Siobhan Hammond, director of client services at BergHind Joseph, discusses why laughter in the workplace is so important.
“If you think back to your childhood days they were probably filled with giggling, laughter, chatter and fun. Fast-forward to today and that joyful, care-free attitude is probably a distant memory.
Since making our voyage into adult hood and becoming working men and women, a hypothetical ‘serious’ switch has been flicked – something that’s made apparent when we pass through the threshold of work: the place where all too often we become stern, unemotional and won’t frequent in laughter or social engagement.
It may sound like an extreme interpretation but the idea is not far from reality.
When at work, most of us believe that we must be serious in order to be taken seriously. Why? The reason is two-fold:
1. We have a fear of being seen as the joker which will threaten our professional position and career progression
2. Historically the workplace has been 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
The truth is that this style of thinking and working is outdated.
Research proves that an absence of laughter in the workplace is a major contributor to workplace stress; one of the most common causes of long-term sickness absence in UK workplaces today (according to CIPD), which costs the UK economy around £8.4billion every year.
The time has come to revert back to our childhood tendencies.
Let’s take laughter and embrace it. Let’s use its power in the workplace to transform it into a place of positivity, productivity and engagement. Why?
Laughter is a powerful tool which can achieve astounding results for businesses. Research conducted in 2002 for an industry-wide study of 2,500 employees found that 93% believed laughter on the job helped them to reduce work-related stress.
That said laughter is much more than a tonic to reduce stress.
Laughter is in fact a product of humour and instilling it at work creates a positive environment that builds bonds between colleagues, encourages positive and innovative thinking, creates better communication, and eliminates negative attitudes; the result of which is increased productivity and profitability.
But before thinking humour and laughter is an answer to all business related challenges, it does come with some caveats.
Primarily the idea certainly won’t suit every organisation and should never be used as a quick fix for employee engagement problems.
Instead, for humour to flourish, an environment needs to exist that employees feel welcome, comfortable, and relaxed within.
This will then naturally inspire people to express themselves - from which humour will gradually grow and with it so will laughter.
Some examples of how the world’s largest organisations are wholeheartedly embracing playfulness, humour and laughter.
1. NHS Tayside
This NHS body has recently undertaken laughter initiatives to support their health and wellbeing policies. By training key employees on using laughter in the workplace, the body aims to use these individuals as advocates for laughter at work and spread the idea across the organisation: “[the] programme is aimed at all staff to address issues that affect staff health, wellbeing and safety. It also encourages health boards to work collaboratively, both within and outwith the sector, to develop innovative and effective ways of maximising staff potential”.
2. Ben & Jerry’s
This well-known ice cream manufacturer uses humour in its daily routine by having a committee that arrange monthly activities to reinforce the value of humour at work.
Such initiatives have enabled them to “discover that the punch line is not that far from the bottom line…[and that] if you want to get more out of your employees, make sure that they are having a good time at work”.
3. South West Airlines
This US airline strongly endorses the importance of fun at work; from looking for a sense of humour in prospective employees, to presenting organisational results via rap music and videos – actively encouraging ‘employees to take their jobs seriously but not themselves’.
The way we work today has taken a dramatic shift.
We are now working longer and harder than ever but by creating an environment where humour – and laughter – is viewed positively work can be enjoyable.
It’s this enjoyment that will create a more productive, more efficient work force where everybody will feel more engaged with the business.”
Siobhan Hammond has over sixteen years’ experience in employee engagement solutions Siobhan has significant experience of working with companies to help deliver results; and is passionate about helping companies improve their overall performance and productivity through their people.
