Whether you love your job or simply accept it as a necessary but annoying part of life, the prospect of catching up with colleagues often provides the motivation required to make it to the office every morning.

For most teams, the promise of chatting about a favourite show, moaning about the weather or doing down dating apps is run of the mill - and so is a bit of office banter.

And, as these photos from around the world and collated by Bored Panda show, what starts off as fairly mild jibing occasionally escalates to become, well, truly entertaining. 

It might be a childish prank like sticking a sign saying 'Please don't disturb!' on the back of an unknowing colleague, leaving them wondering why no one's bothering with to say 'Good morning'.

Or it could be something which appears to be a joke but also has the potential to sow a small seed of doubt in the mind of someone who's going - a cake emblazoned not with 'Thank you' but with 'Fine, go.', for example. 

But, best of all has to be the amusingly passive aggressive notes that colleagues leave for each other.

These can be found in communal kitchens, shared bathrooms and even attached to the wall beside your desk. 

Here, FEMAIL has picked out a selection of images that show the best kind of office banter... just don't get any ideas.