Humour works
I recently came across an article about humour in the workplace and it made me feel a sense of relief. A relief that my liking for humour and “positive energy” in the workplace is getting some kind of official thumbs up for driving a positive culture. "A sense of humor is part of the art of leadership, of getting along with people, of getting things done." —Dwight D. Eisenhower
Michael Kerr, author of The Humor Advantage, says the amount or type of humour you will find in any given workplace depends almost entirely on the culture. “In workplaces that encourage people to be themselves—that are less hierarchical and more innovative—people tend to be more open with their humor,” he says. “Even people who aren’t always comfortable sharing their humor tend to do so in more relaxed environments where the use of humor becomes second nature with everyone’s style”.
An podcast episode on Hidden Brain called Humor Us says being serious and professional at work sometimes means not telling jokes, but in a way, that is not bringing your whole self to work, because humour is not just about cracking jokes around in the workplace but having humour is being “human”. When we laugh, we connect and bond with others. Feelings of divisiveness and social isolation can be decreased by laughting together. Sharing a laugh shortens the distance between two people. Using humour strategically and thoughtfully can create a more inclusive environment, and help us feel we are on the same team.
Behavioural scientist and author of Humor, Seriously, Jennifer Aaker says humour can be a superpower at work. Laughter can decrease stress and diffuse tension in challenging situations. Self-deprecation and self-awareness in high-status contexts is incredible at shortening the distance between two parties, and makes people much more approachable. Humour increases the feelings of trust, and can help people feel more engaged at work. Humour can help people remember what you have to say, because dopamine is released when you laugh, and dopamine is connected to memory and information retention. So this is not just a way to have more fun while we present or while we are at work, it is also a really powerful way to have people remember what we've said. John Oliver from Last Week Tonight is a great example of using humour to get a message across.
Offensive or hurtful jokes are inappropriate, particularly in a work setting Jokes are unacceptable when they punch down, using humour against someone without the same privileges you have. But humour itself is not inappropriate at work. And generally, if you remove the punchline from the joke, and the truth still stands, there is integrity in what was said.
When we work and communicate with others asynchronously, we lose the physical cues of the effects our words have on other people. We should be more careful in the words we chose to use. Humour and laughter are even more important when we are down and can bring us all closer together, even during lockdowns.