Laughter in the Workplace: What is the Place of Humor in the Work Process?
- Natalia Ferkova
- 3 hours ago
- 3 min read
Where does laughter come from?
Laughter preceded the emergence of language. This allowed our ancestors to clarify their intentions in situations of social interaction. “Laughter was an early and safe social signal. Before people had a chance to speak, laughter signaled that all was well,” says Carl Marchi, a neuroscientist at Harvard Medical School.
Laughter is fireworks for the brain
When the brain identifies and understands a joke, it releases feel-good neurotransmitters: dopamine, serotonin, and endorphins. Specifically, their influence is favorable for the whole organism. For example, they relieve tension, increase the activity of immune cells and improve blood circulation. As a result, it helps reduce stress hormones, relax muscles and reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. In short, if you don’t like apples, one good joke a day also keeps the doctor away.
Do you have to take yourself seriously in order to work seriously?
Laughter transcends cultural and linguistic boundaries, creates connections and is a universal means of expressing the intentions of cooperation. This is especially true in the private sphere, but what about the special world of business?
The world of work is not always a succession of moments of joy. For all the health and morale benefits, laughter is also a great way to relieve tension or calm yourself in a tense situation. This takes the flow out of the atmosphere, bypasses the electrified atmosphere, and dramatizes the disturbing situation. Therefore, it restores energy to the one who fails. So, humor is part of the social skills that make life easier in the workplace.
Laughter is proof of competence and charisma
If you joke at work, you may get the impression that the employee is more competent. However, employees respect and admire leaders with a sense of humor who laugh at others and make fun of themselves. Laughter requires high emotional intelligence and empathy, qualities that are the hallmarks of a true leader.
So what is business humor and what boundaries should not be crossed?
Beware of managers who tease their employees and abuse questionable jokes, irony, skepticism. Their behavior may force the rest of the team to behave in a similar way. Harvard Business School’s Rosabeth Moss Kanter notes that minority individuals, such as a woman among men, might feel pressured to laugh at demeaning jokes. Little by little they lose respect and assume that impropriety is acceptable. So, the line between humor and ridicule is very blurred.
Humor is also a matter of culture
In the end, we should bear in mind that humor is deeply connected with the history, symbols and traditions of the country. We do not laugh at the same situations in France and Ukraine. For instance, the French are known for irony, the British use and abuse nonsense and ridicule. The Japanese prefer repetition, the Americans love stereotypes, Ukrainian jokes are often quite rude. Therefore, be attentive to the origin of your interlocutors, they may not laugh at the same things as you.
Focus on the Mood: Some Tips for Laughing in the Office
On average, children laugh approximately 400 times within a day. People aged 35 years – only 15 times. Fearing to lose authority in front of colleagues or offend, some refuse humor and laughter during work. So, how do you bring humorinto your outdoor space without losing your professional status?
1. Exercise self-irony
Before you can laugh with others, you must be able to laugh at yourself. This means going beyond your fears and complexes, looking at life from a different angle. Self-irony contributes to the recognition of one’s own limitations and imperfections. So, if you want to relax the atmosphere and encourage others to do so, nothing is better than laughing at yourself.
2. Creative approach
Humor is also a matter of corporate culture. Companies like IBM or Yahoo have renamed their meeting rooms with strange names. For example, Hulu organizes taco-eating competitions, Airzooka offers yoga classes to make their employees laugh. Imagine how your boss would react to such initiatives! At best, he will take it as a joke.
3. Use professionals
So laughter is work. Consultants, psychologists, gelotologists (scientists who study laughter), theater educators, specialize in this discipline. Also, they help companies approach their employees differently because of laughter. In fact, a significant part of large European corporations and companies have already tried this approach, because it is a great way to inspire the team.
It seems that the ability to laugh is directly related to education, taste, culture, and trust. Actually, it has only been a few years since humor has been embraced by the business world. Today it is even becoming a desirable business skill. So humor is serious!