Humor in the workplace, when done appropriately, is imperative for supervisors
and subordinates alike with the aim of helping people tolerate stressful situations,
build better communication, and increase overall productivity.
What is Humor?
Humor is described as,
Amusing communications that produce positive emotions and cognitions in the individual, group or organization (Romero & Pescosolido, 2008)
Stress Tolerance
Nobody enjoys stress in the office. Moreall states that,
The Relief theory states that If you use humor in the workplace, your stress will beStressed out workers make more mistakes, have more accidents, and are less productive (Moreall, 1991)
relieved and will, in turn, relieve other peoples stress.
Building Communication
Korczynski, when talking about how humor build better communication with
employees says,
Humor allows employees to interact with each other better which will increaseHumor helps create community not only through the direct communication that is necessarily involved but also through the fact that for humor to work it must be based on shared understandings (Korczynski, 2011)
productivity.
Productivity
Hackman's Normative Theory states that,
Effectiveness is composed of a) productivity, b) individual development, and c) team viability, or the degree to which members of the group are able to continue working together in the future (Romero & Pescosolido, 2008)
Humor is used, not only to develop a relationship with employees but with
your supervisor. Supervisors also use humor as a tool to lay out expectations
and values.
Inappropriate Humor
As a rule, avoid any attempts at humor that are harmful or offensive or would make others feel uncomfortable (Craumer, 2002)Inappropriate humor, although funny to some, will hurt the overall group effectiveness
because the person under attack may not think it is as funny as another.
Overall
Great relationships are not formed without appropriate humor and in the workplace; more work will be done if relationships are stronger.
As a rule, avoid any attempts at humor that are harmful or offensive or would make others feel uncomfortable” (Craumer)
I find it helpful to know that humor can help reduce stress in the workplace, but as a leader of a department, how do you insure humor is used appropriately and in the right context? From personal experience, humor can be taken too far with people they feel comfortable around.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Bailyn. I think it can be hard to find the line between appropriate and inappropriate humor in the workplace - especially when supervisors are using humor in front of subordinates that might not feel comfortable speaking up if they are offended. I am also interested to see how your research pairs with research on gender and humor (people will laugh when a man tells a joke but not if a woman tells the same joke).
ReplyDeleteI think humor is a wonderful aspect to the workplace, but you right, it is a delicate dance. I think humor falls into the constructs of an organizations culture. There can be funny individuals that infuse humor into all aspects of their lives, but often people require a level of comfort before they are able to joke around with coworkers. I think work place humor is often established or encouraged by leadership and comradery. If humor is common place with in upper management than naturally it will filter down into daily interactions. Alternatively, humor can be found between work relationships aside from culture, or even outside of work with the organization being the butt of the joke.
ReplyDelete