No joke! The workplace needs a good laugh

No funny business
Just a few weeks ago, the nation was wrapped up in a debate over a satirical New Yorker cartoon depicting presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama and his wife Michelle as terrorists.

Whether you thought the joke was over the top or not, no one would even entertain the notion that it was even the least bit funny, at least not publicly.

On the flip side, the nominees have to be careful when they’re passing along puns.

The expected Republican nominee John McCain has recently come under fire for at least trying to be humorous.

This from Politico.com:

To his detractors, some of the jokes are offensive and out of touch with contemporary mores. It's sharp, unrehearsed and, at times, way, way over the line. This cycle, he's drawn winces, and worse, for everything from a joking reference to domestic violence to a now-notorious little ditty about bombing Iran.

It’s clear to me that we all need to get out the lampshades, and fast.

But how do we do it without undermining our credibility at work and getting ourselves added to the pink slip list?

A fun place to work
Clearly, a good mood in the workplace translates into good news for a company.

Christopher, the workplace humor columnist, says year after year the companies that have the highest propensity to succeed and outperform their competitors are those that encourage fun at work.

Sometimes it’s the type of industry you work in that dictates the degree of fun, says Donna DiMenna, a senior executive and consultant for Personnel Decisions International, a human resources consulting firm. Buttoned-up sectors like banking and finance may be more apt to keep things stiff, while advertising or retail may be more whimsical.

“Some organizations think if you’re laughing you’re not working,” she adds.

Everyone is always talking about how Southwest Airlines has always been a fun place to work. So I figured I’d call the company and find out if their employees are still laughing, even in this economy.

“Now, more than ever, we are really focused on creating a fun atmosphere for employees and encouraging them to build each other up in a tough economy,” says Christi Day, a spokeswoman for the airline.

That means the company is still holding a deck party with a band or D.J. every Friday at the corporate headquarters in Dallas overlooking a runway. And the flight attendants are still telling those corny jokes to passengers.

Here’s a particularly silly one: “There’s no smoking on the aircraft, but if you do want to you can smoke on the wing.”

Day admits the jokes can be a bit cheesy but, she adds, “it lightens up the mood.”

Humor can pay off
Being funny and being able to laugh at things may also help your career. Someone with a good sense of humor is likely to do well at work, and more likely to climb the corporate ladder. Indeed, Southwest looks for applicants that have a good sense of humor, Day stresses.

According to a Harvard Business Review study on “What Makes a Good Leader,” one of the key hallmarks of a great manager is a “self-deprecating sense of humor.”

Being able to laugh at yourself, says Wendy Kaufman, president of Balancing Life’s Issues Inc., an executive training firm, is a good way to infuse humor into the workplace without setting off harassment alarms because you made an off-color joke about someone else or took a jab at a religious group or gender.

She suggests you take baby steps when embarking on a laughter plan. First off, you have to start limiting your whining before you can really find the hilarious in your daily grind.

You don’t have to be another Chris Rock in the office. You can be a “levity enabler,” says Christopher. That means allowing yourself to laugh at jokes and not taking every jab so seriously, and finding humor in the ridiculous in your workday. Also, he adds, managers should be encouraging their subordinates to have a good time.

The Humor Project’s Goodman advises workers to become aware of the positive power of humor, how it can offer positive payoffs for your health and career. There are a number of studies, he says, that point to the healing powers of laughter and the destructive powers of stress.

He says things as simple as putting up funny pictures on your desk or having a funny prop like a rubber chicken in your cubicle can add whimsy to any office.

“Everyone has heard the expression that misery loves company, right? On a corporate level right now it’s nice to know that you’re not alone in suffering,” he explains. “But very few people use the term, ‘Laughter loves company,’ which is true. We can choose which contagion we want to set in motion.”

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