They say that laughter is the best medicine. Humour and wit can be found all around us – even now when it seems there isn’t much to laugh about. But what does laughter bring in the workplace?<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Laugh as much as possible, always laugh. It’s the sweetest thing one can do for oneself & one’s fellow human beings.<\/p>Maya Angelou<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
This weekend I binge-watched (twice) BBC’s Staged<\/a> with the brilliant David Tennant and Michael Sheen. While watching, I realised that I haven’t laughed so much in ages – and it was just what I needed. If you haven’t seen it (and don’t mind quite a bit of swearing), then I can’t recommend it enough. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
My sense of humour is random, obscure and often dark. When I was in my youth I always loved to play up in class – make the silly joke. This has carried through to my adulthood into the workplace – yep, I’m the one who disrupts online meetings with random, out-there virtual backgrounds, or adds a funny gif instead of typing sensibly in the chat. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Don’t get me wrong – I can turn on the professional. But, where I can, I like to try to make people smile because I feel that, in the day to day stresses of the workplace, it is in humour that we can find ways of connecting and remember our humanity. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
After all – we work to live, not live to work. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
And work should be fun at the end of the day, right? And there are lots of benefits<\/a> to bringing laughter (where appropriate) to the workplace. I know I feel more energised, creative and motivated when what I am doing brings me a spark of joy. And I often notice that my laughter and joy rubs off on others – that people become more open and relaxed. That tensions dissipate and people connect and collaborate together with a renewed focus and sense of purpose.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It is a curious fact that people are never so trivial as when they take themselves seriously.<\/p>Oscar Wilde<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
I also love to use humour when I’m teaching others. I find it helps you retain information<\/a>. I know it does for me – programmes like QI, for example, teach you so much in such a short space of time, while keeping you engaged and entertained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But I always make sure I never make fun of others. If someone must be the butt of the joke, I make it myself – never anyone else. Humour, for me, is not putting others down, but trying to lift them up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I dearly love a laugh… I hope I never ridicule what is wise or good. Follies and nonsense, whims and inconsistencies do divert me, I own, and I laugh at them whenever I can.<\/p>Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
It is also vital that I consider context. I never want anyone to feel that I am making light of something that is very important and serious to them. Or that I don’t care about their worries and concerns. That I am belittling their feelings and experiences. I have to ensure my humour is appropriate to the situation – that I am sensitive to those around me and use my emotional intelligence<\/a>. But, if bringing a smile to someone could help, if that is what they need from me in that moment then, by-golly, I’m gonna try my best to make them giggle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And things are really tough right now. There seems less and less reason to laugh, to feel joy. And, I confess, much of the laughter I experience at the moment lends itself more to the hysterical kind. But I’ve always been a bubbly, happy, insufferably ‘little miss sunshine’ type of person. And I don’t want to lose that – especially now. I have to stay true to my authentic, glass-half-full self – for my own wellbeing. And, hopefully, I can bring some of that energy, that sunshine to others. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Zoe Connell, Organisational and People Development<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n