Incorporating humor into the workplace leads to real benefits for employees and organizations, including reduced absenteeism, improved problem-solving skills, increased production and perseverance, and increased creativity. .
That's great, but what if you're not that funny? Whether you're the corporate comedian or more of a serious manager, here's a template to help you add levity to your workplace.
The L.A.F.T.E.R. Model
(I never understood why there was a "ugh" in the middle of the word "laPouah ter" anyway.)
Related: 4 ways to laugh more
Lead by example. Ask for help. Have fun. Tell your story. Wake up. Rituals.
Lead by example.
Try not to take yourself too seriously. That means doing things like participating in those ridiculous team builders or even poking fun at you on occasion. A bad hair day? Stains on your shirt? Rather than trying to cover it all day, show it off! Once, I spilled a thermos of coffee in my lap, and rather than heading straight for the restroom, I stopped in the lobby, where several employees were, and showed my stupidity. Immediately, the silent new employee whom I had not yet known shook his head and said, "I told you to see a doctor about this!" which made everyone laugh. From then on, he seemed more comfortable around me as a supervisor, and our relationship was more genuine.
Asking for help.
If humor doesn't is not your thing, there is always someone who would like to take on the task! In fact, once you name them your "humor boss", "comedy queen" or whatever you want to call it, they probably won't leave you alone on all the ideas they have! (Can you already imagine who that person is in your office?)
You can even combine the first two tips. Leading by example could be your way of asking for help. An executive I know who isn't very good at being funny at the time had a brilliant idea. He asked co-workers he was close to to tease him more often in front of employees rather than just when they were alone so people could see he was easy-going and made fun of himself.
Have fun on funny.
For most of us, trying too hard to be funny leads to more moans and blushes than laughs (think Michael Scott in The Office ). If you want to make people laugh, instead of trying to be funny, just make them have fun. According to Robert Provine, professor of neurobiology and psychology, we are 30 times more likely to laugh in a group than by ourselves. The key is to involve people in activities where they can play and interact with each other, such as cooking a meal together, doing a service project, attending trivia nights, talent shows, or participating in March Madness or Oscar brackets for awards, etc.
Related: The key to doing more:have fun
Tell your story.
Bringing humor to work doesn't have to be a covert operation. You will gain traction if you simply tell people your goal. Let them know you hope to make it a more fun place to work, and you'll likely get some ideas from them. It also shows people that you're trying and that you care.
Tell your story to potential employees and customers, too. Is fun or humor reflected in your company values? What about advertising, Facebook pages and tweets? What about job descriptions? In addition to technical skills, add that you are looking for someone with a "sense of humor" or who enjoys a "fun and creative work environment".
Win it.
You have now read most of an article (congratulations by the way) on the importance of humor in the workplace. Unfortunately, that doesn't give you the right to spend your day practicing a line or watching YouTube videos of cats falling into aquariums. Before you can be clumsy, you have to be good.
A 2012 study by the Bell Leadership Institute found that when employees were asked to describe the characteristics of leaders in their organization, "work ethic and "sense of humor" are both mentioned twice as many as any other trait. People need to see you as reliable first, and then your deception will be accepted as a welcome reprieve rather than a boring distraction.
Rituals.
You can't change company culture with a simple bulletin board or a ping-pong table. A company's culture is defined by its rituals, which take place every year, every month, every week and every day. A holiday party is great, but if it's the only fun event of the year, it doesn't impact the culture.
Here are some sample rituals to get you started:
Annual:Holiday Parties, Service Projects, Run/Walk, Kickball Games, Awards Banquets
Monthly/Seasonal:Employee of the Month, Make Customers Smile, NCAA Bracket Challenge, Oscars Bracket Challenge, Costume Contest, Potluck, Trivia
Weekly:Monday Pun-day (add a new pun to your office door/bulletin board), “Toes-day” (encourage people to wear sandals in the summer), Team Tuesday (do teamwork on Tuesday morning), Wacky Sock Wednesday, The Friday Funny (send a funny video or article every Friday)
Daily:make boring office signage funny, have a joke schedule of the day, set up a 3:00 p.m. dance party
You don't have to be the funniest person in your organization to be the one who adds the most humor. Using humor to create a culture of fun is doable, just get rid of the “ugh” and add some L.A.F.T.E.R.!
Related: Use your "humor" to be a better human being
