishwasher running, the colleague whose live demo has never failed. A joke award gives them a title for it. Done well, it is a compliment the whole room gets to laugh at together.

The list below is new, sorted by where in the office each award happens. It does not repeat our other two lists: funny award ideas has a hundred titles for work, teams and race clubs, and work superlatives has eighty in the “most likely to” format. Use all three. After the list come the rules of taste, a way to run the vote, and how to turn the favorites into trophies people keep on their desks.

Meetings

For the people who make meetings shorter, clearer and occasionally enjoyable.

• The Agenda Keeper: sends one before every meeting, and sticks to it.
• Golden Gavel: ended the most meetings on time.
• The Parking Lot Attendant: keeps every off-topic idea safe for later.
• Whiteboard Picasso: draws the diagram that finally makes it click.
• Best Question in the Room: asked the one everyone was thinking.
• The Action Item Hunter: leaves every meeting knowing who does what.
• The Icebreaker Hall of Fame: got the quiet room talking.
• Minutes of the Year: wrote notes people actually read.

Email and chat

For good written habits. Point at the best writer on the team, never the worst.

• The Three-Sentence Club: says it all in three sentences or fewer.
• Subject Line Laureate: you know what the email says before you open it.
• Attachment Included Award: has never once sent the follow-up “forgot the file.”
• Inbox Zero Hall of Fame: lives the dream, somehow.
• Best Sign-Off: the closing line everyone has started copying.
• The Gentle Nudge Medal: follows up so politely you want to reply.
• Thread Untangler: summarizes the forty-message chain in one post.
• The GIF Sommelier: always finds the perfect one.

The kitchen and break room

Shared spaces have their own quiet heroes, and they rarely get thanked.

• Dishwasher Diplomat: loads it so every mug fits.
• The Last Creamer Hero: replaces it before anyone notices.
• Casserole Laureate: best dish at every potluck.
• Mug Museum Curator: owns the finest mug collection in the building.
• Birthday Cake Logistics Award: candles, plates, knife and a card everyone signed.
• The Microwave Maestro: knows the exact reheat time for everything.
• Tea Steward: keeps the good tea stocked for everyone.
• Golden Ladle: won the office chili or soup contest.

If the office runs a cook-off, chili cook-off trophies covers the categories.

Remote and hybrid work

For the people who make working apart feel like working together.

• The Async Ace: writes updates so clear the meeting gets canceled.
• Golden Headset: the clearest audio on every call.
• The Doorbell Survivor: kept presenting through a delivery and never lost the thread.
• Hallway Host: runs the best virtual coffee chats.
• Most Scenic Commute: from the kitchen table to the desk, with a view.
• The Welcome Wagon: made every new remote hire feel at home in their first call.
• Wi-Fi of the Year: has never frozen mid-sentence.
• Document Gardener: keeps the shared docs tidy and up to date.

Shipping awards to people in different places is covered in awards for remote and hybrid teams.

IT and tech

For the IT team itself, and for anyone who keeps the technology working.

• “Have You Tried Restarting It?” Award: right every single time.
• Patron Saint of Password Resets: endless patience, no judgment.
• The Cable Wrangler: under the desk so you do not have to be.
• Ticket Closer of the Year: most problems solved, fewest left open.
• The Backup Hero: found the file everyone thought was gone.
• Phish Finder General: reported the fake email first.
• The Translator: explains the tech to the rest of us in plain words.
• Server Room Night Watch: on call when it mattered.

Sales and customers

Light awards for a sales team, to run alongside the real ones. For the serious side, see sales awards.

• The Bell Ringer: rang the deal bell most often.
• Pipeline Gardener: plants early, waters often, harvests late in the quarter.
• Objection Black Belt: has an answer for every “but.”
• The Demo Gods Smiled: the live demo worked on the first try, every time.
• Follow-Up Grandmaster: the polite fifth touch that closed it.
• Territory Cartographer: knows every account on the map.
• The Referral Magnet: customers send their friends.
• Best Thank-You Note to a Client: handwritten, and remembered.

The desk

For the workspace and the habits that make it work.

• Sticky Note Architect: has a system, and it works.
• Ergonomics Engineer: monitor height, chair and keyboard all exactly right.
• The Desk Drawer Pharmacy: has a bandage, a mint and a safety pin for anyone.
• Tape Dispenser Guardian: knows where it is, and lends it out.
• Headphones Hall of Fame: best focus playlist in the building.
• Standing Desk Pioneer: was standing before it was cool.
• The Good Scissors Award: owns the only pair that cuts.
• Lost and Found Department: somehow finds what everyone else misplaced.

Rules of taste

Every award above points at something the person does well. That is the whole trick. A few rules keep the rest of the list that way.

1. Never about appearance, age or health. Not height, hair, clothing, weight, voice, glasses or how anyone looks on camera.
2. Nothing the person did not choose. Accents, family situations, religion, disability, where someone grew up. If they did not pick it, it is not a joke.
3. Opt in, not opt out. Ask people before the vote whether they want to be in the running. A short form with yes or no is enough.
4. No punching down. Managers do not give joke awards about a junior colleague’s mistakes. If a joke would land differently from the other direction, drop it.
5. No real problems in disguise. If the award is really a complaint about lateness or mess, have the conversation privately instead.
6. Have someone outside the team read the list. In-jokes can look very different to a new hire or a guest. When in doubt, ask HR.

How to run the vote

A vote turns a list into an event. Two short rounds work better than one long form.

1. Send the opt-in. One question: do you want to be eligible for a funny award this year? Only people who say yes appear on the ballot.
2. Run a nomination round. Share the award names and ask for up to three nominations each, with one sentence on why. The sentences become the presenter’s lines.
3. Build the ballot from the nominations. Keep the awards that got real nominations and drop the rest. Two to four names per award is plenty.
4. Cap it at one award per person. If someone wins two, give them the one with more votes and pass the other to the runner-up.
5. Keep a few spare titles. Write one for anyone the vote missed, so nobody on the team is left out.
6. Have one person count, and keep it secret. The reveal is the fun part.

For the nomination side of a real award, see peer-to-peer recognition. If the funny awards share a night with formal ones, put them first and keep them clearly separate; employee award categories lists the serious side.

Turning the favorites into real trophies

Paper awards are fine for a long list. The two or three favorites, the ones the room laughed hardest at, deserve something that will sit on a desk for years.

Funny trophies shows how a gag trophy is built, from a sketch to a cut shape. A matching set fits semi-custom awards, where your artwork goes on a stock body. A yearly title belongs on one of the perpetual trophies. Keep the wording short and warm:

The Async Ace
Clearest updates in the company
Morgan · 2026

There is no minimum order, so a single award for one person is a normal order. For a holiday party, ugly sweater trophies pair well with the list. Work back from the party date and see how far in advance to order.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are some funny office awards?

Golden Gavel for ending meetings on time, the Three-Sentence Club for short emails, Dishwasher Diplomat, the Async Ace, Patron Saint of Password Resets, the Bell Ringer and the Desk Drawer Pharmacy. Each one points at something the person does well.

How do you keep funny office awards appropriate?

Never joke about appearance, age, health or anything the person did not choose, make the awards opt-in, never let a manager joke about a junior colleague’s mistakes, and have someone outside the team read the list first.

How should we vote on funny office awards?

Send an opt-in, run a nomination round with a sentence on each, build a short ballot from the nominations, cap it at one award per person and keep a few spare titles for anyone the vote missed.

What is the difference between funny office awards and superlatives?

A funny award is a title, like Golden Gavel. A superlative is a prediction that begins “most likely to.” Many offices use titles for the trophies and superlatives for a lighter round.

Can you make a funny office award in a custom shape?

Yes. Acrylic can be cut to almost any outline and printed in full color, so the award can be the joke itself. We send a design proof before anything is produced, and there is no minimum order.