A culture of laughter
In this yuletide, it is a great time to remember your childhood days. When yaou probably laughed and giggled more and had a lot more fun. It was a time when your greatest concern was not the exchange rate to the dollar or rising market prices of goods and services.
Fast-forward to today and you have responsibilities with bills to pay and dependents to care for. All of a sudden, life needs to be taken more seriously. Most of us take this seriousness to the workplace and believe that we must be serious in order to be taken seriously. Why?
1. Traditionally, the office is seen as a place ‘to get the job done’; with employers and employees taking the view that if work isn’t a toil we simply aren’t working hard enough.
2. People claim that those who aren’t serious get disrespected.
3. We don’t want to be seen as ‘unserious’ as that may threaten career progression.
Interestingly, a recent CIPD study suggests that a lack of laughter in the workplace is responsible for high levels of work related stress, which is the most common cause of long-term absence in recent times in the UK, estimated to cost the UK economy £8.4 billion annually.
The fact is this: developing a ‘culture of laughter’ can transform a dull office into a place filled with positive energy and immense productivity. Even our respected scientists and researchers have discovered that laughter reduces work-related stress. Laughter creates a positive environment where employees can feel relaxed around one another, and begin to form bonds. It’s obvious that a strong workforce can lead to better communication and idea sharing, which translates into better productivity and profitability.
Laughter alone cannot all of a sudden fix productivity and employee engagement problems – lets be clear on that. It’s just that a culture of laughter will boost morale, foster creativity and innovation and ultimately lead to increased productivity.
In this kind of environment, employees feel free to share their ideas and opinions openly with colleagues and managers, which can increase rates of employee engagement. Relax! Don’t take life too seriously.
Some food for thought:
• Michael Kerr, an international business speaker, president of Humour at Work, and author of The Humour Advantage: Why Some Businesses are Laughing all the Way to the Bank (December 2013), says the amount or type of humour you’ll find in any given workplace depends almost entirely on the culture. “In workplaces that encourage people to be themselves–that are less hierarchical and more innovative–people tend to be more open with their humor,” he says. “Even people who aren’t always comfortable sharing their humor tend to do so in more relaxed environments where the use of humor becomes second nature with everyone’s style.”
• “A sense of humour is part of the art of leadership, of getting along with people, of getting things done.” – Dwight D. Eisenhower
• Line leader, create a culture of laughter – it has many benefits.
Ngozi Adebiyi