Laugh and the workers laugh with you
25 November 2003
Humour at work
"Emotions can spread like viruses, but not all emotions spread with the same ease. A study by
the Yale School of Management found that among working groups, cheerfulness and warmth
spread most easily, while irritability is less contagious and depression spreads hardly at
all....Moods, the Yale study found, influence how effectively people work; upbeat moods
boost cooperation, fairness and business performance.
Laughter, in particular, demonstrates the power of the open loop in operation - and therefore
the contagious nature of the open loop."
Primal Leadership, Realising the Power of Emotional Intelligence, Goleman, Boyatzis and
McKee
Humour has a role in:
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emotionally intelligent leadership
effective communication
building teams
thinking creatively
managing stress
It's fun, it's truth and it's tragedy.
Effective leaders
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set a positive emotional climate
are emotionally intelligent and understand their and other's emotions
use humour to acknowledge paradox and incongruity
use humour to acknowledge failures and weaknesses.
Good communicators
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recognise the power of emotion as well as rational ideas
use humour to build rapport, engage people and hold attention
see the humour in difficult situations.
Strong teams
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have emotional and language bonds
recognise humour as a social signal
use humour as a sign of trust
use humour to express a shared vision or reality.
Creative thinkers
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understand the creative possibilities of humour
recognise humour involves challenging existing ways of looking at things
use humour to see what is logically, illogical.
People who manage stress
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recognise the positive physical effects of humour and laughter
understand that humour gives us positive emotional energy.
Why strong teams need
humour
It's through emotion that people bond in the workplace.
Physiologically, our brain chemicals help humans survive, by
creating a need to bond. We feel anxious when alienated.
Strong teams have strong emotional bonds and humour plays an
"Strong teams have strong important role in creating them. It's often the first time people
laugh together they feel part of a team and that they belong.
emotional bonds and
humour plays an important
role in creating them."
Humour and laughter are social signals. People are 30 times more
likely to laugh in social settings than alone. Laughter is
contagious; it strengthens social bonds. Via humour, groups
"Humour and laughter are
social signals."
share insights into a new or frequently-expressed reality, perhaps
about a competitor or another department internally.
When people engage emotionally they move one step closer to
being a team. When they're drawn together they're more willing
to listen to, and appreciate each other more. As a team member,
"As a team member,
humour shows you're easy to work with.
humour shows you're easy
to work with."
"Humour is a team
motivator; having fun is
intrinsically motivating. It
answers the question:
what's in it for me?"
Humour is a team motivator; having fun is intrinsically
motivating. It answers the question: what's in it for me?
Humour relaxes us, and relaxation inhibits the biological
flight/fight response. So humour is a signal of trust in other team
members - a ritual disarming that leads to greater social
cohesion, bonding and solidarity.
And it's social cohesion that produces high-performing teams,
and humour can boost the event, meeting or memory that builds
it.
Laugh and the world (that is your team members) laugh with you.
How humour fosters
creativity
Imagination is intelligence having fun. Humour is nature's way of
making creativity possible. It's an opportunity to change
perspectives and challenge basic assumptions about 'how we've
always done things around here'.
"Humour creates divergent
thought processes and
Humour creates divergent thought processes and free-wheeling
free-wheeling associations;
associations; it discovers hidden similarities and encourages
it discovers hidden
leaps of imagination.
similarities and encourages
leaps of imagination."
And because it's engaging pleasant emotions, it keeps people
focused on solutions rather than problems
How many men does it take to tile a floor?
It depends how thin you slice them.
"Humour sees what is
logically illogical,
perceiving something in a
way no-one else has
considered before."
You may have noticed a pattern in my humour. (You're right.)
This joke (yes, another old one) works not only because it's got a
twist and surprise, it's also a leap of imagination.
Humour sees what is logically illogical, perceiving something in a
way no-one else has considered before. Humour and creativity
play with ideas, challenge existing mental perspectives and
encourage spontaneity. They encourage a detachment and an
ability to see things afresh.
So far, we've been talking about humour as a creative thinking
tool. But it can also be part of a deliberately-built organisational
culture that encourages risk taking.
If people, organisation-wide, develop a creative humour
perspective, you're on the way to creating an innovative
organisation.