No Joke - Why Humor at Work is Essential

Note: This post originally occurred on my company's internal blog. I got permission to repost it if I wanted to and since I haven't made a post in a while (I'm working on some, I swear) I thought this would be a good time. Enjoy!

I’ve been interested in comedy ever since the age of 5 when I overheard my parents and their friends laughing at a popular stand-up comic on television while I was supposed to be asleep. All I wanted in life was to hear people laugh. In high school, when I watched an improv troupe perform at a local coffee shop, my obsession with doing improv comedy was born. This obsession deepened as I studied acting in college and moved to Chicago to pursue it. I have been doing improv for about 18 years now. 

Recently, I began thinking about how humor can affect the way we work. A friend and fellow improvisor Drew Tarvin has made a career out of using humor at work - his most recent book Humor That Works gave me a whole lot to think about. 

I first met Drew when he came to visit my improv theater while he was working on a book about doing comedy in all 50 states in the US. Drew has a few TEDx talks about using humor at work and refers to himself as a Humor Engineer. Here are a few reasons Drew believes humor is important at work when executed properly: 

1. Studies estimate that 83% of Americans are stressed at their jobs, 55% lack job satisfaction, and 47% struggle to stay happy. This, in turn, costs the US economy nearly one trillion dollars a year in lost productivity, healthcare costs, and turnover. Using humor to reduce stress, engage our workforce and promote more joy in our working lives could lead to real cost savings. Having more humor in our workplace isn’t just a nice idea, it feels like an imperative. 
2. Drew lists 30 benefits of humor in his book, including increasing productivity, enhancing problem-solving skills, encouraging collaboration and even strengthening the immune system and burning calories. Drew suggests that by using humor, we could create an even more positive work culture, strengthen loyalty and morale, boost engagement, and raise profits. 
3. Humor is not without its pitfalls. When used improperly, humor can be distracting, divisive, disparaging and offensive. But if we’re mindful of the ways we use humor, use good timing, make sure everyone can be in on the joke, and make sure we’re not engaging in humor at the expense of others, we can avoid these pitfalls. 

So what do we do? What would it take to inject a little bit more of this into our workday? 

• Play work – making work fun can sometimes be a challenge. But what if it was a game? You could time yourself while doing a task and then see if you could increase your speed the next day. You could compete with a colleague for efficiency. You could have a meeting while going for a walk to get your blood pumping (I’ve done this one and found it quite enjoyable). 
• Spark insight – taking some time for yourself to clear your head before you have to go into a situation requiring critical thinking is a new idea for me. Drew suggests that by doing something fun for 5 – 15 minutes before needing to make an important decision, you’ll warm up your brain and be more prepared to think critically. We can do this by watching a funny video, playing a game, working on a puzzle for a few minutes, or doing a simple improv warm-up game. 
• Reference funny - sometimes, effectively expressing the ideas you want to communicate is difficult. You know what you want to say, but you get blank faces looking back at you. I developed a real knack for creating analogies in these circumstances. It helps my ideas relate to the people I’m communicating with and my analogies get people laughing! Drew suggests that in order to effectively use this skill, keep your analogies simple (they shouldn’t require a great deal of explanation), keep them relevant to what you’re trying to communicate and, of course, make it fun. 

These are just a few of the many ways we could use humor to help us foster creativity, connection, and joy in the place where we spend on average 10.2 years worth of our time during our life. All it takes is ending an e-mail with a pun or a relevant quote or spending a few minutes doing a crossword before you go into a big meeting. 

There’s a lot more excellent information to be found at Drew’s website, including a comprehensive humor database featuring funny pictures, videos, and jokes you can use in presentations and when interacting with colleagues. 

I highly recommend checking out his book.