Some time ago when my son was quite a bit younger we were having one of those tense family conversations that occur from time to time. At one point in the conversation someone said something funny and we laughed. Sam paused and then simply said, ‘well, you laugh or you die’. It was an insightful comment and it has stuck with me.
There is an increasing amount of research being done on the health benefits of laughter. There doesn’t seem to be anything definitive at the moment, but there are indications that laughter has a positive influence on a number of physical ailments including pain, stress, and high blood pressure, as well as contributing to our overall mental health. There has also been some indication that laughter fosters creativity and enhances problem solving abilities. But perhaps this is one of those areas where anecdotal proof is enough, it seems to be fairly well established and generally accepted that laughing just makes us feel, and I would suggest, work better.
In her book, It’s Always Personal, Anne Kreamer writes about emotions in the workplace. It is an interesting read that deals particularly with anger, but I found her comments on laughter thought provoking. Kreamer quotes restaurateur Danny Meyer, the founder of the Union Square Hospitality Group, as saying “Employing a well-timed sense of humor is simply the most effective and universal means of stress reduction and team-building fuel I know” (pg. 192). Meyer goes on to suggest that businesspeople often take themselves too serious, thinking that every decision leads to a ‘momentous outcome’ and that sometimes it’s just important to break the tension with a good laugh.
I would venture to say that few of us would disagree. Almost everyone I talk to wants to work somewhere that is ‘fun’ and where laughter is a genuine part of their work day. The challenge however, is that the definition of fun can be somewhat subjective and humour in the workplace can be a tricky thing. The ‘well-time sense of humor’ that Meyer speaks of is not always as easy as it sounds. Most of us (some of us more than others!) have had one of those moments when just after the words have left our mouths we realize they probably should have stayed there. It’s the, “that sounded so much funnier in my head” routine and we are left scrambling to recover from a comment that just did not go over as planned.
I agree with Meyer that getting to know each other well enough to have genuine humour in our workplaces is in and of itself a tremendous team and trust building activity. There is just something important about being able to laugh together – especially when things are not going as well as we would like. I would also add that re-grouping from humor gone wrong can also be a trust and team building opportunity. How we recover from an incident like this is very important. Genuinely saying we are sorry when we need to is an essential piece as well as offering forgiveness. We are not always comfortable with using terms like this in our places of work, but they are essential in building the respect necessary to having a healthy workplace environment.
So, here’s hoping that something makes you laugh today.
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“You Laugh Or You Die”
There is an increasing amount of research being done on the health benefits of laughter. There doesn’t seem to be anything definitive at the moment, but there are indications that laughter has a positive influence on a number of physical ailments including pain, stress, and high blood pressure, as well as contributing to our overall mental health. There has also been some indication that laughter fosters creativity and enhances problem solving abilities. But perhaps this is one of those areas where anecdotal proof is enough, it seems to be fairly well established and generally accepted that laughing just makes us feel, and I would suggest, work better.
In her book, It’s Always Personal, Anne Kreamer writes about emotions in the workplace. It is an interesting read that deals particularly with anger, but I found her comments on laughter thought provoking. Kreamer quotes restaurateur Danny Meyer, the founder of the Union Square Hospitality Group, as saying “Employing a well-timed sense of humor is simply the most effective and universal means of stress reduction and team-building fuel I know” (pg. 192). Meyer goes on to suggest that businesspeople often take themselves too serious, thinking that every decision leads to a ‘momentous outcome’ and that sometimes it’s just important to break the tension with a good laugh.
I would venture to say that few of us would disagree. Almost everyone I talk to wants to work somewhere that is ‘fun’ and where laughter is a genuine part of their work day. The challenge however, is that the definition of fun can be somewhat subjective and humour in the workplace can be a tricky thing. The ‘well-time sense of humor’ that Meyer speaks of is not always as easy as it sounds. Most of us (some of us more than others!) have had one of those moments when just after the words have left our mouths we realize they probably should have stayed there. It’s the, “that sounded so much funnier in my head” routine and we are left scrambling to recover from a comment that just did not go over as planned.
I agree with Meyer that getting to know each other well enough to have genuine humour in our workplaces is in and of itself a tremendous team and trust building activity. There is just something important about being able to laugh together – especially when things are not going as well as we would like. I would also add that re-grouping from humor gone wrong can also be a trust and team building opportunity. How we recover from an incident like this is very important. Genuinely saying we are sorry when we need to is an essential piece as well as offering forgiveness. We are not always comfortable with using terms like this in our places of work, but they are essential in building the respect necessary to having a healthy workplace environment.
So, here’s hoping that something makes you laugh today.
This entry was posted on Tuesday, June 26th, 2012 at 11:39 am and is filed under Comments. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.