Laughing in the Workplace Is Serious Business  

At the end of a job interview, the interviewer asks the applicant, who just graduated from college, "So what starting salary are you looking for?"

The applicant responds, "About $150,000 a year, assuming the benefits package is good."

The interviewer asks, "Well, how would you feel about this package? 10 weeks of leave, full medical and dental, retirement fund, a new BMW leased every two years."

The applicant grins widely. "Wow, are you kidding me?"

The interviewer replies, "Yes, but you started it."

Try to remember the last time something in your real workplace cracked you up. Humor has all but vanished in the lives of working adults. It takes the average 40-year-old 2.5 months to get 300 laughs in — which the average 4-year-old does in a day. This absence of laughter amounts to more than a side effect of aging or the pressures of work life. Rather, it points to a vast, untapped resource that organizations and leaders could be using.

Mountains of data suggest that humor has direct and positive impacts on organizations, leaders, and employees across virtually every metric, including performance, approval, and engagement. It makes us think more creatively, communicate more effectively, and connect with each other more meaningfully — it even improves our health. With such impressive benefits, it's clear that mastering workplace humor is no laughing matter. It's a strategic move.

Is Laughter the Best Medicine for Inefficiency?

Today's workers are not feeling their best. A recent study found that nearly two-thirds of workers struggle with mental health issues, of which 91% noted lower productivity as a result. In a separate study, 83% admitted to feeling stressed about work.

Researchers who specialize in workplace humor took some of those unhappy folks and performed an experiment. They found that, after presenting someone with a problem and then showing them a comedy video, the person was 3.75 times more likely to solve the problem than their control group counterpart. While this research quantified the value of humor in the workforce, the data only validates something many workers have always implicitly understood: a fun workplace increases productivity.

It makes sense: As a professional tool, humor is like a fast-forward button to intimacy and trust, which is why it is often used as icebreakers for team settings, jump-starters for innovation, and buffers against setbacks. A single well-told joke can have a substantial impact on how people see you at work — even if the joke doesn't land.

Did You Know That Humor Styles Are No Joke?

There are as many flavors of humor as there are people, and doing your part to bring humor into the workplace means that you need to understand these differences and how they work. If you think about your colleagues and peers, you'll probably agree that the ones who are funny are funny in different ways. Some people are brilliant with water cooler jokes. Others may crack you up every time they send an email.

Hitting the funny bone in the right way requires an understanding of humor styles. Aim to focus on positive, affiliative humor — jokes with a broad appeal that include everyone — and self-enhancing humor — jokes that look on the brighter side of things or reveal aspects of yourself. Good, widely applicable humor is rooted in truth and tends to inspire positivity in others. On the other hand, you're going to want to avoid aggressive humor that puts others down or self-defeating humor that puts yourself down.

How Do You Strike the Right Tone When Using Humor at Work?

• Don't punch down. Laugh with, not at. If you are in a power position, make yourself the punchline. Employees love it when leaders are humble, relatable, and self-aware. Do not confuse self-enhancing humor with self-defeating humor, but know that humility is always a great look.

• Keep it clean. You know those jokes that are best prefaced with a stage whisper: "I hope HR doesn't walk by for this!" Don't make those. If you wouldn't feel comfortable telling the joke in front of a 10-year-old or your parents, it's probably not workplace-appropriate.

• Don't be afraid to fail. If it's appropriate, go ahead and try out that joke. A bad joke will not negatively impact how people see you. A well-executed joke makes you seem more competent. The worst that can happen if your joke flops is that you seem as inept as you did before telling it. The risk is worth the reward.

• Some things are just not funny. I once had a colleague refer to a competitor, let's call them Nemesis, as "the n-word" without a trace of irony. The room was horrified, and rightfully so. As a rule of thumb, if it relates to someone's race, gender, sexual orientation, or religious beliefs, take the joke off the table. Don't assume that other people share your set of views, and always be attentive to cultural dynamics.

• Sometimes humor isn't the right approach. Although pairing constructive criticism with a laugh can help soften the blow, it can also obscure what you are trying to say. Maybe a joke will help and maybe it won't. Be attentive to the context and know your audience. If you think a wisecrack may not resonate, err on the side of caution. Put yourself in their shoes: How might they interpret the joke? When in doubt, be straightforward and kind instead of funny.

Not totally confident about trying your hand at jokes yet? There's still a very important contribution you can make to a humorous workplace: simply pay attention to and appreciate the humor others are putting out there. Having a good sense of humor is the crucial flipside of being funny — without that give and take, what's the point? Don't feel discouraged if you have the comic timing of a potato; your laughter is a big contribution to the atmosphere of levity we all need.