“A sense of humor is part of the art of leadership, of getting along with people, of getting things done.” - Dwight D. Eisenhower
In some sense, life is like a mathematics book. Full of problems. Usually, everyone comes to office with a big smile. It does not mean that they don’t have any problems in their life. Behind their smiles, “anytime-can-burst-out” volcanoes are inside. Who knows what is going on in the chamber of everyone’s heart?
Whatever be the scenario, few good laughs can change everything at work.
Laughing at the office is a good thing. According to research studies, “good humor doesn’t just make people feel better, or make the work day seem to go faster; it actually delivers bottom line benefits.”
There are many good ways to bring humor into the workplace, such as cracking jokes, telling humorous stories about life events, or making light of a bad situation.
Workplace humor should never include cracking jokes at the expense of others, offending someone at work or becoming really personal. When delivered properly, humor plays a major role in bringing employees together. Humor helps break down the barriers, remove stereotypes, and create a sense of unity for employees. When everyone laughs at the same thing, it will remind employees and managers that they all work together and play for the same team.
At the same time, evaluating what you laugh about in the workplace is more important. Although you may not always be the one who makes jokes, yet if you laugh at the inappropriate jokes of someone else, you could be seen as someone who is rude.
Humor is an important ingredient in creative thinking. Employees who laugh at the workplace are more creative, more collaborative, and more productive.
People will enjoy working with you if you have a good sense of humor. And if you want to stand out from the crowd, using humor with your work is an effective way. Humor creates a mental ability to think outside the box, encourages interaction with your colleagues, and brainstorming of new ideas.
Good sense of humor puts others at ease. Humor is the only way to break through the tension barrier.
A growing body of research reports, “when you share a laugh with someone, you’re mirroring not only one another’s body language, but also the hormonal and neuronal activity, prompting a mutual investment in each other’s well-being.”
If you are manager in an organization, you must maintain a balance between humor and seriousness in the job. There are chances that your team members can take your humor as a powerful signal that it is okay to break the rules in negative ways. And it would cost you losing your dignity and sometimes even your job. Therefore, you ought to be more careful about how you carry yourself at the workplace by becoming more aware of what type of humor will work out in different situations.
