How and Why to use Humor at Work

Did you know that laughing 100 times can burn as many calories as 10 minutes on a stationary bike?

To me, that sounds like the perfect workout.

There’s lots of reasons to incorporate more humor into your life – and particularly into your professional life. When it’s done right, humor has lots of great benefits at work:

• Creates more cohesive work groups

• Diffuses conflict

• Encourages people to interact

• Prompts creativity

• Reduces stress

• Makes decision-making more flexible

Even just watching your favorite silly movie can improve problem solving skills.

But you may have noticed four really important words: When it’s done right. Humor can backfire spectacularly. So here’s some guidelines to use humor effectively at work.

• Treat humor as a public statement. Stop and think for a second. If someone recorded you telling a joke, and that video went viral, how would you feel? If you wouldn’t be comfortable being publicly associated with a one-liner, don’t share it.

• Don’t target. Any joke with a punchline that relies on stereotypes based on ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation, or other personal characteristic should be off the table.

• Make it a shared experience. Humor works best when everyone can be in on the joke. Your quip about the always-broken printer, the software that never works right, weather, or traffic is usually something others can relate to. Your primary goal should be to connect with people.

• Self-deprecation can go too far. It’s OK to share embarrassing stories once in a while, but too much self-deprecation can make other people uncomfortable.  

Wondering how to start? Go ahead and share what makes you laugh (provided it fits the above criteria). Humor works best when it’s honest and authentic. So if something strikes you as funny, you’ll be more credible sharing it.

If humor isn’t consistent with how you interact with the world, don’t push it. Nothing stops a laugh more quickly than awkwardness – so don’t try to be a comedian if jokes don’t come easily to you. You can still contribute to the positive benefits of humor at work if you bring positivity and are willing to laugh at things that are appropriately funny.