Is it, like me, watching anything with Kitty Flanagan in it?
Here’s one of my favourite Kitty moments (that is also clean enough to post on a workplace culture blog).
Are you smiling after you watched this? Was there a genuine LOL moment?
If your answer is YES, I’m guessing you also felt a little rush of serotonin (the happy endorphins) through your body. Perhaps your neck muscles loosened just a little and your shoulders dropped down to a healthier height.
Which in turn means you have just illustrated to yourself some of the values of humour.
The benefits of humour
We know it feels good to laugh, but have you ever wondered exactly why it feels so bloomin good?
Here’s a little infographic I prepared earlier with the help of the Mayo Clinic and a few other reputable sources.
Why is humour important in a workplace?
The answer to this question is probably pretty self-evident.
If individuals are feeling all the benefits of humour noted in the section above, then clearly that flows onto the team that individuals are a part of. Which in turn, flows on to the organisation as a whole.
Stanford Graduate School of Business faculty members Jennifer Aaker and Naomi Bagdonas (also authors of a book called Humor, Seriously: Why humor is a secret lesson in business and in life) dug deep into this question, and by interviewing 1.4 million people, in 166 countries, they discovered some amazing statistics such as:
“Research shows that leaders with any sense of humor are seen as 27% more motivating and admired than those who don’t joke around. Their employees are 15% more engaged, and their teams are more than twice as likely to solve a creativity challenge — all of which can translate into improved performance.”
Humour in the workplace is also an important tool for:
- Helping build trust, because when we crack a funny, we reveal more of our true and authentic selves – which is how we build trust
- Making the people we work with more approachable, because we can find common ground with them via humour
- Breaking tension
- Boosting morale
“Part of it is realizing that humor at work is not really about being funny. It’s about being human and more connected to our colleagues. It’s not about what I say and whether people think I’m funny; it’s about how a joke will make people feel when it lands on them“.
(Aakar & Bagdonas, McKinsey Author Talks Series)
Remember not all jokes are funny
No, this isn’t a reference to the fact that all/any jokes about Carlton just missing out on the ’22 finals series are likely, at best, to result in tears.
Rather this is about me needing to spell this out:
“Not all jokes are appropriate for the workplace (or anywhere, really)”.
Laws preventing acts of discrimination and harassment prescribe that is not ok to ridicule someone based on particular characteristics like race, gender, sexual preference or religious beliefs.
Bullying laws enforce what should be a no-brainer: it is not ok to denigrate, demean or humiliate a co-worker for any reason.
For many, many years, I facilitated training sessions at workplaces across our wide brown land, centered on respectful workplace behaviours.
You know, behaviour that doesn’t include any kind of discrimination, harassment or bullying (DHB).
Every time I ran one of these training sessions, whether it was at a factory in Campbellfield or Corporate Headquarters in Collins Street, there was ALWAYS at least one person who would greet this ‘news’ with a comment along the lines of ‘Oh, so we can’t have fun at work anymore’ or alternatively naming me as a badged member of the Anti-Fun Police.
It saddens me when I meet people whose only form of humour is through making fun of others.
The fact is: it isn’t lawful (let alone kind) to do so.
Don’t do it! Simples.
Oh and if someone says something to you that is decidedly not funny (let alone possibly falls into one of the DHB categories), then you could practice some of the skills in one of our earlier blogs in this series…D is for Difficult Conversations.
Can humour be learned?
According to the experts, it can. Basically, you just need to start somewhere and practice.
Here are some suggestions for how and where to start:
- Email signoffs can be a great way to inject humour and show more of your personality and creativity. My mate Melitta Hardenberg is Queen of the out of office messages, check this out.
- At the start of each team meeting, you could ask everyone to share something that made them smile since the last meeting.
- In this great HBR article, the authors of the study mentioned above, shared (American) examples of
- The executive who had her five-year old make signs for her to hold up in meetings (“What are the next steps?,” “You’re on mute”)’
- The CEO who “accidentally” left his screen-share on during a company wide Zoom call as he typed “things inspirational CEOs say in challenging times” into Google;
- The senior director who challenged her leadership team to create TikTok dance videos to share with the broader group.
Or share videos you come across that make you laugh. Or videos of you that will make your team laugh…and bonus, also get to know you a little better.
Speaking of TikTok dance videos…you could share something like this: the time my family went viral on TikTok. Which also happens to be the only time The Husband and I have been on TT.
Filmed during Covid Isolation Camping, Xmas Day 2021. Note the rest of the family safely distancing – and dancing – on the balcony.
All jokes aside ( ), humour is an important tool in the culture toolbox.
Want to know more about how to improve culture in your workplace? Let’s chat.
And share an (appropriate) joke or two during said chat.