Joke Practices: Best Practices for Humor in the Workplace
Most agree that humor in the workplace can have beneficial effects. However, not all humor is good humor. The challenge: How to introduce appropriate humor and fun into our serious jobs without hurting others or seriously undermining the company. When used appropriately, humor can work for you.
Mood that rises also builds
Humor has the power to make people feel special. When you include people in the fun, you simultaneously improve morale, reduce stress, and facilitate team building. With the prevalence of telecommuting and geographically dispersed work groups, the challenge of fostering working relationships, bonding and building camaraderie is real. At a San Francisco Bay Area company, a work group hosted an elaborate remote Baby Shower. The mother-to-be, who was out of state, called in for a prearranged conference call with her work group. When she did she… surprise! Everyone was having a party in her honor. They uploaded digital photos of a decorated conference room and each other, and emailed sound files with well wishes. Everyone shared in the good cheer. This creative use of technology brought employees closer to each other, figuratively if not literally.
Humor that unites people
Workplaces are full of opportunities to use humor to everyone’s benefit. Milestones are a natural place to employ humor. Dress as the recipient as a tribute during a surprise birthday party. Other celebrations to commemorate anniversaries, project completions, or similar achievements are perfect opportunities to use humor. Even surviving certain projects is cause for celebration and fun.
The holidays are another natural time to use humor. Halloween is a time for contests to see who can best decorate conference rooms; for other companies the anniversary of their founding is cause for celebration. Silly speeches, skits, and skits abound.
And the award goes to…
Hosting award ceremonies is a great way to have fun, recognize each other, and revel in shared work experience. Whether the categories mimic those found at the Oscars, Emmys, or Tony Awards, or are derived, team spirit increases when the team laughs at themselves and each other. Best Supporting Actor, Best Impersonation of an Inanimate Object, Best Special Effects, Highest Chance to Secess or Lifetime Achievement Award.
humor is the winning ticket
Jokes can be alternately uplifting or uprooting. A desk editor, on April Fool’s Day, festooned the windshields of his co-workers’ cars with fake yellow parking tickets, complete with remittance envelopes. Upon closer inspection, these actual ticket replicas had whimsical offenses of significance to the recipients. The departmental joker’s ticket cited him for “excessive use of charade” and the corporate hard-charging lawyer’s violation accused him of “not giving up.” Of course, the gag starter was later cited for impersonating an officer. Everyone laughed at the skit once they realized it was a joke. Judge Judy’s signature at the bottom of the ticket gave it away.
privileged position
A rapidly growing company did not have enough office space for full cubicles for their new employees. One hapless employee’s assigned cubicle had a giant pole in the middle. To her credit she never complained. Her coworkers felt for her. One night they went out into the streets collecting various flyers from the telephone poles in their neighborhoods. The next day, when the new hire arrived at her cubicle, the offending post was now covered with ads about missing pets, renters looking for apartments, cheap movers, and even local GRE study groups. The employee not only knew that her co-workers felt her frustration, but she rallied them and they came together to help one of their own.
One person’s humor is another person’s horror
When you focus on humor, consider focusing on yourself. Everyone has a different idea of what is fun and what is not. Many well-intentioned pranks or pranks have backfired. A coworker senses that another receives a prank letter posing as a local media figure. The recipient mistook it for reality, interpreted it as harassment, and called the FBI. oops!
The benefits of modest humor
When we make fun of ourselves, it actually demonstrates our healthy outlook, showing that we don’t take ourselves so seriously. As a result, we are seen as more approachable and down to earth. Don’t make fun of yourself excessively. Such humor loses its effectiveness with excessive use.
Everyone from politicians to CEOs to Southwest Airlines flight attendants use self-deprecating humor (humor that makes fun of themselves) to make people laugh at them and, consequently, with them. You can too.
While dark humor may seem appropriate during layoffs and cutbacks, strive to employ humor that is uplifting and touches on universal themes for the best results. Here’s the laugh!